Grapes

Vines in early houses - that is, those which are started in winter to fruit in early summer - will now be quite mature, and the laterals may be pruned to the plump bud at the base. The rods may be washed in water in which a little soft soap has been dissolved, and the walls whitewashed. Late Vines will not have quite ripened up their laterals yet; the latter may be reduced to half their length, and fully pruned later on.

Fig. 8i. - Planting Violets in a Frame.

a. A strong plant.

b. The plants put in so that the leaves will almost touch the glass.

Root-Pruning Fruit Trees

When the leaves are turning yellow on fruit trees, any which have made a great deal of wood, and have not blossomed, may be root-pruned. Summer growth that exceeds thirty inches in length may be regarded as dangerously strong, and to curtail the roots of the trees which produce it cannot possibly do any harm unless it is carried to excess. A wise plan is to cut through all the thick roots on one side of the tree the first year; if that does not suffice to check exuberance and cause fruitfulness, the other side may be operated on the following year. Of course, this is in reference to large trees; small ones may be lifted bodily, and all the strong roots trimmed.

Pot Strawberries

Where frame room is limited, a good plan of disposing of pot Strawberries which are intended for forcing is to stack them in a heap on their sides. The main object is to protect the plants from the autumn rains. If the soil gets saturated the plants do not thrive; moreover, sharp frost may cause the moist soil to swell and split the pots. Placing the pots on their sides precludes further watering, but that is hardly likely to be required now. Where there is abundance of frame room the plants can be kept in frames, with the pots plunged in ashes.