THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 4029, 2 June 1931, Page 11

THE GARDEN

gWORK FOR THE notes by "sssSShSB

D.TANNOCK, A.H.R.H.S.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Though frost has not done much harm to the more tender bedding plants such as cannas and fuchsias, it is just as well to get them under cover. The fuchsias should be shortened back a bit. and then potted up into as small pots as possible. Cannas can be packed into deep boxes of light soil and stood under the greenhouse stage or in a frame until growth starts in the spring, when they can be divided up and put into tins or .large pots. Take the chrysanthemum cuttings as they become available, put them into small pots of light, sandy soil. Stand these in a box or small frame on the greenhouse stage, and cover with a sheet of glass. Shade with papers during sunny weather, and maintain moist condition to prevent wilting. Those which have been growing in the open can be lifted and put into boxes of light soil, and put out in a cold frame until early spring, when they can be broken up or cuttings can be put in.

THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Continue the work of trenching and digging, give the late celery its final earthing up, and keep winter and spring crops free of weeds and dead leaves. Flant out bush fruits of all kinds, clean off the asparagus bed, weed and fork it over, in preparation for top-dressing. Continue to prune the bush fruits, clean tip the leaves and prunings and dig amongst them, and when this work is completed start on the apple, plum, and pear trees. Lift and store beet, parsnips, and carrots if the ground is required for digging, trenching, or other crops, repair paths and fences, and see that all drains are working properly. GREENHOUSE PRIMULAS Most of the Primulas are hardy, and they thrive quite well in the open, air provided* they get the proper conditions as to shade and moisture, but there are a few species and a great many varieties which flower during the winter, and though they do not require any artificial heat when growing, they have to be protected from the rough weather and the frost when in flower. These Primulas have been improved tremendously during the past few years, and there is how a wonderful wealth and variety of colour far removed from the types. These Primulas come in most useful for providing cut flowers for house decoration at a time when cut flowers are very scarce. They are excellent for furnishing the greenhouse, and make nidst useful house plants. Where greenhouse space is limited it is a great advantage to have plants which can spend the summer in a cold frame and be taken in when the chrysanthemums are over. They are far more useful than chrysanthemums for the small amateur’s greenhouse, and will flower both winter and spring if the seed is sown early enough. Some of the species and hybrids can be propagated by division in summer after the flowering season is over, but the sinensis and malacoidcs types are better when grown from seed every year. Seed can be sown in November, the beginning and the end, to provide a .succession, and as the seeds of the good kinds are both scarce and fairly expensive it is better to sow in pots. These—either five or six inches in size —must be perfectly clean both inside and out, for primulas are particular, and nearly half-filled with crocks to provide drainage. The soil for seed sowing should consist of two parts loam, one leaf-mould, and one of sand and lime rubble.

It is better to soak the pots the night before sowing, and just to cover the seeds which are sown thinly with fine soil. Place a sheet of glass over the pots after sowing, and stand in a greenhouse with a temperature of about 55 degrees. The glass covering will prevent excessive evaporation, and a sheet of paper will provide the necessary shade from strong sunshine until germination takes place. As soon as the seedlings appear the shading has to be removed, and when they are large enough to handle they are pricked out into boxes of light soil or round the inside of five-inch pots, if there are only a few. A little later they are potted up into three-inch pots, and later on into fives or sixes according to the strength of the plants. The soil for the final potting will consist of loam three parts, leaf-mould one part, half a part sand and lime rubble, with a little well-rotted cow or stable manure, and a dusting of bone meal. If there is limited room in the greenhouse or propagating house the plants will do quite well in a cold frame, where they can be stood on a bed of ashes, shaded from strong sunshine during the day, but opened up in the evening unless the weather is cold and windy. By shifting on when the roots reach the sides of the pots and start to grow round the inside, and maintaining cool, moist conditions at all times there will be wellgrown plants starting to flower by the autumn. When the pots are filled with roots a little liquid manure once a week will be an advantage, and an occasional fumigating with X.L. All will keep down green fly and any other insect pests, but

