GARDENS IN TAUPO

Taupo Times, Volume II, Issue 82, 12 August 1953, Page 7

GARDENS IN TAUPO

GROWING SWEET-PEAS The popularity of the sweet-pea increases with every year that passes. It is one of the most useful hardy plants for the production of cut flowers for decorative work around the home. It is really an annual but can be treated as a biennial, seed being sown in the autumn for the following season's flowering. But excellent results can be obtained by spring sowing. If planted now it is best to sow the the seed in pots, three seeds to a pot, or in boxes. Cover with glass till the seeds germinate, then keep the containers in a warm sheltered spot till the plants are about four inches high. Give support as soon as it is needed. They can then be planted out in their permanent home. If the seed is planted in the autumn or later in the spring it can be sown directly into the prepared place in the garden. Secret of Success The secret of successful sweet-pea cultivation, as it is of every other flower that we so admire if grown to perfection, lies in the careful preparation of the soil. And it is this operation that should be seen to now. The ground should be trenched for at least two f^et, for deep cultivation of the soil is essential. Add well rotted manure or compost. If the sweet-peas be planted out into a newly made trench at the base of which is" a mass of fresh rank manure, it is inevitable that when the tender young roots come in contact with it they will suffer accordingly. Some form of support is needed, wire-netting or scrub may be used. Perhaps you would like to grow them in clumps, and if so use slender sticks about eight feet long. Place three together, tie at the top wigT/am fashion, intertwine with string, or wind a piece of wire-netting around. If the finest blooms are to be had ample space must be allowed between the plants, six to twelve inches being required. I belieye that if eighteen inches were allowed the plant would fill up the space, providing the soil were rich enough. Sweet-peas soon suffer during dry weather so they should be given a mulch, and frequent waterings if possible, occasionally with liquid manures. Soot-water helps to intensify the colour of the flowers. The more the flowers are cut the more the plant seems to bloom. The Sweet-pea Family The sweet-pea belongs to that large family, Leguminosae, which, next to the grass family, provides man with the most food. Its distribution is world wide, although it is poorly represented in our own native flora. The three most well-known ones are Sophora, the kowhai; Clianthus, the scarlet kaka-beak; and the Carmichaelia, the native broom. This is not to be confused with the introduced variety that abounds in Taupo, although the native variety is found in this district, its Maori name being taupoka. The New Zealand broom is nearly leafless, the twig being flattened out to perform the function of leaves, which goes to show that New Zealand was at one time much drier than it is now. The reduction of leaf surface has probably come about in an attempt to proteet the plants from loss of moisture, and there is evidence indicating that the Carmichaelias were once leaf-bearing forest shrubs. The reduction of leaf surface and flattening of the branches is useful in various ways, one being that eyaporation of moisture from the plant is retarded.