GARDEN NOTES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 179, 24 April 1920, Page 12

GARDEN NOTES

i j (By "KowQiai.") ! PREPARING GROUND FOB ROSES AND i FLOWERING SHRUBS. Early in May nurserymen begin Bending I out roses and flowering: shrubs. Those j cardeners' who. were wise placed their j orders many weeks ago, and may expect • to receive their plants very soon now. ; |By planting early, one gives the plants ' a ohance to become established before tho | cold weather sets in, for tho soil is now j delightfully moist, and is still sufficiently j warm to induco tho plants to make new ' Toots. During the winter these new roots i will bo dormant, but with tho first warm j rains of spring they, will awaken, ready ; to start the work of semiring food far ] the plant. Thus wo ftie enabled to en- ' ioy our new toscs and flowering shrubs \ during their first Beason. ! Beforo proceeding with our subject about i how to prepare thfl soil for these new l»lants/f let us 'first of all consider tho ■ roots—the part of the plant that doeß i such important work, but is so often, , alas, scarcely considered. What is tho root? It is tho part of ! tho plant that goes down'into the ground. ■ It holds tho plant firmly in position, and / enables it to absorb dissolved plant food ; from the soil. Thero are various formß of ! loots, tho two chief ones being tap roots i and flbroua roots. Tho i tap root is the • long, thick one that goes boring down ! Into tha soil, serving as an anchor for ; the tree or plant. The fibrous roots aro ■ the lateral ones, which grow just as i quiokly, as tho tap root, but remain thin i <ind fibrous, and form very often a dense ! mass. Tho carrot is a good type of a I tap root, and in somo poils it will pencJ trato to and obtain food from a great : depth. A boan forms a splendid root I system. The long tap root goes boring i down into the soil, throwing oil, as it i goes, secondary roots. These again , throw off others, and so on till tho whole system penetrates a large feeding area. 1 i Fibrous roots, on the other hand, are not ' such deep rooters, but aro inclined to spread out and explore the region nearer the surface. The fibrous roots of a cab- . bage or a cosmos plant will be found 1 very near the surface soil. If you earth j up suoh a plant new fibrous roots will ' soon spread into tho mound until they have entirely filled it, ajid if more earth I be drawn up about tho stems, tliey will ; fill that too. . . i In the garden we aim "very largely at 1 the production of fibrous roots. When \ planting out stocks and wallflowers, for ; example, we out off the tap root to in- ; duce a good:growth of fibrouß roots. By ■ doing so we chango the plants from long leggy specimens into nice, compact, bush" j ones. In the orchard, too, root pruning ' is of tha utmost importance. While you are digging up your dahlia Slants just now you will notice that they avo a, number of thick, fleshy roots. ' These are tuberous roots, and in them i is stored tho food that is _to nourish i the new shoots that will appear at the I base of the old flowering stem next i spring. i As the root gOesJßoring its way' through ; the soil it must often necessarily encoun- : ter many hard substances, such as stonus 1 or oven rock, but to protect it from ini ,lury nature has provided each tip with a. ; thimble-shaped covering of cells known as i the root-cap. If a plant is pulled up, the root-caps i are almost sure to l)e broken oil, but if l' you dig one up very carefully you may ■ lift it with the cage intact. Even then j soil particles will be sticking to tho roots j and must be carefully washed off before ; you can examine the root-caps. If ,vou examine the more delicate roots you will see near their tips a band of very .flno , root hairs. These form the most important part of fhe root 6ysteni, for they are the mean' by which soil ; foods are absorbed by the plant.. They ' are always to be found near the rooti caps that protect the tips of the rootß. They.live for only .a few days, for as the roots push oil, alwayß on, in searoh of i food, fresh root .hairs are produced al- : ways .just behind the root caps. If you : haye the chance, examine one of. theßq I root hairs under a microscope and you i will see that it is liko a small dotted ' tube. How, then, is the food taken into ; tho plant? i Where is the opening or ' mouth? Look as you will, you will not ; find one. Inside that root hair is a solu- ! tion of sugar and other substances. Out. : side it' in the' soil aro minerals dissolved r in soil water. The walls of the roqt hair ■ are very thin, and tko dense liquid m'thin r 'attracts the less dense liquid without, bo j that it simply .passes through the walltj. I This process, by means of which ' containing. dissolved minerals ia able to ■, pass from tho soil through to the plant, ■' is called osmosis. A thorough study should bn made of tho roots of different plants, lor upon a knowledge of them' j and their requirements. depends much of r the succeßß of. ttl'o garden. In the vtget- ■ able garden it 6hould be known whether J vegetables are