TUB GARDENING WORLD 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
April 24. iqog. 
269 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
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cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as ■possible and written on 
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the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
; _ position of beds and lawns, the charac¬ 
ter and height of the fence or wall ; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
■flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
Geranium Leaves Spotted. 
Would you please inform me what is 
_YviO—g with Geranium leaves enclosed. They 
are picked off new shoots of an old plant 
about five years old trained on trellis work 
and growing in a 16 in. pot. The plant 
has been in a moderately-heated greenhouse 
all winter. About a month ago it was 
treated with some of 'Clay’s Fertilizer. 
(Firs, Hants.) 
The leaves are affected with bacteriosis 
caused by a microscopic fungus which has 
gained entrance possibly through the punc¬ 
tures of aphides, and "bad light and mois¬ 
ture aided the development of the microbes. 
This frequently happens amongst Gera¬ 
niums in the winter time where the plants 
are grown in a greenhouse or in windows, 
especially where the light is not of the best, 
but in winter it is usually altogether too 
weak for the welfare of Pelargoniums. 
Some varieties are also more liable to the 
malady than others. When the stem is badly 
affected the plants may die in winter or at 
least the younger portions of them. As a 
rule, however, if the malady is only of 
moderate extent the plants will grow out of 
it as the sun gets strong and the days 
lengthen. Your best plan is to pick off and 
burn all the leaves that are spotted with 
brown, but particularly those which are as 
bad as those you sent us. The red leaf you 
sent us appeared merely to be dying with 
old age, though possibly it was somewhat 
crippled as well at an earlier stage. Water 
the plant moderately until it gets into full 
giowth. Let it have aLl the sunlight possible 
with plenty of ventilation during the day. 
3803. Treatment of Bouvardias. 
1 have just got some small Bouvardias 
from the nursery and should be glad if you 
would tell me how to grow them and if they 
want pinching as they grow. I should think 
they were struck in February and have just 
been pinched the second time. (Northamp¬ 
ton.) 
As the plants have been pinched the second 
time they should now be beginning to get 
bushy' or laying a good foundation for 
bushy plants. When the roots get partly 
round the sides of the soil just inside the 
pots, shift them into a larger size, making 
the new material as firm as the old. The 
pinching should not be done immediately be¬ 
fore repotting, but after that operation wait 
until the buds are spreading out again. At 
the end of May you may transfer the Bou¬ 
vardias to a cold frame, keeping them rather 
close for a few days until the plants take 
to the lower temperature at night. Syringe 
them in the morning and afternoon of fine 
days. Six-inch pots should be large enough 
in which to flower them \ou should also 
cease to pinch out the tops About the middle 
or July as they should be quite bushy speci¬ 
mens by that time. Ventilate freely after 
the weather becomes quite fine or if. you 
cannot attend to them regularly you would 
meet with good success by standing them 
on a bed of ashes outside where they will 
get a fair amount of sun each day. This 
will harden the wood it grows and in¬ 
cline the plants to flcfWdr well later on. 
When the flower pots get well filled with 
roots you can then feed with weak .liquid 
manure, and that will greatly increase their 
vigour. About the third week of September 
the plants should be taken into a house 
where you can maintain a night temperature 
of 50 degs. By this time much less syring¬ 
ing will be necessary, although the foliage 
will enjoy a sprinkle on fine days until they 
commence flowering. 
3804. Treatment of Spiraeas and 
Deutzias. 
I have two plants each of Spiraea confusa 
and Deutzia gracilis that have finished 
flowering in a heated greenhouse. What 
treatment' should I now give them? Mill 
they flower again next year in pots? (R. 
Mitchell, Dumbartonshire.) 
As soon as the plants cease to be orna¬ 
mental you should prune back the shoots 
that have just flowered within 2 in. of the 
base. Keep an eye on the neat and regular 
shape of the bushes while pruning and let 
the actual pruning be somewhat regulated 
with the object of maintaining the symmetry 
of the bushes. Some of the shoots may be 
left a little longer than the others ; n 
order to give the'bushes a regular rounded 
outline. It would be well to keep the plants 
indoors for a time, keeping them rather dry 
until they commence growing freely, when, 
of course, they wall take plenty of water. 
