GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2594, 16 October 1915, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

(Br "Kowhai.")

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS; A. Morton, Setldon. —"I lmve a largo maudcvillea growing on a house, but it U'- very untidy on account oi' a mass of dead twigs in it. Should it bo cut buck? lr so, when?" Cut out now as much as possible of the <iead wood., aud thin out weak shoots. «c?i * 00 cu ' : back. Should potatoes for seed be dug when lully ripe, or before ripe?" Select tubens for seed before they, are quite ripe. Leave them in tho sun to green before storing they away. Please give a simple reliable method tor striking cuttings of flowering shrubs, when i-> the best time tp make these cuttings?" Cuttings of lilacs, hydrangeas, deutzius, rhododendrons, i'orsythias, spireas, erica*?, etc., arc taken from halfripened wood. Make the cut just below a joint. Cuttings should bo inser.ed about two-thirds of their length in soil composed chiefly of river or silver sjind. Keep the soil uniformly moist till the cuttings root. Tliey may be taken I D ow and all through the summer, j Ella/ Wellington.—"My garden is getting overrun with convolvulus, and I would bo glad if you could tell mo any wav to get rid of it. I - find it impossible to dig. it' out." The only way to get rid of it is to keep forking out the roots. Anything that would kill tho convolvulus would kill also everything else in the garden. Hill-side,-" Newtown.— ff l have a hedge of six trees (piecc enclosed), which lia* a blight, though not very badly. Could you tell me what to spray it with, or if the blight is. likely to spread to my small garden about three feet from tho trees?" Spray the trees with some insecticide. Jl'DougaU's "ICata-Killa" and "Miquas" are both good. Directions for uso are given with tho insecticides. Keep the plants in your garden thoroughly clean by spraying them regularly with hot Sunlight soap solution, and growing vigorously by constant stirring of the soil. °Bo careful in spraying to get at the under, sides of the leaves and the stems. Keep" tho hedge free from weeds, and keep tho soil well stirred to encourage vigorous growth.

ROUTINE WORK. Sweet peas aro growing so rapidly that they provide constant work. Stakes need to be strengthened occasionally to support the weight of tho vines in windy weather. , ® v ii'es must be kept tied in so that they will grow straight up tho supports. .His soil ..must be constantly loosened, and a • sprinkling of lime should occasionally be worked in with the hoe. Now is a good time to givo autumn-sown plants a stimulant. Dissolve 2os. of superphosphate and loz. of sulphate of iroti in i gallons of water. Give the plants a good watering with this. Syringe tho vine 3 occasionally with clean water to keep the leaves aud stems clean. Walk round the garden every few days ivith the scissors and a basket and clip off the dead flowers of mums, doronicums, pansies, tulips, pinks, antirrhinums, uquilegias, blue pea, etc. Autunm-sown annuals—poppies, larkspur, linarla, schizantlius, annual gypsopliila, and candytuft are already out in flower; They are quickly over if allowed to form seed. Roses are forming their buds -very quickly, and must be kept free of green fly. Carnations must also be watched for green fly. Pyrethrums are inakiug good growth, and must be protected from slugs. The soil around the plants must be kept looso at all times. Seedling pyrethrums and acxuilegias may bo planted out. They make rapid growth onco they are put out into tho beds. Sweet-scented pink:) are blooming gaily. The plants mako splendid harbours for slugs, and should therefore bo examined frequently. A Ijttlo lime sprinkled under the mat-like growtii helps to keep slugs away. Pinks should be dug up every two years, and some ol 1 the healthiest shoots should be planted back again. Collarette dahlias <u'a, becoming more popular every year. . They are easily raised from seed, and germinate quickly l Tho seedlings should bo planted out. in rich, deeply-dug soil in a sunny position. Tho plants grow rapidly and soon yield a good supply of flowers for cutting, ill dahlias disliko firm soil about them. Most gardens have had a thorough soaking lately, but drying winds will soon cake tho surface unless the hoe is kept going. Cut back the flowering stems of deciduous flowering shrubs as soon as they go out of flower. Any weak growths may be cut right out. The bushes will repay you next 6enson if they receive this attention. Porsythia Suspensa needs to be cut well back each year. This is a good time to sow delphiaium seed, and, in fact, seeds of all perennials for flowering next year. The seed of single chrysanthemums may be sown now, and tho plants should flower next autumn. Single chrysanthemums are most vigorous growers, and yield a great supply of beautiful sprays of flowers for cuttios. Boots of named varieties may be-purchased from nurserymen during this month, but there is a great fascination about raisin? a batch of plants from seed. One stands a chance, too, of raising one of a now and rare colour. . ANNUALS. Seeds of hardy annuals may be sown now in the open border, and amateur gardeners should always aim at making a thin solving. Seedlings that come up crowded aro never so strong as those that

come up well spaced out. It is a good plan to sow such things as I'rench and African marigolds, phlox druminondi, mignonette, etc., round about patches of crocus, sciila, etc., that have gone out of llower. By tho time the seedlings .are growing up the leaves of the bulbs will have withered, and the annuals will then cover the empty spaces thus left. All annuals like rich deeply-dug soil and a dressing of limo. One ot the nicest of tho annuals is Nemesia. The colours riingo from white to yellow, orange, crimson, violet, etc. Tho seedlings should be well thinned out to fiivo the remaining plants room to develop. French and African marigolds are always useful for a good autumn display, and the plants keep going till they are cut by winter frosts. Schizantlius is another very pretty annual. Schizantlius AVisetonens ia a beautiful variety, and quito hardy. If the seed is sown in patches, and the seedlings are yell thinned out, one obtains a mass of dainty llowers. Annual gypsopliila grows quickly, and spreads over empty spaces. It,, also, looks most effective when grown in patches. Gypsopliila is most useful for mixing with cut flowers, especially sweet peas. VEGETABLES. Potatoes should be earthed up as soon as they aro a few inches above thto ground. A little nitrnto of soda sprinkled botween the rows and hoed in before earthing up is a great' help towards a heavy crop. Those who are growing only a small quantity of potatoes would find it an advantage to use the nitrate of soda. Hoeing betweon the rows should be done as soon as the plants show through tho ground.

Sow seeds of broccoli now to lave plants ready for planting out about tho middle of January. Thm out parsnips, onions, beet, turnips, carrots, as soon as the seedlings are big enough to handle. The thinnings of the onions may be transplanted into another bed. Tlio eoil should have plenty of soot worked into it previously. Before transplanting tho onions make the soil very firm by trampling over it. Cut the roots of the onions when transplanting, leaving a fringe of root about an inch long. When planting cover the fringe verj- firmly with soil. Do not cover the tiny bulb. Onions need to be well dusted with soot, and, iu dry weather, to bo watered with soot water to keep away the onion fly. Plant out cabbages on rich, firm ground as soon as the plants aTe ready. It is as well to get cabbages for summer use planted out as early in spring as possible. They then make vigorous growth, and are more likely to resist blight than those planted out Inte. Keep cabbages and cauliflowers well syringed with clear water, and growing vigorously nil the time. •

"Garden Notes" nest week will contain seasonable notes about—Salvia, Salpiglossis, Anemone, Sweet Sultan, and vegetables.