Gardening for Amateurs 



793 



protection of tender plants throughout the 

 winter, there are a few important matters 

 to bear in mind. In the first place watering 

 must be very carefully carried out, other- 

 wise an excess of moisture may do a great 

 deal of harm. Plants in a cold frame 

 should only be watered when they really 

 need it, and in carrying out the work as 

 little water as possible should be spilt. 

 Watering is best carried out in the morn- 

 ing, to allow the superabundant moisture 

 to dry up before night. With tender plants 

 in a frame one has always to be prepared 

 for sharp frost, which, unless precaution is 

 taken, may do much damage. If the frame 

 is of wood, at the approach of winter it 

 ought to be banked round with straw, 

 leaves, Bracken, or litter of some kind, for 

 it is useless to put heavy coverings on the 

 glass when the frost has but to penetrate 

 a single board at the sides. Mats, old sacks, 

 pieces of carpet, or similar things may be 

 laid over the glass. In the event of con- 

 tinued frost a little additional covering will 



be needed, and for this purpose some dry 

 loose straw is as good as anything. 



Treatment of Frozen Plants. Should 

 the plants become frozen, nothing can be 

 done while the frost lasts, but when the 

 thaw comes some care in their treatment 

 is needed. However mild the weather may 

 become, if the plants are frozen the frame 

 should not be uncovered or the lights opened 

 for two or three days, by which time the 

 plants will in all probability have thawed. 

 Then give a little air by slightly tilting the 

 lights, but do not uncover the frame to 

 admit the sunlight for two or three days 

 afterwards. In this way even tender plants 

 may be safely brought through a severe 

 spell of frost. An excess of moisture is to 

 be avoided as far as possible, but what- 

 ever care be taken it is damp rather than 

 frost that is most injurious. Zonal Pelar- 

 goniums, for instance, suffer greatly from 

 damp if they are wintered in a cold frame, 

 and they rarely come through the ordeal in 

 a satisfactory manner. 



Hydrangeas in Pots. Amateurs some- 

 times fail with Hydrangeas grown in pots, 

 though similar plants may be quite a success 

 in the garden. One reason for this is that 

 the shoots are not properly ripened during 

 summer and early autumn. If the plants 

 are kept in the greenhouse all the year 

 round, the young stems continue to make 

 growth, and do not harden. Such stems 

 cannot produce flowers. From June until 

 the end of September, should the latter 

 month be fine, stand the plants in the open, 

 fully exposed to the sun. This ensures the 

 growth formed earlier in the year being 

 properly ripened, and if the plants are kept 

 rather dry during winter in cold frames they 

 ought to flower well the following spring. 

 Previous to starting them into growth 

 merely remove the soft tips of the shoots ; 

 harder pruning than this has the effect of 

 reducing the number of flowers, as these are 

 produced from the ripened growths previously 

 alluded to. 



American Blight. Unfortunately, most 

 people are only too familiar with this disease 



of Apple trees and ornamental Crabs, there- 

 fore a very short description will suffice. 

 The injury is due to the presence of an insect 

 called Schizoneura lanigera, which punctures 

 the young branches, causing them to swell 

 and crack. Colonies of insects, which pro- 

 tect themselves from the weather by the 

 well-known white wool-like covering, congre- 

 gate in the crevices, which gradually extend 

 and form canker-like patches. On the 

 approach of severe weather the insects arc 

 said to descend beneath ground and hibernate 

 on the roots. If steps are not taken to 

 eradicate this pest, the trees are soon per- 

 manently injured. A good way of dealing 

 with the disease is to mix a strong solution 

 of soft soap and paraffin, and apply the 

 mixture to each patch during summer by 

 means of a stiff paint brush. During winter 

 a considerable amount of good may be done 

 by spraying the trees with a caustic wash. 

 Some people use pure paraffin for the wounds 

 on the branches during summer, but inex- 

 perienced persons will find the soft soap 

 mixture safer. 



