GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2675, 22 January 1916, Page 15

GARDEN NOTES

[Br "Kowhai."]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS,

"Inquiries must bo accompanied by namo and address (not necessarily for publication).

A nameless correspondent wrttos: "I ihave had a daphne for over three years, and it has not flowered at all. Is it worth keeping to give another chanco?— Can you tell me what to do to cure tlie blight on a,honeysuckle? I enclose a spray. The'whole climber is cut back hard every June." Keep ike daphne by all means. Tour plant ivas probably very young when you got it, and' the wood is not yet ripe enough to bear flowers. Keep the roots cool and moist during summer by spreading a thin mulch of well-rotted horse manure over them. Supply water during hot, dry weather, and syringe the leaves frequently. Tho honeysuckle should bo thoroughly sprayed with kerosene emulsion. To make: Dissolve one cake of sunlight soap in two quarts of water, liemove from the fire, and, while still hot, add about one pint of kerosene. Immediately churn the mixturo with a small hand syringe. When using'the mixture to spray the honeysuckle, dilute it with ten times its volume of soft water. KOSES, Rambler roses should have the shoots that have flowered cut out as soon as tho flowering is over. Strong new.shoots will then bo produced, and, as. these are the flowering shoots of next summer, they should be carefully tied in. fiambler roses produco their best flowers on one-year-old shoots; therefore, as , soon as the flowering is over, no time should be lost in attending to the pruning. Cut back also any old woody growths to a strong young shoot, and remove weak growths. Banksia roses should also be pruned during the summer. Out buck the old (lowering stems to a strong young shoot. Long young shoots will then bo produced. Cut the tips off these to induce them to throw out little twiggy laterals, for it is on these that the flowers aro produced. Briar roses also should be cut back as soon as they have finished flowering, for they, produce their flowers on the shoots formed'during the previous summer. We in the strong young shoots, taking care not to damage their tip 3, for it is on the ends of the branches that the best flowers are produced. The present is a:good time for layering roses. Choose branches that will bend down easily, and peg them securely to the ground. Before pegging down the branchdig out a little hole and fill it with rich loam and sand. Peg the branch into this, and cover it with a little heap of the same mixture. Keep moist till roots are formed; The new: plants may be separated from the parent late in tho 6pring, and will have such a. fine supply of strong Toots thai they will probably attempt to bear a few flowers the first year. For tho sake of the future strength of.the plants it is better to Dip off the flower buds the first summer. This is a much quicker and ■ surer way of increasing one's stock than by taking cuttings. Don't'allow rose bushes to hecorao overcrowded with.new growth. Cut out any weak shoots and allow the air to circulate freely among the bushes. Overcrowded bushes aa'e always more liable to disease than those that are kept open to .the sun and the air. Syringe with hot soapsuds at the first appearance of 'green fly on the new shoots. A suggestion of -kerosene (about a couple' of .tablespoonsful in a bucket of soapsuds) is a great help in getting rid of aphides. Cut off dead flowers without delay, and keep ihe roots (especially of young trees) well supplied with water. If po6siblo allow the water to become warm in the sun before using it. ROUTINE WORK.

Many plants of pausies that have beon flowering over a long season have now become ""very untidy, and are Kroducing only small and short-stemmed lloners. As soon as they reach this .stage the plants should be cut back to the roots, and they will soon make strong new growth l'or ■their next flowering. Directly after cutting back, the plants may be given a good watering with the following liquid manure—ioz. of.nitrato of soda in one gallon of water A mixture of well6ifted horse -manure and river sand should be spread round the plants direct, ly after the watering, and, if it is worked well- into the crowns of the plants, the new shoots will' root into it, and will, therefore, bo much stronger. A strict watch must be kept for the tiny caterpillar that does so much damage to chrysanthemum plants. While waiting for. a tram a few days ago I looked over a fence into a pretty and well-cared-for garden, but my trained eye quickly saw a caterpillar, spoiling the only strong shoot on a small chrysanthemum plant. Unfortunately, I could not reach it through the fence. . Amateurs should make a practice of • examining their plants every day, because the caterpillars do their work of despoiling quickly and thoroughly. Hand-picking is the best means of getting rid of the pest'. Their presence is easily detected, because they fold a leaf over where they are at work. .

Keep all plants free of dead flowers, seed pods, and dead leaves. Such plants as carnations, scabious, daisies, geraniums, pansies, etc., are anything but beautiful when they are covered with dead flowers, and the are rapidly losing strength and deteriorating while in such a condition.

Examine the. leaves of violets frequently and closely .for,jny trace of red spider. It quickly makes ifa appearance during dry weather. Syringing the plants frequently with clear water helps to protect thein from an . attack.

Where water is scarce, gardens must be hoed every day during the dry weather we are having. Save every drop of washing water (the. blue water excepted) for syringing rose trees, chrysanthemums, young fruit trees, shrubs, etc. *

Attend to the staking and tying in of plants as they grow. The majority of plants look much better, when in flower, if they are-in an upright position than if. they are lying, broken by a mischievous wind, on the ground. Liliums, hollyhocks, scabious, dahlias, pansies, asters, and tritoiuas need frequent supplies of water and liquid manure. Dahlias in particular will take any . quantity of water, and hollyhocks need quantities of vrealc liquid manure to keep them growing vigorously and free from disease. • VEGETABLES, Many: gardeners aro at present planting out savoy and other winter greens, and celery plants. Wo are generally advised to do this during showery weather, but if dry weather * continues and the sun shines persistently it beeves impossible to follow this good advicel But at least wo can give tho plants a good deal of help. The ground where' they are to grow should be thoroughly saturated several hours before the plants are put out. As soon as the soil is dry enough to work plant out the savoys, etc., and then hoe the ground. Little twigs of manuka brush may be placed round each plant to break the rays of hot sun. Tho plants should be lightly watered each' evening, and the ground hoed each morning till growth begins. Do not by any chance allow the soil around the little plants to become caked, even for an hour or two.

During the hot weather of. February winter greens must be given plenty of water to prevent the roots becoming dry at any time. If the roots are allowed to suffer from drought during the next month or two tho crop cannot be satisfactory, and,- in the case of broccoli especially tho plants will probably bolt instead of forming fine heads. .It is during the next few weeks that the leaves of the whole cabbage tribe require constant attention to protect them from the attacks of the cabbage fly. Keeping the leaves constantly syringed with clean water i keeps theni pretty free, becauso even if the eggs are deposited they are destroyed by the water before they call hatch, out. Sprinkling dry wood ashe3 or soot over the leaves is another means of protecting them. Pay special attention to the undersides of tho leaves.

In small gardens caterpillars may be destroyed by hand, but whero a largo number of cabbages, ctc., arc being grown it is better to syringo the plants (especially the undersides of the leaves) with wiapsuds and kerosene as reconimcndcd above for rose bushes'.

"Garden Notes" next week will contain seasonable notoj abouti— La,y«rlnp uationa. Cane Mosebsrucs, ami ve-xsUblM,