Home Gardens

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 19, 6 February 1948, Page 6

Home Gardens

(By J. W. Goodwin, N.D.H. (N.Z.), F.R.H.S., Massoy Agricultural College.) FLOWER GARDEN MISCELLANY Assist your plants to prolong their flowering display. The major plant function is not to provide massed, colourful display for your henelit. and mine; but to mature seed and ensure the survival of the species. Once the seed is set, the plant just docs not care “two hoots” whether it produces more flowers or not. Furthermore, the development of the seed is the most exhausting of all plant activities. An embryo plant is formed and large reserves of energy are stored up in each seed to support it until roots and green leaves are formed in the spring'. A plant which has set seed has gained its objective and is very often too exhausted to bear any more flowers. This is the main reason why we remove fading' flower heads. The plant is denied the satisfaction of maturing seed and energy which would be used for this purpose .is diverted to produce new growth. This is particularly so with antirrhinums, sweet peas and dahlias, particularly the dwarf budding types, which in good soil may be kept in flower until frosts cut them back. Many plants, particularly the bulbs and numerous herbaceous perennials and shrubs, produce only one crop of flower; but here again it is beneficial to remove the fading flower heads. The energy which would be expended in maturing seed is retained to help build up growth or bulbs for next season’s display. There are, however, a considerable number of plants, mainly hy_brids, which are sterile and do not set seeds. The removal of spent flowers in these cases, besides making the plants tidy, will also make room for, and admit light to other growths developing at the base. Other plants do not set much seed until towards the end of the season, particularly fibrous-rooted begonia, salvia and petunias. This is particularly so if soil conditions are good. Plants grown for their effective foliage should not be permitted to flower, as the foliage will soon lose its bright colouring as in the cases of variegated and tricolour “gereniums”, iresine and pyrethrum aureum. Foliage geraniums and pyrethrum may be allowed to flower later in the season, however, when their flowers may add variety to the beds. Pyrethrum, carnations and other plants, which carry their flowers well above the foliage, may be trimmed back with the hedge shears. Cut spent or unwanted top growth away on a level with the tips of the basal leaves, leaving a neat, rounded and tidy plant. Use a knife or secateurs for antirrhiniums, cutting below the bottom seed capsule when the top flowers open. . Keep The Hoe Going Keep the hoe going throughout the garden. There may not be many weeds but each shower will encourage a few, particularly Black Nightshade. Watch this Weed. The seed in the black currant-like fruits is freely borne and always grows. A light mulch of soil on the surface aids the penetration of rain or artificial watering, conserves moisture and keeps the soil cool round the plant roots. Never hoe deeply at this time of the year. This will damage the surface roots, which develop on many plants as they reach the flowering stage and will also cause excessive drying out. When planning our plantings we selected plants with long flowering periods, or a combination of several to give a succession of bloom in the more prominent Seds. No one will deny, however, that we should gros many of the others. Their flowering period may be short, but the intenisty of colour and mass of flowers is breath-taking. These subjects which we planted in secondary beds and mixed borders will now be past their best. A further planting of the quicker-growing subjects may be planted to give autumn colour, i.e., nemesia, French marigolds, phlox drummondii. . Alternatively, we may prepare the ground to plant bulbs, or, if the soil is well drained and the border sunny, it may well be used for winter-flowering bedding plants. Planting Biennials Anemones may be planted now, also Iceland poppies, calendulas and winter-flowering pansies. If the weather be dry, water, regularly until these plants are well established. Seeds of the last three may be sown now, to be planted out later for spring display. In districts where only mild frosts are experienced, seed may now- be sown of cineraria, primular malacoides and schiyan-

thus, to be planted out later on in well-drained friable soil in sheltered corners.

Myosotis, sweet william, cynoglossum polyanthus and wall flowers for planting out in April and early May will now be pricked out in boxes or lined out in the reserve garden. If this has not been done it is rather late to sow seed and perhaps best to purchase plants later oil. P.icnnisls and perennials which may have been raised in the early summer will soon be ready for their permanent home. Foxgloves and Canterbury bells belong to the first; class. These, if planted out early in file autumn, will flower well next spring and then die. If sown in the early spring these subjects would not flower the same year. They require two growing seasons, and that is why they are called biennials. Biennials are best sown about the end of December or the first week in January, and will flower during the following November or December. Many perennials will flower in their first season from seed if sown in the early spring. However, that is a busy time, and the usual procedure is to sow them during October and November when the spring rush is over. They may then become well established in the border before winter sets in.

Process Of Layering

Carnations, except for bedding types planted out in November, will have finished flowering and sturdy growths now developed at the-base will be ready for layering this month. This is quite a simple operation. Four or five leaves may be removed from the base. Cut in just below a node (joint) to half-way, split the node lengthwise and extend the cut up the centre of the stem for about three-quarters of an inch. The soil should be prepared beforehand by mixing sand and leaf mould or compost with the existing soil; the first to ensure good drainage, the second to improve the texture of the soil and improve its water-holding capacity. Secure the layer with a peg made from wire or wood and cover With 1J to 2 inches of compost. If the shoot is raised to a more vertical position, before firming, the soil will ensure that the cut remains open. Water the layers if the weather becomes dry, otherwise the layer will not make roots, but will draw on the parent plant for moisture. When the layer is well rooted, probably about the end of March, the layers may be severed from the parent plant. In a fortnight or three weeks tire young plants will be well established and making new growth. They may then be transplanted to their permanent- homes. Carnations are very popular plants. They make a good show, are deliciously fragrant and suitable for for picking. Furthermore, the foliage of healthy plants is tidy and provides an excellent- foil for the flowers of adjacent plants. They are sun-lovers and become subject to fungus, diseases during wet weather or humid conditions. Where these conditions exist it js wise to spray regularly to prevent infection, as, once infected, it is practically impossible to clean them up entirely. The best method is to raise new plants every year or two and scrap the old plants, which are less vigorous, anyway, and become sources of infection.