April 21, 1921 



The Florists' Review 



21 



tial if the crop begins to deteriorate too 

 early, thus showing signs of starvation. 

 Though views about the watering of 

 dahlias have differed considerably in the 

 past, yet modern opinion seems to be 

 more and more in favor of providing an 

 abundance of moisture. It is scarcely 

 necessary to tell any florist that the wa- 

 terings should be thorough soakings, 

 separated by longer or shorter inter- 

 vals, according to the climate, the sea- 

 son and the nature of the soil. One suc- 

 cessful grower recommends "watering 

 heavily two or three times a week, pref- 

 erably in the evening." Another spe- 

 cialist, seemingly more conservative, 

 prescribes "a thorough watering once 

 each week or ten days during the con- 

 tinuance of the drought." Probably the 

 apparent disagreement in those two of- 

 fers of advice does not indicate so much 

 a difference of opinion as a difference of 

 circumstances. 



Harvesting the Clumps. 



Soon after the foliage of the plants 

 has been cut down by frost, the clumps 

 are harvested. The phrase "soon 

 after" is vague, but it is difScult to 

 speak definitely when there are so many 

 uncertainties in the situation. Under 

 ordinary conditions of the weather, 

 leaving the clumps two or three days in 

 the ground, after the tops are dead, 

 would be beneficial, in aiding the ripen- 

 ing of the roots. But if the period of 

 underground ripening is prolonged to 

 two or three weeks, the clumps may 

 seriously deteriorate, being exposed to 

 various dangers, such as the freezing of 

 the crowns and the consequent damage 

 of the eyes, or the growing of worthless 

 and weakening suckers or shoots. 



A day or two before the lifting of the 

 clumps, the tops are cut off, with any 

 sharp, clean-cutting tool, two or three 

 inches from the gtound. Great care is 

 needed in digging the clumps, so as to 

 avoid breaking either the neck or the 

 lower part of the roots. 



As the clumps are dug they are shaken 

 gently, so as to free them from any soil 

 that will fall off readily. After being 

 allowed to dry off for an hour or two, 

 they are packed on shelves, or in boxes 

 or barrels, in a dry, cool, frost-proof 

 cellar, with an average temperature of 

 45 degrees. Specialists advise packing 

 the clumps upside down — that is, with 

 the stalks down — so as to permit the 

 excess sap or moisture in the stump or 

 neck to drain out, instead of settling in- 

 to the crown and causing decay. 



In a cellar containing a furnace, it is 

 necessary that the clumps be protected 

 from the deleterious effects of the arti- 

 ficial heat. The boxes or barrels may 

 be lined with heavy paper and covered 

 on the outside with paper or burlap. 

 Rome growers prefer to pack the clumps 

 in sand, coal ashes or soil, and appear 

 to obtain excellent results from that 

 practice. Others condemn the use of 

 such packing materials. 



GOOD DAHLIAS FOR CUTTING. 



Since there are a number of types of 

 dahlia and nearly every type comprises 

 many varieties that are excellent for 

 cutting, there is almost unlimited room 

 for difference of opinion on the compara- 

 tive merits of the flowers. It would be 

 unreasonable, therefore, to expect any 

 two persons, acting independently, to 

 select precisely the same varieties and 

 recommend them as the best obtainable 

 for cut flower purposes. The following 



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Dahlias of the Century Type Are Especially Effective in Baskets. 



list has at least this fact in its favor, 

 that it was selected by an expert grower 

 who can scarcely be suspected of being 

 prejudiced by self-interest, since he has 

 no dahlia stock for sale. The list does 

 not include any of the most recent intro- 

 ductions, but only well tried varieties of 

 reasonable price: 



Cactus — Countess of Lonsdale, salmon 

 pink; Hoffnung, old salmon rose, suf- 

 fused yellow; Mrs. Douglas Fleming, 

 pure white; F. W. Fellowes, orange scar- 

 let; Prince of Yellows and Wolfgang 

 von Goethe, apricot. 



Decorative — Le Grand Manitou, white, 

 striped red; Catherine Duer, crimson 

 scarlet; Delice, beautiful pink; Fla- 

 mingo, rose pink; Hortulanus Witte, 

 pure white; Souvenir de Gustav Doazon, 

 scarlet; Mme. Van den Dael, shell pink. 



Show — Grand Duke Alexis, white, 

 tinted lavender; Dreer's White, pure 

 white; Dreer's yellow, clear yellow; 

 A. D. Livoni, pink. 



Peony-flowered — Bertha von Suttner, 

 salmon pink; Geisha, scarlet and gold; 

 Queen Wilhelmina, pure white; John 

 Green, scarlet; Yellow King, clear yel- 

 low. 



Pompon — Queen of Whites, ])ure 

 white; Fairy Queen, pale yellow, edged 

 pink; Phoebe, coppery orange; Sun- 

 beam, crimson. 



Single — Pink Century, shell pink; 

 White Century, pure white; Golden 

 Century, primrose; Scarlet Century, 

 clear scarlet. 



cliniuni, statice, (Jomphrena globosa, 

 helichrysum and rhodanthe, or Swan 

 river everlasting. I find no directions 

 for any of these plants in any of the 

 seedsmen's catalogues, except this brief 

 statement in reference to the rhodanthe: 

 "Charming everlasting; succeeds in 

 light, rich soil and warm, sheltered situ- 

 ation. Valuable for pot culture." Be- 

 fore finding that statement, I had im- 

 agined the plants would all require 

 about the same treatment as asters and 

 [ was about to sow the seeds in flats, 

 expecting to transplant the seedlings to 

 the field when they reached a height 

 of two or three inches. 



H. L. G.— Mich. 



the 



CULTURE OF EVERLASTINGS. 



Please give cultural directions for 

 following everlastings: Acro- 



The idea at first entertained, that 

 the so-called everlastings "require 

 about the same treatment as asters," 

 was not far wrong. The statement 

 quoted from a seedsman 's catalogue, in 

 regard to the proper cultural conditions 

 for rhodanthes, is quite accurate, but is 

 easily capable of misinterpretation and 

 seems to have conveyed the wrong im- 

 pression in this case. Not being abso- 

 lutely hardy in the most northerly 

 American latitudes, the rhodanthe does 

 prefer a "warm, sheltered situation." 

 It is true, also, that the rhodanthe, 

 like some other everlastings, is an ex- 

 cellent subject for potting as well as 

 for ordinary field culture. 



The plants which serve as everlast- 

 ings are mostly hardy or half-hardy 

 annuals, or at least are generally treated 

 as annuals. According to botanists, the 

 acrocliiiiuni and rhodanthe are both in- 

 cluded in the genus heli])terum. The 