deep rooters or surface i rooters, for the knowledge is one of the ' faotora in • determining tho rotation of j crops,. It. is in preparing the ground and i planting, more than in anything else, that tho secret of successful iobb and shrub growing lies. Before planting a shrub ; or a rose, one 6hould consider how long it is going to be in that same place. Some } shrubs go on growing in the same spot ; .for very many, years. How necessary, then, to' prepare the ground well beforehand! It is the one golden opportunity . of really attending to the soil that is to nourish for an indefinite time the fui turo plant. If' only, too. moro people ' would realise how intensely grateful for ■ good treatment plants are. A well-planted, ; well-treated, rose or flowering Bhrub re- ! pays' us with a wealth of beautiful blosi soma season-after season. The plant is j healthy, .'too,' and a real pleasure to itß ' owner.- A plant put oarelcssly into un- ; prepared ground is handicapped for life. : The roots, those delicate little feeding ! Tflots ivith the band of tiny hairß, have ! a terrible struggle at the outEet to push ; through the baaly prepared soil and oh- | tain- nutriment for the plant. What i wonder, .then, .that tho plant is poor and i . stnnted, and a prey to blights! In prethe ground for roses and shrubs : tt is always advisable to trenrti from 1J to 2 feet-deep. Even shallow rooters ap- ; preciato- deeply dug ground. In heavy ' soils this is especially necesßary, or in winter the moisture cannot drain away, , and becomes stagnant aB it lies in the soil.' Thia ia bad for the roots even whilo i they are dormant, for they aro chilled. ! But once they waken to life, think what . happens!- We havo said that the denser ; liquid within the roots attracts the thinner liquid without. The delicate feeding .' roots' cannot pick and choose. They cannot Bay I will not have that stagnant ; chilled liquid. It is absorbed, whether they wish it or not, and gjes right ' through their system, from th'o roots through tho stems to the leaves, and from . thence to every part of tho plant. Poor unhappy plant! (The addition of manure to the soil for shrubs and roses is, as a rule, unneces* Bary. Deep digging, necessary drainage, and the addition, in some cases, of good leaf-mould or peat, and a, little sand, aro their general needs. As long as the subsoil is in' eood heart and well drained ; that ip ail that is necessary. Ashes from the rubbish fire and decayed leaves may always be mixed with the top soil, and will encourage the growth of fibrous roots.?, Fresh manure should never bo allowed to touch tho roots, but, at the time of planting, a little bonedust may be mixed with tho soil that covere tho -. roots. A light 6andy soil is too porous, and steps must be taken to make it retain a. certain amount of moisture. Cow J or pig manure may bo buried about-two feet below tho Burface of the soil, and J if a little clay - can bo mixed with ■ tho i soil that is to cover the manure, so much ! the better. Eoses and shrubs should bo | planted out only when the soil is friable, i Should (they arrive from tho nursery ! while the ground is wot and sticky, they . should be heeled in somewhere until tho conditions are favourable for planting. ROUTINE -WORK. j Out back hardy perennials as Boon as ! they have finished flowering. j Plant out carnation layers as .soon as ' they are well rooted. ! Cut back the flowering stems of lilium tigrinum and spread a mulch of wclli dccayed cow manure over the clumps, i Bpecioaa lilies should be treated in the ; same -way as soon as their foliage ripene. ! Where clumps have become too big, the I bulbs may now be lifted and sorted out j according to their sizes. Replant, in deep- | iy-dug, well-enriched ground. The bulbs ' should be quite six inchos deep. ' Lift clumps of montbretia. sort out the bulbs, and replant in deeply-dug soil.- ; Plant' out hardy cyclamens in the rock garden and among forns. : Gather leaves as they fall, store them In holes, and sprinkle salt over them. Lift gladiolus corms and store them in paper bags for the winter. Garden Notes next week will contain seasonable notes about* Bwcet peas, rou- ! tine work, and vegetables. HOW TO GET KID OF INDIGESTION. Most people who suffer from indigestion, gastritis, dysnfnsia. etc.—even those who have Iwen afflicted. for years and who have tried various medieines i without pernian<" *. benefit—can get quick relief and ensure painless, normal digestion ; by faking half n teaspoonful of Bisurat- ' oil Magnesia in a little xot water imine- ! diately after enting. Bisurated Magnesia 1 neutralises stomach ncid and stops food fonnentu 1 '- i. thus giving nature a chance" fii proceed with its work without hindrance. Bisurated Magnosia is obtainable from any chemist, and' if the directions given aro followed carefully relief is assured and immediate, whilo in . chronic cases a little perseverance will rei suit in establishing permanent benefit, and eventually restore tlio stoinaoh to ft normal condition, with gratifying efJeots on tho general tone and, health « tta wholo systoaj—Advt,