THE GARDEN

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 940, 5 April 1930, Page 30

THE GARDEN

By

LEONARD A. GRIFFITHS,

F.R.H.S.

‘•The glory of the garden or cupieth oil icho come.'’ — Kipling.

STRAWBERRIES

SOME REASONS WHY THEY FAIL Many gardeners are not successful with their attempts at strawberry g rowing. Now that the season for planting is here again, these halfdozen hints may help backward growers. (1.) Runners not required are often left on the parents too long after crop is finished, and so weaken the plants. (2.) Runners taken from plants that have been grow'n too long in the one garden, and so are getting worn out. I would impress upon the amateur starting to grow strawberries to obtain plants from a reliable firm, as many make a speciality in growing these, such as Laxton’s and Bunvard’s, and many others. If one has to pay a little extra it is worth it. It is well to get plants from a different district, as X think they are just like potatoes, and better for a complete change. (3.) Strawberries require well manuring every year to expect success. They can be given a dressing of manure in September, or loz sulphate of potash, 2oz superphosphate, applied in autumn to square yard, or loz nitrate of soda a square yard when fruit has set. Plants cannot do well if in starved condition. (4.) Shallow planting should bo avoided. Plant fairly deep. Keep plants clean by using any of the insecticides advertised for the purpose, kook over plants after frost, as any newly-planted are apt to get loosened.

15.) If plants do not look robust enough first season, I would prefer to nip off all flowers, and thus help plants for following season. In gardens that consist of sandy loam, one has to be careful to see plants do not suffer from want of moisture when fruit is setting, which is the great trouble in most gardens where soil is light. ANSWERS TO PUZZLED GARDENERS W. 8., Kaitaia:—-U) If it is your intention to have sweet peas for cutting in November, I should advise you to sow only the summer flowering variety about the end of June. By being- staked and the laterals removed as you suggest. :t does not make them flower earlier, but produces finer and larger blooms. (2) Sweet Sultans may be ready for planting out in August. F. 8., St. Heliers Bay:—(1) The best time to prune your hedge is through the autumn months and then again in the spring. (2) Unless the three of Babyana is an ugly shape, I would not prune it at all until it is too large, and then it should be cut back. Your tree will probably flower the fourth year after transplanting.

PRUNING ROSES

One of the most important operations of this month is the careful turning over of the soil and the pruning of the rose trees. The rose-beds should be well dug over and the soil will then get the benefit of the winter frosts. Pruning may commence this month before the sap starts to rise. The main object of pruning is to assist the bush to produce better flowers and maintain the vigour and symmetry of its growth. An effort should be made year by year to produce new flowering growth, and this can only be done by careful pruning. The hybrid tea varieties of roses are among the most widely grown. This beautiful class possesses a compact bushy habit of growth, flowering most of the year through.

First remove all the dead wood, together with any weak, spindly growth. Select the strongest growths, cutting them down to 18in. from the ground. Always cut half an inch

above an outside bud, making a clean slanting cut. This will prevent overcrowding with the new growth and help to keep the centre clear. When extra quality rose blooms are required, the side buds can be nipped out, leaving the centre bud free; thus the nourishment for the three buds Is forced into the remaining one and the “Queen of all Flowers” will burst into fragrant glory.

CROP ROTATION

Rotation! Y’es, rotation! The following of one vegetable crop with another crop that will benefit by something which the preceding crop left in the soil, or took out of the soil. Science very often puzzles the amateurs. Almost all men want to know how to get the best results out of their hobby job. Rule of thumb methods are often of more value than scientific findings that take a lot of explaining. Now and again a straight, out scientific notion or two can be put to good use. More often the scientific fact is hard to understand and harder still to apply.

Rotation, then, has to do with cropping the land with vegetables or. flowering plants of different orders. 1 and of different systems, so that we might get better results for our labours, and hold the land in better condition. Beans are not supposed to follow j peas, and cauliflowers should not, according to the system, be planted in \ the same ground that cabbages were just taken out of. Legumes after legumes, the scien-j tists say, is wrong; brassica after! brassica is bad gardening. But dahlias are grown after dahlias and roses are grown in the land in which roses have been growing for years, and, tomatoes go into the same place year in and year out ill lots of market gardens. But for the present let us put forward the fairly safe recommendations which are made by competent kitchen gardeners. After beans, use cabbages, cauliflowers, leeks or turnips. After beet, peas, beans, cauliflowers or cabbage. After cabbages, celery, potatoes, onions, marrows, melons, carrots, beets and cucumbers. After carrots, glow cabbages, onions, peas and beans. After onions, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, beans, liotatoes. After tomatoes, carrots, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower, celery. After potatoes, beans, cauliflower, and cabbage. After cucumbers, lettuce, peas, cabbage, cauliflower. The above is a rough and ready table that will do to work to. It is near enough for an amateur. Don’t be too scientific. Lots of people grow sweet peas in the same backyard year after year; others raise Iceland poppies on the same holding. Most men break the hard and fast garden rules time and again. Indeed, we many a time think that in the breaking of a rule we are breaking new ground, and stand a ] chance of doing something.

CARNATIONS

THE BORDER QUEEN

Origin. —The popularity eujoyed by the carnation dates back many centuries, and the fact that it was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans proves it to be a very old plant. Pliny places its earliest habitat in Spain, where he states it was found in the days of Augustus Caesar. It is difficult to say when the plant first appeared in Britain. We are given to ..understand that the original flower was flesh-coloured, and according to Gerarde, yellow varieties were not introduced until 15S0.

There are scores of excellent and absorbing legends woven round the

history of this popular garden favoi ite, which has endeared itself to hi

ticulturists the world over. Its attractive form, diversity of colouring and delicious perfume, are obviously the explanation of its far-flung popularity. Development. During modern years, there has been phenomenal development among carnations, and on the show benches as well as displayed in the plantsmen’s windows we observe the painstaking results achieved by the hydridisers. Various classes or types have been developed, each with its own distinctive peculiarities, and a wonderful array of exquisite tintings. Carnations are ideal garden tenants, and attractive subjects for beds and borders. Although oft-times raised from seed, the flowers seldom possess any marked quality, but make useful garden material. The Marguerite types are particularly useful in this direction. The best method of propagating

good named varieties is to “tongue" the young shoots dating the summer. This operation sinKily consists of making a longitudinal slit, about an 1 inch in length along the stem with a sharp knife, and gerstly drawing it i open, aud slipping in a small pebble to keep the surfaces apasrt. Roots will j speedily form, and the shoot, now a j separate plant, may be severed from the parent. Cultivation.—-April, May and June are the best months to plant out carnations for early flowering. There is now a ■wonderful selection of named varieties for the amateur to choose from, and no time should be lost in commencing work. Although it may be said that carnations adapt themselves to quite a variety of soils, we are of the opinion that a sweet, easily worked sandy loam will prove the most satisfactory for their most successful culture. The plants revel in a roomy j open situation, with maximum sun- j light and air, and positively rebels at j coddling and cramping. Where practic-1 able give them a bed entirely to j themselves. The bed decided upon should be I thoroughly drained, and enriched with i some well-decomposed dairy manure j worked into the soil at least 12in. | Rank manures are to be avoided, and j overcrowding' is the forerunner of disease. As an after application to manuring, lime is highly beneficial, as it assists in keeping the soil sweet and liberates valuable plant foods simultaneous!}".