Until the shoots have burst out again you 
can encourage growth by syringing them 
twice a day. When the plants have made a 
fair amount of growth you can then stand 
them out of doors to thoroughly ripen their 
wood. They should flower next year as 
well, if not better, than they have done this 
vear, if you treat them successfully. - 
3805. Class and Colour of Carnations. 
I have just bought some layers of Carna¬ 
tions, but they do not say on the labels what 
the colours are, or if they are show or fancy, 
etc. Kindly let me know if these Carnations 
would affect Roses if planted near them? 
(Amateur, Lancs.) 
All of the Carnations you name are bor¬ 
der varieties, except, perhaps, The Countess, 
which is unknown to us. If it is meant for 
Countess of Paris, then that is a border 
variety with blush flowers. The others we 
shall classify as follows :—Selfs : Mrs. 
Colby Sharpin, terracotta; Mrs. Sydnev 
Diver, crimson-scarlet; Miss C. Terry should 
be Miss Ellen Terry, white; Sir Henry Irv¬ 
ing, crimson; Germania, clear yellcw ; and 
Orpheus, deep rose. Fancy yellow-ground 
Carnations : Hogarth, rose-red edge and 
markings; Goldylocks, with rose markings: 
Cockatrice, with crimson edge and mark¬ 
ings ; and Aureola, yellow'-buff with dark 
markings. Yellow giound Picotees : 
Gretchen with rose edges; Erasmus with 
crimson edge; and Caracci with rose 
edge. Carnations and Roses would both 
spoil one another to some extent if planted 
’n too close proximity. You should, there¬ 
fore, avoid planting Carnations nearer the 
Roses than 18 in. if possible. We think the 
Carnations would just be as likely to suffer 
as the Roses if they got in any way shaded 
by being overhung with the Roses. They 
grow best when the sun has full access to 
the soil and the Roses likewise when you can 
keep the hoe going amongst them. 
3806. Japanese Hop. 
I had a fine Japanese Hop drained on a 
trellis last year, but the top died away in 
autumn. Will it come up again or must I 
rear it every year from seed. At present 
there is no sign of any further growth. (W. 
Roberts, Co. Down.) 
The Japanese Hop is only an annual, so 
that it is necessary to raise seeds from it 
every year. It is rather late now to get 
good plants to make the best growth in our 
short season, although you could bring them 
along moderately fast by starting them in 
gentle heat. You could get the most of these 
Hops by sowing them in September and 
keeping them in a greenhouse during winter. 
They are then ready to start away into rapid 
growth in spring. 
3807. Treatment of Bulbs After 
Flowering. 
Would you kindly tell me through The 
Gardening World what is the best to do 
with Daffodil, Narcissus and Tulip bulbs 
after they have done flowering. I have 
some in a window box and bed in which I 
want to plant other things. Can they be 
kept in any way for flowering next year, or 
is it best to leave them, where they are? 
(D. Dodd, Hants.) 
You should leave the bulbs both in the 
window box and in the bed as long as pos¬ 
sible, so that the bulbs will be fairly well 
developed before U becomes necessary to 
lift them. For instance, it is not customary 
to fill the beds with their summer occupants 
until the end of May, although in your 
earlv district it may be possible to have it 
done somewhat earlier. In any case, we 
would advise you to leave the bulbs in posi¬ 
tion as long as possible. Then get a fork 
and lift them carefully with all their roots 
and have them planted in a half-shady situ¬ 
ation, laying them in somewhat thickly, but 
not overcrowding the leaves more than you 
can help. Tread the soil about them and 
they will gradually ripen off, after which 
they can be lifted and cleaned. If this is 
done carefully all the best of them at leasrt 
should be fit for planting out again in au¬ 
tumn. You could, of course, single out all 
of the best of them for planting in the pro- 
