Garden

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 648, 27 April 1929, Page 32

Garden

By

LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS F.R.H.S.,

"The very perfume of flowers seems to be an incense ascending up to heaven .” E. Jesse.

CULTIVATION HARDY SUBJECTS TO GROW Introduction Many of our readers have requested information through our columns regarding the greenhouse culture of hardy subjects. To satisfy this demand and for the benefit of readers who have small houses of their own, the Editor has asked me to contribute an article which I hope will prove both interesting and instructing to amateur gardeners. The planning of the greenhouse is just or more important than the planning of the garden. For in the greenhouse we should raise choice ferns and pot plants for decorating our drawing rooms and giving us a continuous wealth of bloom the whole year round. What Is a Greenhouse? A greenhouse is a glass-roofed structure devoted to the cultivation of plants that require protection from the weather. Plants that usually grow in such houses are known as greenhouse plants. Span-roofed houses are the best for general purposes, the height being determined by the width. Lean-to glasshouses are popular in some gardens when little space is available and some excellent results are obtained. In all houses, no matter how they are constructed, correct ventilation is essential. In addition to the sidelights being made to open, it is necessary to provide for roof ventilation. To secure this there is nothing more simple or effective than a hinged light on each side of the ridge worked by a lever. This allows the air to be given even in wet weather, whichever side is most favourable. Taking Cuttings Under Glass— Hardy Subjects Most people possessing glasshouses like, at some time or other, to increase the stock of a choice plant that they are cultivating by means of cuttings. A cutting is any rootless portion of a plant that is removed and utilised for the purpose of propagation. Cuttings should be taken only from healthy plants. Vigorous shoots, accustomed to receive a very abundant supply of nourishment, are not so well able to keep alive when deprived of that supply as others that have been less highly fed. Some kinds of plants, as the Geranium and Lavender, strike from either old or young wood, but as a general rule well matured shoots of the current year’s growth are the parts to select for most subjects. In the case of hard-wooded plants, care is required in selecting the shoot, the wood of which is neither too old and hard nor too young and soft. With unknown plants it is well to insert

cuttings of different degrees of firmness and observe which succeed the best. Time to Take Cuttings of hardy plants such as Calceolarias, Tree Begonias, Geraniums, Irisene, Lavender, Ericas, etc., strike best when inserted in the autumn. A good rule is to put in soft wooded cuttings such as Coleus in the spring and hard-wooded cuttings in the autumn. There are, of course, many plants that are propagated easily at any season of the year. The materials in which cuttings are struck are various, but clean silver sand mixed with a little leaf mould is best. Sand is porous, yet, being fine, retains moisture.

Easily rooted cuttings such as Fuchsias, Chrysanthemums and Dahlias, will do well in a mixture of five parts soil and one part sand. Hardwooded heaths and plants like roses, box, laurels, etc., will root in ordinary garden soil. Cyclamen for Indoors These bulbous plants are excellent subjects for growing in pots for decorating the staging of the greenhouse and may be carried indoors for house decoration after. First year seedlings

carrying about six leaves should be set in 5-inch pots, where they will thrive well for the first season. Good sandy loam with ample drainage is the best soil for cyclamen. Never let the growing plants become dry at any stage of their growth. On the other hand, they must not be kept saturated with water and on no account must bulbs. So long as the soil feels damp to the touch this should be sufficient. When buds are forming, liquid manure may be given once every eight days to help to stimulate the growth and increase the size of the flow'ers. Blooms should never be cut off the plant, but the stems simply twisted off at a crown of the bulb. A well-looked after pot of cyclamen will flower for some months and the older the bulb, the more flowers it will produce. When the bulb has finished flowering and the leaves begin to wither, the pot should be allowed to slowly dry up and afterwards be turned on its side until the foliage has completely disappeared. The following season the bulb may be shifted into a larger pot when the growing season commences. Hardy Primulas

Primulas are world-popular for greenhouse cultivation. Some exquisite colours may be obtained by isowing seed in pans and transplanting later when large enough to handle. There are two species that dispute favouritism, Obconica and Sinensis; both are excellent flowers and it is just a matter of opinion which is preferred. Young seedlings can often be obtained for potting on if only a few are required; this saves much labour and time, especially if the space is limited. Leaf mould is the primula’s special soil, with a little rotted manure at the bottom of the pot. They are winter flowers, and a nice warm shelf near the glass suits them beautifully. Like Cyclamen, they do not require to be over watered, although they never want to be over dry. Greenhouse Plants That May Be Raised From Seed Many subjects suitable for a greenhouse culture may be raised from seed. The following are fairly easily jgrown, although, perhaps, some may not flower till the second season: Begonias and Gloxinias are too well

known to describe. Sow the seed on the surface of damp seed pans and cover with a sheet of glass. The bulbs of both varieties may be retained year after year, each season being shifted into larger sized pots. Coleus, the well-known foliage plant, may be raised from seed sown in the spring and potted into thumb pots when large enough. The best colours may be picked out and grown on from cuttings year after year. Cineraria and Primula Malacoides are two hardy and easily grown flowering plants from seed. Rex Begonias, Calceolaria, Petunias and Gesnerica are all subjects that help to brighten up dull corners in the greenhouse. TERMS EXPLAINED HOTBED A bed of fermenting material, such as stable manure and tree leaves, used beneath a garden frame or elsewhere to maintain warmth for crops which need this assistance early in the year. HUMUS Briefly, “humus” is the decayed vegetable mould in soils produced as the result of manuring or the decay of plants; soil fertility largely depends on the presence of humus.