Gardening Notes

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 6, 3 July 1930, Page 9

Gardening Notes

THE MAIDENHAIR FEBN.

The Adiantum or maidenhair fern doubtless takes pride of place of all the numerous varieties in cultivation-; its name is derived from Adantos, dry,, as water will not remain on its foliage. There are many elegant species, many, requiring stove or green-house treatment, even" in this temperate clime, and its utility for decorative and floral work excels all other, ferns. Many of them make extremely fine 'basket plants, no doubt due to the surplus moisture ■being able to get away freely, tius keeping the soil sweet. To enumerate all the '.varieties would take far too •largo a space, so I will only deal with a few of the most noteworthy from a commercial and useful standpoint.

I I will commence witQi one that holds pride of place > viz., Adiantum Farleyense, a native of the .Barbadoes, and is synonymous with tererum Farleyense; i this variety is, without doubt, the most difficult to cultivate, but should one be ' successful in growing a> good specimen j he has what may be termed a. real gem. A;. Variety wJhich atAone-time was though, would take its place, viz., A. Victoria, has dropped out, not because it is. fiot a good fern; but because it did not, come up, to the standard to ; which it was held. This.variety would, perhaps, gratify'nranygrowers wiho may have a strong liking for Farl'eyense, and yet may not be able. to grow it; its constitution is more 'hardy, and doss not require the. same> amount of heat. •Adiantum trapeziforme, a native of Tropical America, is a most worthy subject for atove treatment^ and also A. Maerophyllutn, a native of Mexico, these two can be grown fairly well in a cool; house, providing tlhey are rested during winter, but you do not get that beauty and wealth of fronds as wthen grown in the stove. A. Williamsii, A. PeTuvianuni,_and A. Sanetae, Gatherinae aro all beautiful specimens, and. as stove" ferns ahouM not be left-out of any collection. We now come to a class that will stand heat; or, if, necessary, a bus!hhouse> with excel>lent results, viz., A. Gracilliniuni' A. formosum, A. teneruin, and. A. noibHe, f-kese" are well adapted for any purpose ■needed; and last, but not least, an indispensable\ variety (that is, as far as the trade is concerned), A. euneatuan. On the Continent it is extensively used for cut ferns, -being., very hardy and durable when cut: -j In the culture of Adiantums, a mix tiiTO of fibrous loam, peat, sharp saiid a small quantity of dry cow manure that has been rubbed through a quarterinch sieve, Wili !bo found a good mixture, if^usted as two-thirds- turf loam, peat, vana.s>sand and malice, a few ihandfuls^ old mortar rubfoisih arid Jcharcoal will greatly assist t&em. j Drainage will1 be a main feature to their successful cultivation, as they like plenty of moisture, providing the drain- .■ age is good; a little fibne or tan bark over the crocks will also be found ex- -j eellent. . j A disiease which of late years has seriously affected tihe cultivation of Adiantums, is tiie fern weevil, a pest to avoid if possible.. This weevil destroys the ferns by eating oft the young fronds^ thus dwarfing the vigour of the plants till they sicken and die. The best-known remedy so far is to submerge t!he plant entirely in a tank of. water for six to eight hours, afters wards raising the plant and pot on to two small pieces of wood, so that it may thoroughly drain again. SWEET PEAS. Sweet peas have attained wonderfiii popularity during the past 15 yeaxs j dwing to the great improvement in size end form of flower, and wide range of colouring. T!he greatest factor in advancing the sweet pea to its present great popularity, iias been the wonderful work of that -famous EngHshman, Henry EeTtford, who, by selection and cross breeding, so greatly improved this lovely flower. While others: are doing good work on tlhe sweet pea> it was lie alone who blazed tie way for others to follow.

To secure th© best xesults ifi gwmng iiiiß lovely .floiwer, it will be f ottnii de« siraibiie to prepare the gwiund by digging the manure deep into the soil. Deep ■cultivation is an absolute necessity. Land that is good endSgJi at W(S spits deep Should be prepttr^f trencZiing,

and if there is a plentiful supply of half decayed leaves at hand, these may bo mixed with good caw and horse manure, and be tvrned up and made to heat through well, turning the outsides into the middle, so that the heat may reach all.parts. Then into the bottom spit, after it is browned up, should be worked with a fork a four-inch to sixinch layed of the manure, and a fair dressing should be also worked into tha

