The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-04-16, Page 32The petunia comes of age
Dwarf fruit trees
By John T. A. Proctor therefore the yield to be
University off expected. It is almost as
Guelph much trouble (or pleasure)
Gone are the days when to care for half a dozen trees
the gardener dismisses_- as it is to look after several
growing tree fruits because times that number.
they take up a lot of space, The next thing to consider
and create too much shade. is the ripening - timetable..
Today, there is an ever-- Select and plant the right
increasing range of plant variety. These are in -
material - dwarfing root- numerable fruit varieties
stocks, and genetic or and each has its own
natural dwarfs - and climatic adaptations and_
associated techniques of limitations. While peach
training, (mining and culture is restricted to the
growing. warmer areas of Ontario, it
Think of fruit ~times not may be successful outside its
only .fo't their fruit, but for climatic range if grown in a
their part in the landscape shelteredlocation.
year-round. You can train The. selection of the right
them as hedges and kinds and varieties of tree
espaliers, or you can com- fruits will allow harvest
bine dwarf trees, training from .early July to late
and container gardening, for October. Sweet and sour
an orchard right on your cherries .ripen in July,'
terrace, apricots from mid-July to
Although you can mid-August, peaches from
propagate your own dwarf late July to late September,
trees, it is probably best to plums from late July 'to mid -
purchase them from a October, pears from early
reliable nursery that August to late October and
specializes in fruit trees. apples from midrAugust to
Many such nurseries exist in late October.
Ontario. The amateur may The final planning point is
obtain a listing of nurseries pollination. Tart (sour)
providing trees inspected for, cherry, apricot and peach
trueness of name from the will set fruit with their own
Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food. Well -
grown, one-year trees are
preferable to two-year trees.
Before buying trees,
develop a 'plan. Even two
dwarf apple trees in your
garden requires thought in"
relation to other garden
activities in the vegetable
patch, the perennials and
play areas. Once the trees
are planted it .is not always
easy to move them and you •
may spend years trying to
correct your early mistakes.
While making your plan,
bear the following in mind -
space requirements,
possible yields, ripening
timetable and cross-
pollination needs.
A na.
made up of two parts - the
scion or fruiting variety
forming the above -ground
parts of the tree, and the
rootstock. Using size -
controlling rootstocks allows
six or eight dwarf trees to be
.,grown in- the spread of a
single old fruit tree, grown,
on a standard (seedling)
rootstock.
A very general rule of
thumb is to allow 3.6 x 3.6 m
for all dwarf fruit trees. If
you don't have this much
space, you might give some
thought to growing them as
espaliers or cordons along a
building or a wall; or
possibly as a decorative
fence. When selecting a
location in the garden,
remember fruit trees like
direct sunshine, and do not
like spring frosts.
Most dwarf fruit trees
—require' Three -`to- five--years—
before they will fruit. When
mature, they will probably
yield about one bushel of
frit-'i't each year. Available
space will dictate the
number of trees and
pollen. However, apple,
pear, plum and sweet cherry
will not, and therefore two or
more varieties must be
planted side-by-side. A novel
approach to this
requirement is the five -in -
one apple tree which carries
five varieties on one root-
stock.- Such --a.-^ tree
economizes on space and
provides the owner with
fresh fruit maturing from.
early to late season on one
tree. .
To ensure success in the
home fruit garden, provision
must be .made for pest
control. Pesticides should he
applied only when
necessary, and then, only in
the amounts recommended.
e :ardener must learn
ah -out these pests and their
control..
Publiea`tion 64, Insect and
Disease Control in the Home
Garden, - contains pest
descriptions and a • spray
guide. 'This publicationis
available from the Infor-
mation Branch, Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and
Food, Legislative Buildings,
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A5,
or from local agricultural
off ices.
Herb Tea '
to make tea from
homegrown herbs, use 10
millilitres (2 teaspoons) of
finely chopped fresh herbs (5
millilitres or 1 teaspoon of
dried herbs) per cup of tea.
Put the herbs in a china or
earthenware teapot, and
cover with- boili;,g water
Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.,;
Try sage, peppermint, lemon
verbena, basil, lemon
thyme, lemon balm,
rosemary or sweet mar-
joram.
