The Practical Garden-Book Part 14

Height 10 to 12 inches.

The common wild Cranesbill (_Geranium maculatum_) improves under cultivation, and is an attractive plant when it stands in front of taller foliage.

GILIA. Low-growing hardy annuals, good for front borders or rockwork, growing from seed very quickly and continuing in flower a long season.

They will do well in light soil. Sow seed in the fall or early spring where plants are wanted. _Gilia tricolor_, blue, white and yellow, is the best, but there are excellent white and red sorts.

GLADIOLUS. A popular summer-flowering bulbous plant, thriving best in moist, sandy loam, that has had an application of well rotted manure the previous year. No manure should be used the year of planting, as it has a tendency to rot the bulbs. Plantings may be made from the time the ground is in condition to work in the spring until late in June. In planting, the bulbs should be set 3 inches deep and 8 to 10 inches apart, unless they are to be grown in groups, when they may be planted five or six in the s.p.a.ce of 1 foot. Stakes should be furnished each plant to support the flower-spike. When in groups, one stake may be used, setting it in the middle of the circle.

Gladioli are increased by bulblets formed around the old bulbs (or corms), or they may be grown from seed. The bulblets should be planted in drills in April or May, and will grow to flowering size in one or two years. In the same way, seed sown early in drills, grown through the summer, the little bulbs taken up and stored through the winter and again planted out, will often make bulbs large enough to flower the second year.

Care should be taken to lift all bulbs before freezing weather, as most varieties are tender. They should be harvested with the tops on, and laid away in a cool, dry place to ripen. The tops are then cut off and the bulbs stored in a dry place (fit for potatoes, but drier) until wanted the following spring. See _Bulbs_.

GLAUCIUM, or HORNED POPPY. The kind most cultivated (_G. luteum_) has bright yellow flowers in July and September. The flowers, contrasting with the deep cut glaucous leaves, make a fine effect in the mixed or ribbon border. Seed may be sown in the open ground where wanted. Thin to 12 inches apart. Height 12 to 20 inches. Perennial; but treated as a hardy annual.

GLOXINIA. Choice greenhouse tuberous-rooted perennials, sometimes seen in window gardens, but really not adapted to them. Gloxinias must have a uniform moist and warm atmosphere and protection from the sun. They will not stand abuse or varying conditions. Propagated often by leaf-cuttings, which should give flowering plants in one year. From the leaf, inserted half its length in the soil (or sometimes only the petiole inserted) a tuber arises. This tuber, after resting until midwinter or later, is planted and flowering plants soon arise.

Gloxinias also grow readily from seeds, which may be germinated in a temperature of about 70. Flowering plants may be had in a year if seeds are sown in late winter or early spring. This is the usual method. Soil should be porous and rich.

G.o.dETIA. Very free-blooming annuals in fine colors, harmonizing well with the California poppy. Many of the varieties are beautifully blotched with contrasting colors. They are very satisfactory plants for solid beds or border lines, blooming from June to October. Seed may be sown in heat, and seedlings planted in open ground at a distance of 18 inches apart when danger of frost is over. A rather poor soil will cause them to bloom better than one very rich, as they are inclined to make a rank growth. Height 1 to 2 feet.

GOLDEN FEATHER. See _Pyrethrum_.

GOLDENROD (_Solidago_ of many species). The Goldenrod of the wayside is so familiar that the thought of bringing it into the garden is distasteful to many persons. But if given a suitable place in a well enriched border, no plant has greater possibilities. A large clump against a hedge of green, or ma.s.sed behind a well grown plant of the blue-flowering wild asters, makes a striking contrast. They bloom late in the season, and the rich yellow and golden colors and the graceful forms are always pleasing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Goldenrod]

Goldenrods will grow more vigorously and the blooms be larger if the roots are divided every third or fourth year. There are several species catalogued by nurserymen, and some of the stock is superior to the wild type, either having a larger truss of flowers or blooming later.

Goldenrods range in height from 2 to 6 feet. All are easily propagated by division. Transplant in the fall, if convenient, although spring planting may be equally successful.

GOMPHRENA. BACHELOR'S b.u.t.tON. GLOBE AMARANTH. A useful everlasting for winter bouquets. Seed may be sown in heat in March, the plants transplanted once before setting out to cause them to grow stocky and branching; or seed may be sown in a warm place where the plants are to grow. The flowers, to retain their colors, should be cut before fully expanded and dried in a dark, airy place. See _Everlastings_. Set the plants 18 inches apart. Height 12 inches. The heads resemble clover heads. The term Bachelor's b.u.t.ton is also given to the cornflower (_Centaurea Cya.n.u.s_).