top spit. A dressing of basic slag, quarter lb to the-square yard super,, should also be sown over the bottom spit.. When tlhe whole of the land is finished, a mixture of basic slag and suphate of potash, seven lib of the former, three] and a .half lib of the latter, should be j sown over, and, bo pricked in with, a < fork about four inches?, an rl the land ;be allowed to lay undisturbed until..wanted. for planting, if not planting until the spring. Open a drill with. # sharp hoe and sow the carefully selected: seeds one and a half inches deep, and; ,at least - three > i nci.es apart in tihe row if you wish to have strong, gooi bloom-

ing plants. . As soon as 'the young plants are well afoove the surface, say two inches high,, cultivation should begin and should bo continued regularly throughout ( the season. Prequent" looa-. ening of the soil, and the application of a littile manure water to'the roots, will ensure a good season's bloom. ,It ■vn.l3. be found of great advantage to spray the vines thoroughly with water' from a fine nozzle early in the mornings of bright, hot days. "

Sweet peas succeed' s best iv cool, moist, soil, and we mist not lose sight o£ the fact tihat t»iey j will not do so well planted in the same soil: two years in suecessioni The rows should be so situated that they will receive full sunlight, and an abundance of fresii., air at all times. No faded Mooms or seed: pods should be tolerated, on the vines/, and if we wish. to have out bouquets of this lovely flower look and keep well, we cut the-blooms early in the morning. , - The finest white sweet pea.l ihave grown is "Dorothy Eekford," and the ibest pink is from the seeds of that wonderful orchid-flowered ' ' Countess Speus eer. " Both of these varieties produce numberless giant blossoms on stems 18 inches long. "The names of beautiful sweet peas are legion, and it is useless to-give a list% - . - . . '.-. The 6bjeist of the gardener is to make tlhese blooms.as early as possible, ibu!t during the cold months they make very little progress. The blooming period may be considerably hastened by keeping the plants perfectly clear of weeds and grass, and keeping tie ground around-them constantly hoed., Tine sweet pea, like the vegetable^ variety, should be ..planted at regular intervals, say, two months, so as to obtain, a long succession of blooms.; It'.| is necessary'to pxerent the plants from seedinig or else they bloom but a very short time. i -Tite great point in this culture Is the production of flowers of large size, of good substance, and above all things of good length in the stalk or stem.

INCREASING HOOK PLANTS BY DIVISION. The propagation." of rock garden plants by division of the clumps or root stocks is a reliable- and easy means of obtaining fresh plants of favourite kinds. Most of them, can be propagated in this .way and there is none safer because one can generally detach, pieces which already have a few roots. Sometimes it is not even necessary to disturb the old plant; it is sufficient just to take away some of the outer shoots with roots attached^ A handfork is the most useful tool wit>h. which to divide the plants. It enables one to disentangle the masses of rdot, whereas if a trowel is used many of -the roots will be damaged. The season at which to increase rock, plants by division is largely influenced by the time of flowering. A useful general rule is to "divide tihose wMch. flower in Bpring and early summer in March and April, and to deal with those that bloom in late summer and tutumn j during August arid September. As a i matter dsE fact all the easily cultivated rockery plants can be propagated when ever the soil and weather conditions are favourable from early March, until tie end of August. Thiere ate, of cotOTe, numerous exceptions as, for .ex*'; ample, the jJwarf Bearded Crimeaa Flag Irises wMch should be lifted v^na divided at the end of January or duxing September. It iB desirable to divide

the spring-flowering Primulas in late summer, choosing a time when the weather is not very dry and -hot. A great advantage of the method of propagation, by division is that many of the plants are lifted, divided, anid re-planted at. once wheTe they are to remain without any preparatory " nursing ". in a frame or on a reserve border. In dealing with, some rare and tendeT plants i'tmay be desirable to pot up at least the weaker pieces and give them a start in a cold frame."

When dealing with large clumps the outer . portions should be chosen, for replanting, as they are invari&My healthier and more vigorous than tie

centres. T>his is-really a very simple mode of propagation-—separating the clumps into several portions, each with a few roots attached...

Some, spring-flowering plants, Aubrietia sinci. Mossy Saxifrage, for instance, are frequently lifted and 7 divided in summer and the pieces So-muet /"better if planted oit a somewhat shady bbidei: where they are cool and moist and not1 exposed to -lot sunshine. Ttoottgi niosfe rockery plants delight in full Kgfit and Runshine "when they reach the adult stage, they appreciate shade from bright sunshine while young, and moist conditions aTe to good groiwtji.. The propagation by division of sucßl plants as tie Alpinß PHloxes and ?in& is assisted if trailing stems are partly covered with sandy soil after; the H-oyt- , ering; season, ends being left to form uew. pilants. when, the stems pro-; duco roots. . . J