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28 — Wednesday, August 27,

997 — North Shore News

north shore

OME& G

ReWS

ARDEN

Routine maintenance for better gardens

_ grows

MOST gardens are
looking their best after
several weeks of warm

weather and sunshine.

While you are enjoying
your flowers, there are some
routine garden tasks that are
best done at this time of the
year.

Raspberry canes that have
finished fruiting should be
cut as close to the ground as
possible. They are easy to
identify because the old canes
are brown, whereas the new
ones are green. If you have
an ever-bearing variety, the
old canes can be removed in
the late fall or early spring.

Extra compost and/or
6.8.6 fertilizer should be
added in August but must be
well watered to get the food
down to the roots right away.
Canes over two meters can be
topped to encourage the for-
mation of fruiting side

three to five eves on each
plant. Replant the new divi-
sions in compost enriched
soil ta enlarge vour collection
or pass on the estras to 3
dening triend who has alw
admired them.

Dablias and gldioli are
lare this ve:
cool spring, but they will need
staking betore they come into
flower. Use thin bamboo
stakes tor the glads and good
sturdy stakes for the dahlias.
A heavy rain can damage
poorly staked plants.

For gardeners who have
greenhouses or
and plan te pro
own plants for ne
is the time to get started.
Cuttings taken from soft,
actively growing plants will
increase yuur chances of suc-
cess. Geranium and fuchsia
are two of the most common
plants chat can be grown
from cuttings, but if you have
space why not try some oth-
ers as well.

A good sterile rooting
medium is a mix of equal
parts of clean, sharp sand,
peat and perlite. Mix the
materials in a pail and add
hor water unul the medium is
about as wet as a damp
sponge. If you can squeeze
moisture out of the mix it is

NEWS ptvoto Terry Peters

LATE August is a good time to take cuttings of geraniums (above) and fuchsias for next year’s garden.

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shoots. Do not forget to too wet. Place the mix in a
stake and tie the canes to pre- _ plastic nursery flar that is four
vent snow damage. to five centimetres deep. Be HOCTHEDL HEKCHROLE, Tit 5 | cause 10 THE pomsce

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Strawberries are best
grown on a three- or four-
year rotational cycle. This is a
good time to buy new plants
Or move your runners to new
ground. Three beds with
plants of different ages will
keep the cycle going. Mulch
your new strawberry plants
with compost for winter pro-
tection and to prevent the
frost from lifting them.

The interest in lilies has
been growing the last few
years. As soon as the Jowers

~ are finished, che seed pods

_ should be cut off to redirect
the energy into the bulb for
next year. Some varieties such
as the tiger lilies produce
small bulbils or miniature
bulbs in the leaf axil along
the stem. These bulbils can
be harvested and planted to
produce new flowering bulbs
in three or four years. Once
the leaves on the lily seem
have died back the bulbs can
be lifted and moved or the
soil renewed. with compost
and fertilizer. Do not store
the bulbs over sinter or let
them dry out.

H the iris in your garden
are growing beyond their
boundary or the centre area
of the clump is not fooking
too healthy, now is a good
time to break up the clump
and reset them in fresh soil.
Cur off all the old and dis-

“eased sections and save only
the healthy portion of the
rhizome that is close to the
leaf. Keep the top of the rhi-
zome flush with the soil sur-
face when replanting. Afier a
few good winter rains, one
third of the rhizome will be
exposed and this is how they
like to gr

Peonies that have not
been replanted tor many years
have probably becume root
bound and used up most ©

sure to poke lots of holes in
the plastic liner to ensure
good drainage.

After determining how
many cuttings vou have room
for (approximately one per six
square centimetres or one per
square inch), systematically
collect the cuttings from the
best plants and keep track of
the colour and variety. Taking
one or two cuttings each
from a number of plauts will
not ruin vour late summer
show,

With the aid of a very
sharp razor blade, make the
final cut just below the see-
ond or third node from the
terminal leaf. If the terminal
feat is not well developed, a
second leaf can also be left on
the cutting. If the second leaf
is too large, cut a third off
and this will reduce the
potential for water loss. Some
gardeners prefer to dip their
cuttings in No.1 rooting hor-
mone but I have had success
without. It is advisable to let
the freshly cut stem dry ali
tle before inserting it in the
rooting medium.

Using a dibble or pencil,
poke a hole in the medium,

face the cutting into the
ole and then firm the mater-
ial around the stem.

Dampen the leaves and
cover the top of the flat with
tic wrap to reduce the

ure loss before setting
the cuttings in bright bur
indirect light. Placing ah
ing cable under the flat
speed up the process, but is
not essential at this time of

as geraniums are verv
prone to rot from wet feet.
Your new plants should have
good roots in three to six
weeks,

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