GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17687, 26 July 1919, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES.

Br IX Tahbooe.

WORK 808 THE WKWtC THE <iKBKiniOO&K iJJD HUBSERJ. Continue to pot and top-dress the grocnbouse plants, to pat in cuttings id chrysanthemums as the; ' become available and to sow seeds of the early vegetahLos and hardy bedding pLouta. 'Lite possessor of a heated greenhouse ia most fortunate, for though it way neither be desirable nor necessary to hurry on the -young seedlings by growing them in a high temperature, it is a great advantage to be ablo to level up the temperature ao that a steady growth may be obtained. Even a kerosene or gas heater would be appreciated by the tends seedlings on a cold windy night. Very satisfactory results can be obtained with a frame placed in a mild hot-bed, in fact, a properly constructed hot-bed ,if well managed, ia more satisfactory than the ordinary greenhouse, for the'"atmosphere not dry so readily and the temperature is 'more regular. After it hna been uaed for propagating during tie spring' it provides an excellent place for growing marrowa during the summer.

_ I have frequently described the construction of a hot-bed in these notes, so will not go into details on this occasion, but merely mention a few of the main points. Fresh strawy stable manure is necessary, and about an equal quantity of leaves will be required to act as ' a sect of damper, the more leaves the milder the temperature, and the longer it will last. The heap should be thrown up loosely, the leaves being mixed with the manure during; the process, and when fermentation,, has commenced turn it over again, throwing the materials from the outside of the first heap into the centre of fee second, to secure even and steady fermentation. In a few days it will be ready to put into the frame if it is large and deep enough; if not, then it can be built up into a square flat heap on which the frame can b© placed. While filling in or building tip, the manure should be tramped firmly, £or the looser it is the higher the temperature and the quioker it will cool, the firmer it is tramped, within reason, the ■ lower the temperature and the longer it will last. Open the sashes a little during the day to let out the steam and the fumes, and spread a layer of nice light soil all over the Burface. The seeds can be sown in this soil or the soft cuttings can be dibbled into it, but it is really better to sow the seeds in pans or boxes and stand! these on the goal, or to pat the cuttings into pots and to plunge them in it. Open the sashes a little every morning to let out the fumes, and on warm sunny days then? can be opened to prevent the young plants from becoming drawn and spindly. On very cold windy weather it is an adirantago to spread mats or old sacks over the Bashes at nights, temaranfr them daring tho day, of course. can _ also bo used for forcing vegetables and ?n quite a number of useful ways in the garden. The pruning of the -vines should be completed socm,' and any peach or apricot trees grown inside or in pots for forcing can also be pruned now. Chrysanthemum cuttings which were put into pots or booreg early in the season will bo rooted, now and ready to pot up into 3m pots. Use a fairly rongfi mixture will eiicourage the development of fibrous roots, such as turfy loam two parts, leafrrKruM one part, and! sand one part, with a Bprinklmsr of bono meal. Pot fairlv firm to secure short-Jointed sturdy growth and etand in a frame or on the bench of the preonhouse up near the irlass. Water well, shadn from strong gun until the roots take to_ the new soil, and spray overhead on bright days. THE (PLOWJSH QATCDKBu Continue to clean up leaves which have blown in among the growing plants and round the edges of the beds said bordere, wood and £onk over the beds in which bul-be OTO planted, and continue to prune and-dig the shrubbery borders. Keep the rock garden weeded and cleaned, eend keep a sharp lookout for the first signs of slugs. They hide under such matty plants as orfbretias and mossy phlox, and • come out at nights to eat up the flower buds. Dust freshly slacked' under the plants and in their hidSnir places, and water the dense plants with lime water, which is made by soaking a 6in potful of freshlyBlacked lime in a kerosene tinful of water overnight and drawing off the clear liquid in the morning. Alpine plants start growth early, and the spring is the main season on the rock garden, therefore it is important that it be kept neat ,tidy, and dean for the nest three months. THE ESUIT A2TD TBGTBXABLB GARDEN. Peach and apricot trees" growing on walls or fences can ba pruned now; the buds ore sufficiently fax advanced to enable us to distinguish between the flower and leaf buds. Peaches can be grown quite well in and round Dunedin, provided early -varieties or© planted and they are kopt young and vigorous by careful and' satisfactory' pruning. _ Peaches bear their fruit an the young ripened wood which grew during the previous season, and the main idea when pruning should be to tie in as many young ripened shoots aa there is room for—in fact, the whole rurfaoe occupied by the tree should b® covered with young wood. There is no difficulty in getting plenty of suitable wood on the outaid e fringe of tho tree, but the centre should b» furnished as well, and there the young wood is tied on top of the old bare shoots or in between the brandies wherever there is rsom. The fan shape >* the most suitable for peachea, and v.-faen trailing a young tree you begin \tiLh three branches, and as these radiate upwards and outwaids tho number 'j increased iirsfc to six, then to 12 and sr on until the whole wall Js covered. To enable the leaves to develop properly the branches and twigs should bo irota six to iiino inches apart. Knst of all cut out all dead and decaying wood and strong branches which grow outwards from ti e wall, and next all thro, twiggy ones which have only a few flower buds on them. After thinning out the branches to the number necessary for covering he wall, cut off tho unripened tips of tho young shoots which are to bo tied in, and remove all tho old ties. There

