GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2510, 10 July 1915, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

——♦ .(fix; "Kowkai."),

_ Thcfla Botes are written, eolely .for. tha SS • ar^e ner. for tha busy-city man wno likes to 'spend an hour or two in the fvf a^€r shut up all day, (or x.hg woman who deriieß great pleasure from ftromar a lew plants to brighten her i«i? e Y bu A whom it would be 0\ J\?®f • • , fitud 7 garden hooks, end. for »aU laose Who are endeavouring to . keep a small garden bright and AttractiTd ell the ?J ar -. r 5 tt| id« these I efty do not attempt. to grow too much. Choose ,what J. you.want for your garden end for •upplying the hoiiee with cut flowers, and wnetever y<Su decide upon trow the best ■Jail ? a t*> be obtained.. Beaten ftreinrated to Ask Questions. , ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "E.5.C.," Levin, .writes: — ... I should be .pleased if you would kindly, antho iollowinj questions:— ' "1- Are. ordinary coal asliea tad. (or plants? - ' ■ / ."2. We lavo a number of young quince trees grown from slips and now about fivo jeais. "old. -"Will they bear fruit soon? J-liey arci a mass of branches and upright snoots. i Should only bno stem be encouraged and the, shoots be cut oft'?". i 1. It is better not to use ordinary coal ashes ,m thej garden, especially as, they ha\o no manuriat value., Should they bo brought-into contact with plants before tho sulphur in theni has been' well washed out-by rain, they»\\:ould be decidodly harmful, I should recommend the general .use or coal asiMs, though they have their, uses - in-a garden. j Ashes from. a. wood tiro, or from a rubbish fire, may be • used as a. top-dressing, and are especiallv.-valu-able in tho vegetable garden. Coal ashe3 may ba spread out for the rain to thoroughly ivash out tho sulphur; and, if finely sifted, may bo ,uscd' to cover tho crowns of seakale, also a'slight dressing in ay occasionally :bo made to the ground round lettuces, cabbages, etc., if slugs are at all troublesome. Soot or rubbish fire ash are, however, preferable for tho latter usa Pot plants that are kept in. the house •hiring winter may be stood outside in a bed of finely-sifted coal ashes during sum*fljer. -Thocinders may be-used, to lighten' the subsoil of (heavy clay soil. ■ 2..The quince trees will bear fruit when they vara seven, or. eipht years old. Quinces V ei Httle pruning, with the exception of thinning out growths that are, crowding tho centre. As these are young bushes, you migtlit cut right out as much of .tho middle of tho bush as you can. "H.." Hawera, writes:—"ln your'garden of Juno .19, among tho flowering stoubs you mention the peace tree. Does it grow from cuttings or do you layer it? I-lave one,. It waaneally lovely last spring. \ Your garden notes are splendid. I have got many a hint as I am only an amateur." .'. .The peace 1 , bush, may be propagated either by cuttings or by layering. Layering is quicker if you can bend down any of the branches. If you make a little cut with a sharp knife on the underside of the branoh', just below whore the' peg comes, roots will soon form. "C.B.;"'Eastbourne, writes.—"l have a tree (Irish peach apple) in my garden, and it is/laden with fruit every season,- but .w hen, the apples are about tho size of an egg they : drop off. Will you kindly let me know how to treat the tree, so that ■the apploS may be induced to'develop and ripen? ; ■. , 'Apparently yoiir tree has hot the strength to develop tho fruit. The ground under tho treemust be kept frea of weeds and undergrowth, and tho soil kept, open and fine, It is Specially important to have two or three inches of finely powdered soil on the surface during summer to prevent the evaporation of moisture from the soil round, •the" roots. A good ' surface dressing of. farmyard manui'6 should be applied now. The \ manure should' cover the ground as far as the branches extend. Ttoe fruit, should, be thinned out later on, and some.weak liquid manure be given to >tho tree when,the fruit has well set. If your 6oil is naturally a very dry one, supply water during 6ummer. . PRUNING ROSES. , Growers of roses should make themselves familiar with the names of their roses, and also with their class. That is whether they are hybrid perpetual, hybrid tea, or tea roses. Tho hybrid perpetuals and: hybrid teas aro-pruned first. It is as woll to leave the teas for a week or; a 'fortnight later as they are more delicate. • , Hxiept in walrm districts free from frosts and cold winds, August is early enough for. pruning. Should late frosts or cold spring winds be experienced when the roses are in bud, the first crop of flowers.will most probably be spoilt, if the trees are allowed to bear too early. liy deferring the pruning till August we keep back the growth. The trees may be covered with a fine growlth of young foliage' when you. go to prune" theni, but this ■ foliage, ,which is borne on tho old wood, could never produce fine longstemmed flowers. It has its uses, however, bccauso its production keeps, the' buds at tho'base :,of the itiw dorhiant, and thsse ! are -the buds that ttre to. produce our new strong growth for this! season. When pruning-see that the knife or secateurs ar6 sharp. .Make ithe cut just above an outside bud or eye! Make a' slightjy slanting cut;'and have the highest part of the cut jiist above the bud. but not on the sftlo of 'tlio branch, away from the bud,;

