Evening star., 1938-08-27

mac Rose Show October l-2)
L by cutting back their roses. Most
Of us have let our roses grow and
bloom during the summer and now
they have many short branches and
buds. For the show We will want
long stems and no side buds Cut the
old stems back to the second or third
leaf. The new shoots will start from
the top buds and by having only a
few buds the strength Of the plant
will 60 into them and produce long
stemmed show bloom 1--WE hope.
How do you cut your glads? Some
people cut them just above the ground
line, and then wonder why they do
not have bulb to dig. Foliage Is
necessary for the development of a
bulb. Cut long stems. but do not
take more than one leaf Stick the
small blade of knife through the
the stem. In this way you will not
greatly injure the leaves and at the
same time you will have a good long
stem.
Some gardeners let their hollyhocks
stand after they have finished bloom
ing with the expectation that they will
seed themselves They will. for they
bear a great many seeds. 50 many
plants will spring up in the beds as
to be a nuisance. The other method
for the home gardener is to cut the
spikes as soon as they have passed
the Towering stage. New shoots will
appear and give a small burst of
bloom in late summer.
The annual summer gladiolus shows
have again demonstrated the out
standing qualities OF Picardy. 1t took
first place at most Of the local shows
For an inexpensive variety 1t merits
the attention of every gardener.
Now that bulb planting time is
about here. I should like to suggest
an effective way OF planting bulbs.
Put them into groups-not rows. Dig
large hole and put four bulbs in it.
The bulbs should be at least 4 inches
apart. The first spring this will give
you four flowers from each clump,
but for several years thereafter you
will have a larger and more pleas
ing display.
Peonies should be ordered in August
for September delivery. And it Is not
too late to start the bed preparation
for them.
An interesting and attractive flower
combination is made by combining
Iceland or Shirley poppies with iris.
This is best done when you clean out
the iris bed in late summer or early
fall. Pull all grass, weeds and dead
leaves from the iris bed and give the
soil a shallow cultivation. Then scat
ter the seed of these dainty ANIMALS
among the iris. They are perfectly
hardy and will give fine display next
spring.
Some time ago I mentioned that
sweet slyssum could be made to bloom
over long period. but neglected to
mention how to achieve this desirable
result. At weekly intervals shear the
plants with the grass shears. One
week shear one side, the next week the
other side, and the third week the top,
and so on. In this way q part OF the
row will be In flower at all times.
Other seeds to be sown in August,
besides pansies, include foxgloves, can
terbury bells, hollyhocks. sweet will
liams and the English daisies.
For the home gardener who grows
his own house plants-this is the time
to take cuttings Of lantana. heliotrope,
English Ivy, geraniums, fuchsia and
coleus. They should be rooted in sharp,
clean sand In a cool. moist place. A
box Of sand a inches deep placed in
a north or northeast window where 1t
can be kept moist is ideal. The cut
tings will be we'll rooted in about three
weeks and then should be potted in
good soil in small pots. As the plants
grow shift to larger pots.
To make cuttings take branches 3 to
inches long. Make the lower cut
just below q node. Remove all but
the smallest leaves at the tip. Place
the cuttings inches apart and insert
at least two thirds Of the stems In the
sand.
Pieces of coleus leaves root As readily
as do the stems. Insert the leaf edge
wise in the sand after cutting along
the edge.
Tte l,wn Web-worm often causes
brown patches to appear in the lawns