Don 't take petunias for granted
It is time to stop taking the
petunia for granted. No other
plant has the wide range of
color, few have the variety of
flower sizes, none shows off
more dramatically in a
variety of locations.
The hybrid petunia has
moved from . a small -
flowered, fussy annual, to an
extravagant bloomer. The
petunia is equally at home in
mass plantings, snuggled
around green shrubs,
cascading from hanging
baskets and decorating
I window boxes or tubs.
Look for F1 hybrids,
whatever your petunia
preference. Selective
breeding to develop F1
varieties has resulted in the
.expansive blooms charac-
teristic of the single gran-
difloras, the :.carnation -like
fullness of the double
grandifloras, and the prolific
blooming gilalities of the
hybrid multifloras.
To fill a hanging basket,
select a `Cascade' variety. If
a massive display of outdoor
color is called for, try any of
the ' 'Magic' series.
Remember 'Bouquet' if
doubles are desired,
Gardens are not jut` for
daytime. An edging of
ld
Glory White,' `Snow Magic'
or 'Snow Cloud' will perfume
and accent the summer
evenings spent on the patio.
Whites also set off the
sparkle of bold colors and
can give -a decorator's touch
when planted in drifts among
other annualflowers.
Blues and purples come on
Preparing soil is important
Before sowing vegetable the Ontario Ministry of
or flower s; -if-is-im= --Agriculture-amt--Food.-•-Seri-•
tests, conducted by the Land
Resource Science Depart-
ment at the University of
Guelph, cost $1. These tests
check levels of phosphorus,
potassium, magnesium and
pH in the soil.
Soils that are too acidic
require the addition of about
25 kilograms of limestone
per 100 square metres.
Early spring is a good time
to spread manure on the
garden. Use about one cubic
metre of cow manure per 100
square metres. If you are
using poultry manure, apply
about one quarter of one
cubic metre per 1000 square
metres.
If manure is used, it is not
necessary to use chemical
portant to make sure your
soil is in good condition, says
T. J. Blom, Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture and Food
extension horticulturist.
Good soil drainage is one
of the most important fac-
tors. For clay -type soils, add
strawy manure and sand to
improve water and air
movement through the soil.
Sandy soils tend to dry out
quickly and may require the
addition of peat moss to
increase the water -holding
capacity.
To determine the fertilizer
requirements of your soil,
Mr. Blom recommends
taking soil samples for
testing. Soil test boxes are
available at local offices of
fertilizer.
—.As soon -the soil is •drY
enough, to work, Mr. Biom
suggests rototilling or tur-
ning the soil under. Weeds
particularly those which
propogate by root, should be
removed from the soil before
planting begins.
1 oaten n•ish'c/ Owl 1 had.
clear..
For 11P, six hundred pounds
a rear.
A handsome house tR, lodge t
.friend.
A river at #uv garden's end.
A terrace gull,, and puha
rood
0.f. land, set out to plat/ a
wood.
—Jonathan Swift
stronger in pehunias than in
any other species. The bright
orchid blooms . of `Sugar
-Daddy' are a perfect com-
bination with yellow
marigolds, or nestled
against a gold home.
Weather resistant 'Sky
Magic' flowers solidly
through the most difficult of
summers. For striking
hanging baskets, plant
`Royal' or 'Sky Cascade.'
Select a blue variety for the
often unattractive base of a
white c lematis.
Bicolors provide double
interest for the dollar. F1
hybrids are available in
color combinations from
ruffle color accents to
stripes. The all -green shrub
border ecmes alive, striped
with 'Penny Candy.' Trim
---the-home-landscape--hr the—
new 'Velvet `Velvet Picotee,' which
features purple blooms
daintily edged in white.
'The first red petunia on the
market was considered a
real breakthrough in the
plant world. Now a large
selection of reds are
available, from the versatile
qualities of 'Red Cascade,' to
the heat resistant 'Old Glory
Red,' which will stand up to
the temperatures of a
southern summer.
Find the place, pick a
petunia for your purpose,
and get to your garden
center or greenhouse early.
Petunia purchasers are
discriminating shoppers.
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