' : PRUNING.

Fifgt out away all'growths that are overcrowding the 'centre,'■• and then out right out oil weak growths. Now cufc the wrong shoots back leaving -only about four to six ©yes, making the cut just abort an 'eye that'points outwards. .Very strong shoots may be leffc-yrith six eyes, weaker 6hodts should be 'cut back to' four eyes. ■ N Some rojei sen<l out an occasional long, strong shoot. This should be cut hard back. ' i Newly-planted roses should be cufc'bacTc. alfc pruning time, leaving only four eves. It is most important that this'should be attended to, as it affects tho future vigour Of the plant. In very exposed gardens, itea. roses.should be left till the middle of. August" before being ( pruned.>: Climbing : roses should be treated in the'. saiiie way as dwarf roses when newly plaiitecl; : That is to say, the shoots should bo cut back to four eyes. You'will theii get"'-fine vigorous growth as a start for your plant. Rambler rosea should liavo tho shoots that have flowered cut out as soon as- the flowering is over. This encourages the ! plant to produoe new shoots, and it is 011 ;one-year-old shoots .that the best flowers are producod. Therefore, ; • to •' have a rambler a mass of flowers, the pruning must take place a year previous to" the flowering. That is to say, pruning must be done as .soon as the flowering j_s over. Banksia'.tosps bloom 011 ; (ih« 'twiggy growths: As soon as the flowering ig over, cut back the old flowering stems.All that is needed after this is .to cut .the tins off tho long shoots that are produced. Briar roses also should be cut back as soon as they .have finished flowerin?. These roses also flower'on .the. wood that is produced during,the previous, summer. Do not shorten, tho tips of shoots on briar roses as it i 6 on the ends of,the branches that the best' flowers ai'o produced. Do not mtiloir until 4110, summer, as during spring the roots of the roses' want all the wai'mth of the sun tjioy. can get, " v VEGETABLES. If the onion bed hag not already been prepared,' lose no time in getting it'ready. Full directions were givett in -''Garden Notes"\of May 29. Digging should be done early to allow, tho soil to sottle. Loose.soil is bad for the roots, A firm ■rooting'and a loose siirfaco is the riile. .The soil must .be deeply dug. Shallow 'digging Only, courts failure of the crops. •Plants whoso roots,can penetrato deeplvdiig s<4il have a much better'fchance than those that are obliged to curtail their '.sww.tl; i& & XmoOhroß. 1

days of hot weather dry up the surface loots in. the shallow soil, but tho roots of those plants that havo gone deeply down into well-dug soil havo a cool home, a|id also havo tho great advantage of additional soil from which to obtain food. The result is that they are strong-grow-ing, Ihealthy plants, able to resist drought and disease. Vegetable or animal manure must not now be added to plots that are intended for Toot crops. Manure may be buried in plots to be used for peas, beans, or greens. The ground that is heavily manured for peas, etc., this year will do next season for root crops when artificial manures may be resorted to. The plots used for roots this season may Be heavily manured for greens next year. In this Way humus is supplied to the whole garden regularly. . "Garden Notes" next week will contain seasonable liolea about flowering shrubs, | statice, aad vegetables.