GOOSEBERRY. Since the advent of the practice of spraying with fungicides to prevent mildew, the culture of the Gooseberry has increased. There is now no reason why, with a little care, good crops of many of the best English varieties may not be grown. The price for good fruits of Gooseberry is usually remunerative, as the market is rarely overstocked by the sudden ripening of the crop, since the fruits ripen through a long season. A large part of the crop is picked green for culinary purposes. The leading market variety is Downing, a native sort, which is little subject to mildew. Several of the English varieties have proved of value, having larger fruits than the natives. Whitesmith, Chautauqua, Triumph and Industry are among the best.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Gooseberries]

The propagation of the Gooseberry is similar to that of the currant, although the practice of earthing up a whole plant, causing every branch thus covered to throw out roots, is common with the European varieties.

The rooted branches are cut off the following spring and planted in nursery rows or sometimes directly in the field. In order to succeed with this method, the plant should have been cut back to the ground so that all the shoots are yearling.

Pruning is essentially the same as for the currant (which see); and the treatment of the currant worm is the same as for that fruit.

Gooseberries should be set (either in fall or spring) 3 to 4 feet apart; rows 5 to 7 feet apart. Select a rich, rather moist soil. The tops need no winter protection. If mildew and worms are to be kept in check, spraying must be begun with the very first sign of trouble and be thoroughly done.

GOURDS are valuable as rapid-growing screen vines, the curious fruits of many varieties adding much to their attractiveness. Cultivation the same as for melons or squashes. Height 10 to 15 feet. Provide a chicken-wire trellis; or let them run on a brush pile.

GRAFTING. Grafting is the operation of inserting a piece of a plant into another plant with the intention that it shall grow. It differs from the making of cuttings in the fact that the severed part grows in another plant rather than in the soil. There are two general kinds of Grafting--one of which inserts a piece of branch in the stock (Grafting proper), and one which inserts only a bud with little or no wood attached (budding). In both cases the success of the operation depends upon the growing together of the cambium of the cion (or cutting) and that of the stock. The cambium is the new and growing tissue which lies underneath the bark and on the outside of the growing wood. Therefore, the line of demarcation between the bark and the wood should coincide when the cion and stock are joined. The plant upon which the severed piece is set is called the stock. The part which is removed and set into the stock is called a cion if it is a piece of a branch, or a bud if it is only a single bud with a bit of tissue attached. The greater part of Grafting and budding is done when the cion or bud is nearly or quite dormant. That is, Grafting is usually done late in winter and early in spring, and budding may be done then, or late in summer, when the buds have nearly or quite matured.

The prime object of Grafting is to perpetuate a kind of plant which will not reproduce itself from seed or of which seed is very difficult to obtain. Cions or buds are therefore taken from this plant and set into whatever kind of plant is obtainable and on which they will grow. Thus, if one wants to propagate the Baldwin apple, he does not for that purpose sow seeds thereof, but takes cions or buds from the tree and grafts them into some other apple tree. The stocks are usually obtained from seeds. In the case of the apple, young plants are raised from seeds which are obtained mostly from cider factories, without reference to the variety from which they came. When the seedlings have grown to a certain age, they are budded or grafted; and thereafter they bear fruit like that of the tree from which the cions were taken.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The bud severed from its twig]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The bud tied]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The bud inserted]

There are many ways in which the union between cion and stock is made.

Budding may be first discussed. It consists in inserting a bud underneath the bark of the stock, and the commonest practice is that which is shown in the ill.u.s.trations. Budding is mostly performed in July, August and early September, when the bark is still loose or will peel. Twigs are cut from the tree which it is desired to propagate, and the buds are cut off with a sharp knife, a shield-shaped bit of bark (with possibly a little wood) being left with them (see ill.u.s.tration).

The bud is then shoved into a slit made in the stock, and it is held in place by tying with some soft strand. In two or three weeks the bud will have "stuck" (that is, it will have grown fast to the stock), and the strand is cut to prevent its strangling the stock. Ordinarily the bud does not grow until the following spring, at which time the entire stock or branch in which the bud is inserted is cut off an inch above the bud; and the bud thereby receives all the energy of the stock. Budding is the commonest Grafting operation in nurseries. Seeds of peaches may be sown in spring, and the plants which result will be ready for budding that same August. The following spring, or a year from the planting of the seed, the stock is cut off just above the bud (which is inserted near the ground), and in the fall of that year the tree is ready for sale; that is, the top is one season old and the root is two seasons old, but in the trade it is known as a 1-year-old tree. In apples and pears the stock is usually two years old before it is budded, and the tree is not sold until the top has grown two or three years. Budding may be performed also in the spring, in which case the bud will grow the same season. Budding is always done in young branches, preferably in those not more than one year old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Whip-graft]

