POPULAR GARDEN PLANTS. 



435 



warm house, or on a hot -bed, in February or 

 March, at a temperature of about 60°. Shoots 

 are soon sent up from about the crown, the first 

 of which, being stout and hollow, are thrown 

 aside, those that follow being more solid. They 

 are planted singly in thumb-pots or round the 

 sides of large 60-pots, in a sandy mixture, and 

 placed in a close frame or pit in a temperature 

 of 60° to 70°. The earliest cuttings take four 

 or five weeks to root; those taken later will 

 root in about half the time. When rooted they 

 are repotted and returned to the frame until 

 they are established, when they are hardened 

 off and placed in a cold frame. They will not 

 stand frost. It is well to pot the plants into 

 4- or 5-inch pots to get them well rooted for 

 planting out in the open the first week in June. 



Division of the tuber-like or fleshy root is 

 chiefly practised where only a few strong plants 

 are required. In this case place the roots in 

 heat in March or April, and when the buds at 

 the crown push, divide into as many parts as is 

 necessary, preserving at least one bud to each 

 piece, keeping them in a greenhouse or cold 

 frame till the time of planting out. 



Soil. — The Dahlia, to produce its flowers in 

 perfection, requires a well-drained soil which 

 is neither very light nor of a strong adhesive 

 nature. Any good fresh loam will do exceed- 

 ingly well. The ground should be prepared 

 by deep trenching in winter, and if it is 

 naturally poor, some turfy loam and well- 

 decomposed cow-dung, or old hot-bed manure, 

 may be mixed with the soil at the time of 

 planting. 



Planting. — Any open situation, not shaded 

 by trees, will suit the Dahlia. The taller 

 varieties may be planted with good effect on 

 each side of a walk, or in front of shrubbery 

 borders. They also have a brilliant appearance 

 when planted in masses. The dwarf varieties 

 may be used for bedding in the flower-garden, 

 where they are either allowed to pursue their 

 natural mode of growth or are pegged down. 

 For decorative purposes those only should be 

 grown which are of rich and effective colours, 

 and throw out their flower-heads on long stalks 

 clear of the foliage. In the first week of June 

 the plants may be put out in the open ground. 

 It is the general practice to make a hole 

 18 inches in depth; place a spadeful of good 

 manure at the bottom of it, mixing with it 

 some of the soil taken from the hole, and then 

 planting, but a little deeper than the plant was 

 in the pot. If the weather be warm and dry a 

 good watering may be given, and be repeated 



twice a week if drying weather continues. To 

 keep the soil cool and moist about the roots a 

 mulch of good manure is placed upon the sur- 

 face after the plants start into vigorous growth. 

 At the time of planting it is usual to stake 

 the main shoot, tying it securely, but allowing 

 space for it to swell. Vigorous-growing varie- 

 ties will require their side-shoots staked also, 

 or they will be stripped off by wind. Syringing 

 or watering overhead in the evenings of warm 

 days is of great assistance to the plants, and 

 in hot drying weather copious waterings at the 

 roots is also necessary. 



Plants grown for the production of exhibition 

 blooms should have their shoots thinned if neces- 

 sary, but where there is a tendency to large 

 size and coarseness thinning should be sparingly 

 done. A knowledge of the habit of the plant 

 is necessary in this case. Plants put out in 

 borders for decorative purposes should be 

 thinned out only enough to permit light and 

 air to reach the centres of the plants. Flowers 

 of light shade intended for exhibition require 

 to be protected from bright sunshine and storm. 

 Liquid manure may be given with advantage 

 to some varieties when the buds are swelling, 

 but care is requisite, as an indiscriminate use 

 of a strong stimulant may lead to the produc- 

 tion of coarse flowers. 



The earwig is a most troublesome pest to 

 the growers of Dahlias, preying upon the young 

 shoots early in the season, and later on injuring 

 the buds and flowers by eating holes into the 

 petals. The old-fashioned plan of inverting a 

 flower-pot with some moss in it on the top of 

 the main stake is still one of the best methods 

 of trapping them. Slugs can be trapped by 

 placing Lettuce or Cabbage leaves on the soil 

 near the plants. Green-fly will infest the shoots 

 of the plants in warm, dry weather, but con- 

 stant waterings overhead by night will keep 

 this pest in check; if not, then the points of 

 the shoots infested should be washed in some 

 insecticide, such as 4 ounces of soft soap dis- 

 solved in a gallon of boiling water, applying it 

 when cool enough. 



As soon as autumn frosts destrov the foliage 

 the stem of the plant may be cut away and the 

 roots dug up, turning them upside down so 

 that water may drain away from the hollow 

 stem. Each root should be carefully labelled, 

 superfluous soil removed from the tubers with 

 a pointed stick, and then stored away in a dry, 

 cool, frost-proof place, beneath the stage of a 

 greenhouse being their usual wintering quar- 

 ters. 



