Gardening for Amateurs 



all weak ones bearing one flower or two are 

 removed, and, indeed, if the date of the 

 show is not close at hand, disbudding is 

 continued until within eighteen days of the 

 date. 



Dahlias. If vigorous, prolific plants are 

 the aim, the usual practice is to allow one 

 main stem bearing three side growths to 

 develop, all other shoots being removed 

 whenever they appear. For exhibition pur- 

 poses only a very few flowers are permitted 

 to develop, and when the buds form never 

 allow more than one to each shoot. 



Other Flowers. Having read the above 

 notes, the gardener will see the principles 

 that underlie the subject, and the aim that 

 is in view. Weak and unnecessary growths 

 and buds are to be removed, and, speaking 

 generally, if the practice is thoroughly 

 carried out, the blooms that are left will be 

 larger, of better colour, more typical of the 

 variety, and of higher merit. 



AMONG THE FRUITS 

 Vine. A Vine that has been properly 

 grown has many " spurs " or bud-bearing 

 branches along the rods. When the Vines 

 start to 'grow in spring a number of growths 

 rise from these spurs, but, no matter how 

 many come, generally only one, and of course 

 the sturdiest and strongest, is allowed to 

 remain. The shoots should be examined 

 when still very short, and all but two of 

 the best removed ; a further examination 

 when the embryo fruit bunches begin to 

 show will determine which of these two is 

 worth retaining. On rare occasions, w T hen 

 the spurs are far apart, two shoots may be 

 left. The whole of the nourishing sap of 

 the vine is now concentrated into fewer 

 channels, and the inevitable result is that 

 we get large bunches of plump, juicy, sweet 

 fruits, whereas otherwise the berries w r ould 

 be in little bunches, and small or badly 

 flavoured. Thinning the berries later on 

 may be considered a form of disbudding. 



Peach. No other tree responds better 

 to disbudding, and, indeed, on a vigorous 

 bush the process is absolutely essential. 

 The work is carried out in various stages, 

 but the main point to remember is that 



sufficient young shoots must be left to 

 ensure a good crop next year, i.e. all others 

 being pinched off. It is usual to leave two 

 good growths on each of last year's shoots, 

 one at the base, the other at the top. Some- 

 times, if there is room, a third may be left 

 in the middle. Needless to say, the young 

 shoots must not all be removed at once, 

 the work should be done gradually through- 

 out two or three weeks. When the flower 

 buds begin to open they must also be thinned 

 out, and even after the fruits start to swell 

 a further examination of the crop is necessary 

 in order not to tax the tree too much and 

 to obtain fruits of the first quality rather 

 than small, tasteless ones. As one gardener 

 put it, a first-class crop results when one 

 fruit is allowed to every square foot of area 

 covered by the tree. 



Other Fruits. Not infrequently is the 

 practice of disbudding carried out on other 

 fruit trees and bushes. By limiting the 

 growths of the tree much better products 

 are secured, while too heavy a drain is not 

 made on its latent energy ; weak buds and 

 badly formed or inferior shoots or fruits are 

 those to remove except when choice crops 

 are demanded for exhibition purposes, when, 

 within limits, the greater the amount of 

 disbudding the better will be the result. 



IN THE KITCHEN GARDEN 



Disbudding is carried out on vegetable 

 crops also. Tomatoes, for example, are 

 grown on a single stem, no branches being 

 allowed to form, and even the fruit trusses 

 may with advantage be thinned out in order 

 to prevent too many small fruits. Cucumbers 

 benefit greatly if the number of flowers and 

 shoots is curtailed, while Vegetable Marrows 

 should only be allowed one or at most two 

 fruits on each of the three or four stems to 

 which the plant is limited. Peas and Beans 

 likewise tend to produce numbers and 

 quantity where quality may be desired, so 

 that the process of disbudding becomes 

 necessary. In fact, it may be safely said 

 that when the best products are desired dis- 

 budding or -the removal of superfluous, weak 

 or badly formed buds is essential in all 

 plants. 



