Culture and Care of Annual Climbers 



Wtn. Hunt, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph 



I 



FOR most annual climbers a light, 

 ricii, friable soil is necessary to en- 

 sure success. Plenty of well-rotted 

 manure, leaf soil, or black soil from 

 the bush should be dug into the soil 



The Morning Glory Vine 



where annual climbers are sown or 

 planted. For many of them, except 

 sweet peas and runner beans, a very 

 deep soil is not so necessary ; they re 

 quire plenty of good soil and lots of 

 room, however, to spread their roots in. 



SWEET PEAS 



Sweet peas require a deep, fairly rich 

 .soil to produce the best flowering re- 

 sults. A trench about a foot in depth 

 should be dug in an open place in the 

 garden. The trench should be about 

 the width of a spade. At the bottom 

 of the trench, place four or five inches 

 of well rotted manure packed down firm- 

 ly. Fill the trench with good soil to 

 within an inch or two of the surface. 

 Then make a shallow trench the whole 

 length about three inches in depth. In 

 this, sow the seed an inch or two apart 

 and cover about two inches deep with 

 soil, leaving a .slight depression when 

 the ground is raked over the peas. The 

 plants can be thinned to three or four 

 inches apart when the plants are five 

 or six inches in height. 



The flowers should be picked every 

 day to help prolong the flowering sea- 

 son. If the flowers are not kept pick- 

 ed, they develop seed pods and stop 

 flowering early in the season. 



Sweet peas require plenty of water 



at the roots. Sufficient water to soak 

 the soil to the bottom of the trench 

 should be given once a week in hot, 

 dry weather. Start watering the plants 

 before the lower leaves begin to turn 

 yellow to get best results. Light water- 

 ings are of no use to sweet peas, give 

 plenty of water and less frequent wa- 

 terings, rather than only to sprinkle the 

 top soil. In rich, loamy soil it may not 

 be necessary to trench as mentioned, but 

 I find that the plants stand the drought 

 and heat of summer much better in any 

 soil when treated as I have described. 

 Wide meshed poultry netting or brush 

 wood stakes of maple or similar wood 

 makes a good support for sweet peas. 

 I prefer boughs of the maple tree when 

 they can be had. The support should 

 be five or six feet in height at the least. 

 Sow sweet peas as early in spring as 

 the ground can be worked properly, they 

 cannot be sown too early. 



CLIMBING BEANS 



Scarlet Runner and Hyacinth beans 

 like a deep rich soil, and plenty of water, 

 and succeed best when 

 a trench is made 

 for them as recom- 

 mended for sweet 

 peas. The east or 

 north side of a build- 

 ing will suit these 

 beans very well, if 

 not too shaded ; but 

 with plenty of water 

 they will grow and 

 flower very well in the 

 open garden. Bean 

 seed should not be 

 sown until about the 

 third week in May . 



CONVOLVULUS 



The common morn- 

 ing glory (Convolvul- 

 us major,) Japanese 

 Morning Glory (Ipo- 

 meea imperialis), cy- 

 press vine (Iponicea 

 Quamoclit), and the 

 moon-flower (Ipomcea 

 f!:randi flora) are all 

 good annual climbers. 

 An eastern aspect or 

 a position where they 

 are not exposed to the 

 hot noon-day sun,' 

 suits all of the Convolvulus family the 

 best. Seeds of the moonflower are best 

 sown early in-doors, or in a hot-bed, 

 about the middle of April. About the 

 end of May is early enough to sow con- 

 volvus seed out of doors. 



There is no more effective climber than 

 the wild cucumber (Echinocystis lobata), 

 for covering a trellis quickly. It re- 

 quires a rich soil and plenty of moisture 

 overhead and at the roots to give the 

 best results. Its beautiful racemes of 

 white flowers make it a very conspicu- 

 ous object when grown properly. A po- 

 sition shaded from the noonday sun on 

 the east or northeast side of a building' 

 suits it best, so as to hold its foliage in 

 good color. 



JAPANESE HOP 



Japanese Hop [Humulus Japonicus). 

 Both the plain and variegated types of 

 this plant are very pretty climbers. Sow 

 the seed out of doors about the end of 

 May. These do not object to a more sun- 

 ny position than some climbers. 



ORNAMENTAL GOURDS 



Ornamental gourds are suitable only 

 for the back yard or for covering an un- 

 sightly rubbish pile, or, at best, some 

 place not too prominent in the garden. 

 The shape of the fruit of many varieties 

 makes them a curiosity. From a dec- 

 orative point of view the running vine 

 varieties of the vegetable marrow squash 



Backyards of Two Neiibbors Wbo Work in Harmony 



Theoneat loft is thai of Mr. C. G. Piiiitrle, Toronto, who l)eiii|f a commorcial 



traveller has only Saturdays to devote to it. The results sliow what 



enttuisiasin can do. 



are almost as pretty. The fruit of the 

 last named is useful for culinary pur- 

 poses. 



Cobea scandens is not an annual real- 

 ly, but like many other perennial plants 

 succeeds well grown from seed as an an- 