ore several methods of fastening trees to walls; tho method usually adopted with brick walls ia to us o strips of oloth called phreds for holding tho brandies and fastening theso with wall nails. Another method is to fasten wires or wiro netting about thrco_ inches out from tho wall and to tie the stems to it, bet when fastening to wooden walls or fences the simplest wjy La to drive in Email nails or staples and tio the branches and twigs to fctcm. preferably with tar twine. When a tree has folly, occupied its allotted space it is often necessary to remove whole branches to make room for the young wood, for aa already mentioned, is absolutely nooessiry to keep the tree young and vigorous. Youth and vigour mean clean growth and plenty of fruit, old ago and docay blighte and diseases. ' • The apricot is also grown on walls and fences; it bears its fruit on both tho old And young woods, bat principally an tho which era found-

cm the old sterna. The best frorita are bornp on she young shoots, and a. few of these should be tied in alongside tho old stems, bat OTOrcrowding should be avoided. It ia not advisable to haw til© stems closer than 10 to 12 inches. When pruning cut out all doad and decaying wood as usual, then shorten back tho leading shoote to about two feot according to the wall apace available, and shorten back a few of the side shoots to about a foot and tie tWn in between tho old branches. Occassional ly yonng shoote spring from Uio ends of tho twiggy spurs and these should be out right out. If all tlx? branches are maintained in a healthy maimer and evenly distributed so that eatih receives its proper share of sunlight and sap, the tree will remain healthy and fruitful provided the soil conditions and aspect are satisfactory, i'lgs do well trained on a, wall, and aa they will grow in a dry, snnny position where there is very little soil, there aro frequently positions which sait them bettor than any other fruit tree. All tho pruning they roquire ia to thin oat the branchcs to allow tlie leaves room to develojp and as the stems are stift" and strong it is not necessary to nail them up like peaches and apricots.

Vines grow very well against walls and over porohes, and if planted in a warm, sunny position and properly treated grapes can be ripened. They require to be pruned in tho same manner as those growing in the vinery, the young wood being shortened back to one or more brads. Rub off the rough bark and wash tho rods with clean or .soapy wator, then remove the loose surface soil from the border in which they are growing, fork in some bone meal, or vine and plant manure, top-dress with some good loam, and mulch with cow manure or well-decayed stable manure. Even though a vine never bore any fruit, it is well worth growing for its foliage, and aa it is seldom attacked by blights of any kind is very suitable for growing on a wooden house. Continue to clear away spent crops in the vegetable garden and to dig, trench, and manure all .vacant ground. The pruning of gooseberry and currant) bushes should bo completed aa soon as possible and all planting done. ANSWERS TO (X)mESPONDENTS. "Buoybia," Fairfield.—Podocarpus tot&ra and several other oonifene, suoh as the red wood, Oupressus Lawsoniana, and others of that type can be grown quite well from cuttings. Take short pieces of well ripened young wood and either pull them out with a heel or cut them across immediately below a branch, remove, a few of the lower leaves and if

tlie growing points ere vory soft oat them out. Prepare deep boxes, providing good drainage aa usual, and fill them with, catting soil. Place a layer of clean sand on top and then dibble in the cuttings abojit two inohos apart, and after "watering, stand them on tho shady sido of 6 wall or hedge. They bake a long time to make' up their minds aa to whether they wall grow or not, but when signs of growth are evident the boxes o-m b© shifted out into th® sun to encourage sturdy, healthy growth. If aide brandies axe used for oottin-gB tier© is sometimes a difficulty in getting them to grow upright, but this difficulty can be overcomo by cutting tho plant fairly hard back, wJiean a new stem with upright habit of growth will arise. lam afraid I cannot identify the orchid from your description. Erinus nrucronata and E. autumnalis grow on trees in the bush near Dunedin.