primulas are not really dirty plants provided they are strong and healthy. Primula sinensis was one of the first primulas to be introduced from the East, and though it is known to be a native of China no wild specimens have ever been found. Though it has not been hybridised with any other species the colour range has been widened almost indefinitely, so that some of the modern forms are very attractive. Varieties can now be had in all shades of crimson, pink, blue, and white. The giant flowered types appear to have reached such a stage that they can scarcely be bettered. The flowers are large and decorative, full of substance and rich in colouring, and sit tight on cushions of rich green foliage, which lends additional charm. There is a double form, but in this case I don’t think that doubling is any advantage. Attractive as these varieties are the stellata types are much more useful for providing cut flowers, and as they can now be had in practically all the colours found in the giant forms they are well worth growing, and they will appeal to those who dislike stiff formal flowers. Primula malacoides is a plant of comparatively recent introduction, having been collected in Yunnan by Forrest in 1908. It is one of the finest plants which has been introduced from the East, and is much more useful as cut flowers than either the ordinary sinensis or the variety stellata. It is called “ Fairy Primrose,” and well deserves its name for it is a dainty grower, carrying light and loose flower clusters on thin wiry stems. Since its introduction this species has undergone considerable improvement. The flowers of many of the varieties are larger and more intense in colour than the type. There is a pure white variety, also rose and pink shades, and one with double flowers. Rosalind is the richest rose-coloured variety yet introduced, and is specially attractive under artificial light. Primula obconica is a native of Central China, and when first introduced had small pale lilac or purplish flowers. This is a true perennial, and it flowers practically all the year round, but it has one drawback —the hairs on the undersides of the leaves caused an irritation and dangerous rash on the skin of some persons. Fortunately the large flowered modern varieties are not nearly so bad for stinging as the original species, and it would seem that with the development of the flowers in form and beauty the foliage has lost its objectionable characteristics. The colour range is not so wide as sinensis but it is a very attractive plant, and new shades are being obtained every year. Though it can be raised from seed quite easily the best coloured varieties can be topdressed after flowering, and when the new roots appear they can be broken up and repotted. Primula Kewensis is a true hybrid, a •cross between P. verticillata and P. floribunda. It is a very decorative plant, and from the handsome rosette of leaves some 6in to Bin long, rise the tall flowering stems, bearing three or four whorls of bright yellow flowers which are slightly fragrant. At first the flowers were all one type and were sterile, but now the plant produces seed quite readily, and it is as easy to grow in this way as any of the others. It is quite satisfactory, however, when increased by division, and if topdressed after flowering and broken up and repotted in January it will develop into fine flowering specimens by early spring. Other species suitable for the greenhouse are P. Forbesii, P. Verticillata, P. Floribunda, P. Veitchii, P. Cortusoides. The four Primulas described make a very pretty association, and those who like to specialise could not do better than fill their greenhouse mainly with them and cyclamen. To show the wonderful variations one could have, Sutton’s catalogue contains 12 varieties of P. Stellata, 14 ordinary Sinensis, 5 giant Sinensis, 9 Obconica, and 7 Malacoides. The cost of a complete collection would be considerable. THE FLOWER GARDEN As soon as the herbaceous borders are up, and the spring flowering plants put cleared, the rough of the leaves raked out, a start can be made with the pruning of the rambler loses. This is a comparatively simple operation, but one which is frequently neglected until the plants become a twisted and tangled mass, full of dead wood and old leaves, very susceptible to attacks of both insect and fungoid pests, and quite impossible to spray satisfactorily. When they are making plenty of young growth and the pillars or arches are neither very wide nor very high, all that is necessary is to cut away all the old stems which have flowered, and tie in two or three of the young growths which spring from the base of the plants. When the young growths are' not long enough the side shoots are spurred back to two inches on a few of the old stems, and the young growths taken up as far as they will go. Next year the young stems will extend another few feet, and then the old ones can be cut right out. The whole idea is to keep the plants young and vigorous and open enough to render spraying effective.