Garden Notes - Currant Bushes

Pruning Black Currant Bushes

Black Currant Bushes require pruning in December, all the dead wood and weak growths being cut away, as shown at A. To propagate take cuttings about 8 in. long, rub off buds on lower portion, and bury to half depth in November. Another method is to remove and plant sucker from October to December. In the open garden Black Currant Bushes should be set five feet apart; when grown against walls three feet will be sufficient.

Root Pruning

Apples, Pears, and Plums are Root Pruned when they make too much rank growth and bear little fruit. A semi-circular trench, 2-3 feet wide, is dug halfway round the tree, as A. Carefully lift fibrous roots when digging, and protect from light and air, cutting through any tap-roots larger than the finger to the base of the stem. Replace soil, spreading out the fibrous roots, and if necessary, adding manure as the trench is filled. Treat the other half the following year.

Earwig Trap

Earwigs, with their great fondness for Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, and Hollyhocks, are one of the worst pests of the flower garden. They may be easily trapped in a bit of dry moss placed in the small flower pot inverted on a stake. If this trap is examined every morning and evening during June and July and the Earwigs destroyed, the pest will be kept down. Pieces of any hollow stems make good traps for Earwigs.

Dividing a Root

After hardy border plants have finished flowering. It is often necessary to divide the rootstock into several pieces in order to increase the plant. The rough and ready method of doing this is to chop the rootstock into pieces with the spade. This clumsy method damages the plant considerably, and a far better way is to press two forks into the center of the rootstock as shown. If the handles are now brought together the clump of roots is divided without injury.

Rooting Shrub Cuttings

A quick method of rooting cuttings of evergreen shrubs such as Aucuba is illustrated. Enlarge drainage hole of a flower pot, and place cuttings in inverted pot. Set pot on fiber in propagating frame, moisten frequently, and cover with paper; roots will form in a few weeks. Port the cuttings in a compost of sandy soil. Cuttings with several growths root quicker than single shoots. Note.-The side of the pot in our picture is shown broken, to allow the roots to be seem.