IN THE GARDEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 February 1940, Page 4

IN THE GARDEN

THE FL’SCHIA

TIME FOR TRIMMING. If your fuchsias require trimming this is a good time to do it. Done now it gives the plants plenty of time to get into growth before the bad weather comes. There are great decorative possibilities in the Fuchsia. You can do almost as you like with them, and train them to almost any. shape. The fuchsia is propagated by cutlings, and by seed for raising new varieties. Io produce new varieties it is necessary that the seed should be hybridised, otherwise there is little chance of raising anything that is desirable. The seed should be thoroughly ripe when gathered and should be washed to separate it from the pulp; it can then be sown at once, but if not convenient it must be dried and stored until required. Sow in shallow pans in light, sandy soil. Sow thinly and cover lightly. vVhen the seedlings are large enough co handle they should be potted into very small pots. Any seedlings with very narrow, pointed, small foliage can oe discarded at once as they invariably only give s/nall weedy flowers. When the plants bloom, retain none but those with well-defined colours, -opals broad, stout, and refiexed, free oloomers. Cuttings can be taken off at any time or the year, but autumn gives the best results. Choose strong, young shoots, make the cuttings about Sin long with three or four joints, take off the two 1 lower leaves, and cut clean across be- I low the lowest point. Insert them lin deep in sandy soil or in pure sand. Keep moist and shaded till rooted, j •//hen growing, pot off, or plant out. ' A half-shady, sheltered position suits the fuchsia admirably. When the plants are 6in or Bin high they need f stopping. Some of the stronger growers will need stopping two or three times. | Stop the laterals' shoots when they ,iave made two leaves. The method of stopping will depend upon what form ..< desired. In the case of standard I plants the main stem must be staked [ and allowed to grow lo the full height £ oefore stopping and so on. One point ,o be noted is to see that the topmost I shoots or laterals do not out-grow the lower ones and give a top-heavy plant.

CELERY

USEFUL WINTER VEGETABLE. Celery is one of the most useful vegetables that can be grown for winter use. If it is well grown it will stand almost any amount of frost. It must have I plenty of water to give it a good start. It often happens, however, that manure from stables is hard to gel at this time of the year, but a good substitute can be found in the manure from sheep trucks mixed with equal quantities of good rotten stuff from the compost heap. A gardener who was talking about)

HINTS FOR THE AMATEUR Fruit, Flowers and Vegetables WORK FOR THE WEEK VEGETABLE GARDEN. Plant cut celery and shade for a few days. Keep plants well watered in dry weather. Sow dwarf beans to provide successions! crops. Bend down the tops of autumn sown’onions to encourage ripening. Keep the hoe going amongst growing crops. Keep runner beans closely picked and give the rows an ounce of superphosphate to each yard run of row. i Pinch out the tips of marrows, melons, pumpkins, etc, to cause laterals to form. A liberal sowing of endive should be made where salads are in demand. Firm the soil well before planting the late varieties of broccoli. Spray cabbage and cauliflower crops with nicotine sulphate or arsenate of lead to combat the insect pests. Encourage all the growth possible on asparagus beds by topdressing. Vacant plots not required for cropping should be sown down with a green crop for digging in later. Make sowings of spinach, short carrots, white and yellow turnips and round beet. FLOWER GARDEN. Lift, clean and divide bulbs. Dahlias and chrysanthemums should have the surface soil loose around them. Spray chrysanthemums and roses for mildew. Border carnations shoula be layered as soon as ; possible. Sow anemone and ranunculus seed in prepared beds; keep shaded from hot sun and keep moist. The pruning of rambler roses should be attended to as soon as the flowering is past. Cut out the seed spikes from antirrhinums and other annuals, so that the plants may continue to flower. Prick off the early-sown Iceland poppies; keep cool and moist away from the direct sunlight. Keep spent blooms removed from any flowering plants in the borders to prevent seed forming. Prepare sweet pea trenches for autumn sowing. Give a summer pruning to encourage a good annual growth on roses. Water asters when necessary. Give artificial manure and tie.up tall plants. FRUIT GARDEN. Spray for brown rot. Use colloidal or wettable sulphur. Peaches and plums must be sprayed for brown rot. Add arsenate of lead tc spray mixture to control leech and bronze beetle. Prepare the sites for new strawberry beds in good time so that the land may have time to settle. Vineries from which grapes have been cut should be freely ventilated both day and night. If .the leaves of the vines are infested with insect pests, give a thorough spraying with insecticide. Remove the suckers from the base of plum trees where these are evident; break them off at their point of origin. The ties will need loosening on the early budded trees; replace those buds which have not taken.

growing celery the other day said he preferred this mixture to stable manure for the purpose. His plan was to plant in single rows three feet six inches apart in very shallow trehches, and then earth up on mu'ch the same principle that you would earth up or mould potatoes. Before drawing the earth up to the stems it pays to wrap brown paper round them to keep dirt out of the centres. Leeks will grow well in the same mixture of manure, and should be put out as soon as the ground is workable. A little nitrate of soda sprinkled along the rows is a splendid thing as soon as the plants get a start.