GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21212, 7 September 1940, Page 14

GARDEN NOTES

SEASONABLE WORK

(By “Nikau”) VEGETABLES AND FRUIT Plant potato, artichoke, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, silver beet (including Swiss chard and perpetual spinach), rhubarb, asparagus, onion and herbs (thyme, mint, sage, chives, parsley, etc.). Sow and keep under glass, tomato, celery, egg plant and cucumber. Sow all hardy vegetables, but especially peas, parsnip, carrot, turnip, lettuce, radish, beetroot, silver beet and leek. Use parsnips and leeks before they spoil. It is too early yet to sow dwarf beans, runners, maize, pumpkins, etc. Examine vegetables and fruit in store; onions, pumpkins, potatoes and apples need a good deal of attention now. Scatter some fertiliser around cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, silver beet, etc., and then stir the surface soil lightly! Earth up peas, broad beans, cabbage and cauliflower, but do not overdo it. Give apple and pear trees a thorough spraying with a fungicide such as Bordeaux (lib. to 8 or 10 gals.) or lime-sulphur (1 in 100). Plant sweet oranges (such as Lue Gim Gong), grape-fruit (the best is Morrison’s Seedless), and lemons (especially Lisbon, Eureka and Meyer). FLOWERS Keep the seed-heads pulled from anemones, calendulas, Iceland poppies, pansies, violas, etc., so that the plants will continue to flower. Now is the time to label the various kinds of spring bulbs. As an extra precaution, take up the bad kinds now and destroy them. Tidy up the rockery and keep a good look-out for snails. Also root out twitch, convolvulus and other running weeds. There is still time to trim back the long, straggly growths of rock plants such as sun rose (Helianthemum), catmint, verbena and arabis. Aubrietia, however, should be left alone, as it is now beginning to flower. Make sure that the ties for standard roses are strong. They should be renewed once a year, and loosened when necessary to prevent cutting in. Plant pansy, viola, Iceland poppy, nemesia, stock, antirrhinum, carnation, aubrietia and other hardy plants. Sow in boxes (kept in a sunny place and protected from rain) : Lobelia, petunia, aster, phlox and delphinium. Sow in the open : Linaria, viscaria, godetia, clarkia, cornflower, larkspur. Put in cuttings of pentstemon, Kew wallflower, hydrangea, fuchsia, geranium, carnation and many rock plants. They root better if the soil is quite sandy. Plant climbers for fences, arches, pergolas, stumps, banks and walls. It is often advisable to put the support some distance from the wall in order to protect the latter. Continue to plant ornamental trees and shrubs.

BURN THE PRUNINGS | , As many of the twigs and branches cut off during the annual pruning • are infected by fungal diseases or attacked by insect pests (scales, i aphides, etc.), it is advisable to burn | all such stuff. For a similar reason j all the mummified fruits on peach, plum and nectarine trees should be burnt, as they are full of spores of the “ripe rot” or “brown rot” fungus. Obviously the pruning should be completed and the rubbish burnt before spraying takes place, otherwise colonies of the pests will be left about the garden to carry on their work of destruction. Fireblight is another disease which can be checked by the removal and burning of wood ! which is seen to be infected. The , next two months are a critical time j in the spread of fireblight, because ' infection takes place through the flowers and young shoots. The disease then works its way down from the twig to the branch, and by midsummer a whole section of the tree may show the characteristic symptoms of fire-blight—leaves and fruit ; drooping as though scorched by a fire. The bark is often marked by a ring or canker, showing how far back . ; the branch has died. | THE GREEN TIP STAGE ! Just now most apple trees are at the “green tip” stage, though a few EQUIP YOUR MILKER THROUQHOUI KVITH

have reached the “open cluster” stage. This is the most important time in the year for spraying such trees, because the bud scales which protected the pests and diseases as well as the buds have fallen. Rather than have the spray too strong, have it comparatively weak, but make sure that every part of the tree above the soil has been reached. Investigators have now decided that thoroughness of application is far more important than strength of spray—for example, lime sulphur at a strength of 1 in 300 or even 400 may be used, if each large tree is allowed several gallons—even as much as six gallons. . AUCKLAND GARDENS Last week the writer had the opportunity of inspecting a number of gardens in and around Auckland. The first were those in the Domain, including the hothouses and greenhouses. It was pleasing to see the hydrangeas pruned in the manner advocated frequently in this column; most of the wood cut out, the young ; shoots halved in number, and the rej mainder shortened only a little, being cut just above double buds. The i climbing roses on the pegolas sur- ! rounding the formal garden are pruned in the orthodox manner; long rods, with only short side-growths, and no spindly wood at all. Some of the roses pruned thus were Lady Hillingdon, Ard’s Rover, Lemon Pillar, and Paul’s Scarlet Climber. The i last-named was an old bush, and yet

it had a good many strong young pods coming from the base. On the arches were wisteria, bignonia, and plumbago, pruned like the roses in long rods and short spurs. As usual, the most interesting plants in the hothouse were the orchids. These had flowers of many shapes and colours. It is remarkable that the blooms of some of them last for ten to twelve weeks, thus making up for the lack of a succession. A papaw fruiting heavily was another object of interest. The greenhouse was closed for repairs, but a peep through the win- i dow revealed masses of primulas of several types. In the fernery the chief object of interest was a native clematis in full bloom. The Parnell Rose Gardens were next visited. The thousands of roses had been carefully pruned; here, again, the orthodox methods had been adopted. The younger bushes had been cut to less than twelve inches, and every bit of dead | wood and spindly growth had been i removed. Even so, the average bush had over seven shoots left. The polyantha roses had been cut to less than eight inches from the ground; it was a treat to see the shoots, over half-an-inch in thickness and as green as a willow. The older bushes (in the first garden) had been brought down to a height of about twelve inches. It was interesting to see that the soil was heavy clay, that a good deal of strawy litter had been dug into it, and that the crowns of the plants were just covered. OTHER GARDENS As usual, the Ellerslie Racecourse gardens were very beautiful. Beds of Iceland poppies, pansies, violas, calendulas, cyclamens, polyanthus, primroses and other plants made the grounds look very gay. The native trees beside the kiosk had made good growth. There were a good many ripe “ plums ” on the taraire, and a few cones on the kauri. The Bird of Paradise flowers along the main drive were again in bloom, ! and so were the many magnolias. The famous private garden in Campbell Road was also visited.. On each side of the winding path the main features were aubrietia, primula, lachenalia and stock, while hyacinth, polyanthus and cineraria were highlights in other parts. In another fortnight this garden should be at its best. Other features of interest will be mentioned on another occasion. THE HORTICULTURAL SHOW Next week an account of the Hamilton Horticultural Society’s Spring Show will be given. If we may judge i by the quantity of bloom in the gar- | dens, the show should be very sucI cessful.