October IS, 1919 



HORTICULTURE 



341 



MR. PEACOCK TALKS ABOUT 

 DAHLIAS. 



At a recent largely attended Dahlia 

 Show in the Wanamaker Store at 

 Philadelphia, a very interesting talk 

 on dahlias was given by h. K. Pea- 

 cock, who is engaged in the culture of 

 dahlias at Fort Meyer, Fla. 



The dahlia, he said, has more types, 

 forms and color combinations than any 

 other flower, and much of this variety 

 is due to the hybridizing process 

 whereby a mixture of "bloods" is made 

 to save weak varieties of the flower 

 from going to decay. 



If one variety is beautiful, but weak 

 and another being more rugged is less 

 beautiful then the seeds of the two 

 should be mixed. This will result in 

 the strengthening of the former and 

 will cause no loss of its beauty, he 

 said. 



The average life of a variety is from 

 ten to twenty years. Some go into de- 

 cay after three years and some live for 

 more than fifty years. One variety, an 

 A. D. Livona, created in 1840 by a Rus- 

 sian, is still in evidence and sturdy, 

 he declared. 



The method of propagation is simple, 

 he said. At the end of the first year 

 the plant is dug up and the roots, com- 

 posed of five or six potato-like objects, 

 disassembled. In this way when these 

 "potatoes" are planted separately next 

 spring, five or six plants are got from 

 the one whose roots were dug up last 

 fall. 



John Wanamaker has taken a great 

 interest in the work of Mr. Peacock 

 and many of the varieties have been 

 grown expressly for him, one being 

 named after him. 



ing, then, to make it bloom so free 

 that the entire plant is covered with 

 the blossoms. Of course, you all like 

 to have your plants do that, and so I 

 am glad to present you herewith a new 

 thought and a new suggestion. Pre- 

 viously, in this magazine, I had ex- 

 plained how, by root pruning, one is 

 able to absolutely produce flower buds 

 after a certain period of time, but in 

 addition to this, I want to suggest as 

 follows: If you have planted a wis- 

 taria vine within the last four years or 

 less and you find it grows luxuriantly, 

 I want to give you a most radical re- 

 commendation. Go to your plant right 

 now, as early in October as possible, 

 and cut all the strong shoots back to 

 four feet of their length; that does 

 not mean to cut the entire plant back 

 so that it will stand but four feet high, 

 but I am referring to the heavy shoots 

 which appear as branches from the 

 main shoot. The thin shoots should be 

 cut out entirely, for they are only 

 detrimental; the cutting back will re- 

 sult that lots of new growth, but short 

 growth, appears over this four foot 

 cane, and as this growth cannot make 

 much headway, it simply forms flower 

 growth, or "spurs" as we call them 

 professionally. Next year you will 

 find that many more canes or side 

 shoots will make their appearance, 

 and again, next August or September, 

 I want you to cut these side shoots 

 back to a length to three or four feet, 

 and after that you will have so many 

 flower spurs that the plant will be a 

 perfect bower of bloom in the spring- 

 time. 



make the necessary appeal through 

 their columns. Surely the individual 

 cannot possibly exist who would not 

 gladly take advantage of an oppor- 

 tunity to return these plants once he 

 appreciates the seriousness of his act, 

 especially if some method can be de- 

 vised by which his identity will remain 

 unknown 



E. F. Coe, 



TO MAKE WISTARIAS BLOOM. 



Many gardeners will be interested 

 in the following, which apears in the 

 October number of Flower Lore, the 

 little magazine written and published 

 by Maurice Fuld. 



Wistarias form one of the most in- 

 teresting subjects from the standpoint 

 of training a plant to do as you wish. 

 Many people come to me, asking "Why 

 is it that my wistaria now in the 

 ground three years does not flower?" 

 Or, "Why is it that my wistaria grows 

 so luxuriantly, lots of foliage, and 

 hardly any flower, and I often see 

 them where there are simply covered 

 with blossom?" The fact is. that the 

 wistaria needs training in its early 

 life, and it is possible, by proper prun- 



FORMAL OPENING OF NEW 

 GREENHOUSES 



The new Central Display Green- 

 house presented by Daniel Guggen- 

 heim and Murry Guggenheim at Pub- 

 lic Conservatory Range No. 2 in the 

 New York Botanical Garden on the 

 eastern side of the grounds north of 

 the Allerton avenue entrance will be 

 opened on the afternoon of Saturday, 

 November 8, 1919. from 3 until 5 

 o'clock and will be open to the public 

 daily thereafter. 



Brief addresses by Dr. W. Gilman 

 Thompson, president of the Board of 

 Managers, and by Dr. D. T. Mac- 

 Dougal, director of Botanical Research 

 Carnegie Institution of Washington, 

 will be delivered at 3.45 o'clock. 



Motor-cars will meet the train leav- 

 ing Grand Central Terminal at 2.35, 

 due at Botanical Garden Station at 

 3.01. 



THE ARBORETUM THEFTS. 



New Haven, Conn., Oct. 10, 1919. 



Dear Sir: — We learn through the 

 columns of Horticulture with deep re- 

 gret that the Arnold Arboretum has 

 been a victim of theft of some of its 

 valuable plants. 



It seems as though it must be the 

 work of some thoughtless amateur as 

 it is too incredible to believe that any 

 horticulturist of mature experience 

 could consider for a moment interfer- 

 ing in the slightest degree with the 

 splendid work being done at the Ar- 

 boretum. Even from a personal self- 

 ish point of view, not taking into con- 

 sideration the ethical side of such a 

 dastardly act, it would seem to the 

 writer that the return of the plants 

 taken can be reasonably anticipated 

 if the horticultural press general will 



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