Grafting is the insertion of a small branch (or cion), usually bearing more than one bud. If Grafting is done on small stocks, it is customary to employ the whip-graft, which is ill.u.s.trated in the margin. Both stock and cion are cut across diagonally, and a split made in each, so that one fits into the other. The graft is tied securely with a string, and then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed carefully. In larger limbs or stocks, the common method is to employ the cleft-graft. This consists in cutting off the stock, splitting it and inserting a wedge-shaped cion in one or both sides of the split, taking care that the cambium layer of the cion matches that of the stock. The exposed surfaces are then securely covered with wax. Grafting is usually performed early in the spring, just before the buds swell. The cions should have been cut before this time, when they were perfectly dormant. Cions may be stored in sand in the cellar or in the ice house, or they may be buried in the field. The object is to keep them fresh and dormant until they are wanted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cleft-graft]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cleft-grafting a Cactus]

If it is desired to change the top of an old plum, apple or pear tree to some other variety, it is usually done by means of the cleft-graft. If the tree is very young, budding or whip-grafting may be employed. On an old top the cions should begin to bear when three to four years old. All the main limbs should be grafted. It is important to keep down the suckers or water-sprouts from around the grafts, and part of the remaining top should be cut away each year until the top is entirely changed over (which will result in two to four years).

A good wax for covering the exposed parts is made as follows: Resin, 4 parts by weight; beeswax, 2 parts; tallow, 1 part. In making the wax, the materials are first broken up and melted together. When thoroughly melted the liquid is poured into a pail or tub of cold water. It soon becomes hard enough to handle, and it is then pulled and worked over until it becomes tough or "gets a grain," at which stage it becomes the color of very light-colored manilla paper. When wax is applied by hand, the hands must be well greased. Hard cake tallow is the best material for this purpose. In top-grafting large trees, it is well to carry a supply of tallow when waxing, by smearing the backs of the hands before entering the tree.

GRAPE. One of the surest of fruit crops is the Grape, a crop each year being reasonably certain after the third year from the time of setting the vines. The Grape does well on any soil that is under good cultivation and well drained. A soil with considerable clay is better under these circ.u.mstances than a light, sandy loam. The exposure should be to the sun; and the place should admit of cultivation on all sides.

One- or 2-year-old vines should be planted, either in the fall or early spring. At planting the vine is cut back to 3 or 4 eyes, and the roots are well shortened in. The hole in which the plant is to be set should be large enough to allow a full spreading of the roots. Fine soil should be worked around the roots and firmed with the feet. If the season should be dry, a mulch of coa.r.s.e litter may be spread around the vine.

If all the buds start, the strongest one or two may be allowed to grow.

The canes arising from these buds should be staked and allowed to grow through the season; or in large plantations the first-year canes may be allowed to lie on the ground. The second year one cane should be cut back to the same number of eyes as the first year. After growth begins in the spring, two of the strongest buds should be allowed to remain.

These two canes now arising may be grown to a single stake through the second summer, or they may be spread horizontally on a trellis. These are the canes which form the permanent arms or parts of the vine. From them start the upright shoots which, in succeeding years, are to bear the fruits.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Grape]

In order to understand the pruning of Grapes, the operator must fully grasp this principle: _Fruit is borne on wood of the present season, which arises from wood of the previous season._ To ill.u.s.trate: A growing shoot, or cane of 1899, makes buds. In 1900 a shoot arises from each bud; and near the base of this shoot the Grapes are borne (1 to 4 cl.u.s.ters on each). While every bud on the 1899 shoot may produce shoots or canes in 1900, only the strongest of these new canes will bear fruit.

The skilled Grape-grower can tell by the looks of his cane (as he prunes it in winter) which buds will give rise to the Grape-producing wood the following season. The larger and stronger buds usually give best results; but if the cane itself is very big and stout, or if it is very weak and slender, he does not expect good results from any of its buds.

A hard, well-ripened cane the diameter of a man's little finger is the ideal size.

Another principle to be mastered is this: _A vine should bear only a limited number of cl.u.s.ters_,--say from 30 to 80. A shoot bears cl.u.s.ters near its base; beyond these cl.u.s.ters the shoot grows on into a long, leafy cane. An average of two cl.u.s.ters may be reckoned to a shoot. If the vine is strong enough to bear 60 cl.u.s.ters, 30 good buds must be left at the pruning (which is done from December to late February).

The essential operation of pruning a Grape vine, therefore, is each year to cut back a limited number of good canes to a few buds, and to cut off entirely all the remaining canes or wood of the previous season's growth. If a cane is cut back to 2 or 3 buds, the stub-like part which remains is called a spur. Present systems, however, cut each cane back to 8 or 10 buds (on strong varieties), and 3 or 4 canes are left,--all radiating from near the head or trunk of the vine. The top of the vine does not grow bigger from year to year, after it has once covered the trellis, but is cut back to practically the same number of buds each year. Since these buds are on new wood, it is evident that they are each year farther and farther removed from the head of the vine. In order to obviate this difficulty, new canes are taken out each year or two from near the head of the vine, and the 2-year or 3-year-old wood is cut away.

The training of Grapes is a different matter. A dozen different systems of training may be practiced on the same trellis and from the same style of pruning,--for training is only the disposition or arrangement of the parts.