22 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1912 



is 



3. Insects — The rose bug, the striped 

 cucumber beetle, and the spotted cucum- 

 ber beetle, may appear in late June, eating 

 buds and young leaves. Spray with weak 

 arsenate of lead solution toward evening, 

 and repeat a week later if necessary. 



Aphis, and a jumping insect called 

 locally "white thrip," may appear at any 

 time. They poison the sap of young 

 plants, and injure foliage and flower buds 

 on adult ones. Use kerosene emulsion 

 as for rose bushes, early in the morning. 

 Spray from underneath, with fine spray 

 and much force. Three to a dozen appli- 

 cations may be necessary. 



4. Cutting flowers — The more dahlias you 

 cut, the more your bushes will bear. Cut 

 good sprays, buds and all: the plant is 

 nothing but a factory for turning out 

 more, and, like a factory, if this week's 

 output lies unwanted and useless on the 

 premises next week it will work only half- 

 time. Many a good plant of my garden 

 gives fifteen flowers a week cut in sprays 

 fifteen and eighteen inches long, two or 

 three unopened buds to the spray — fifteen 

 flowers, that is, and thirty odd buds, per 

 week. A small flower-bud is no more to 

 a dahlia plant than a small leaf, and 

 replaced somewhere on 

 the plant's surface inside 

 of forty-eight hours. It 

 is a grave heresy to say 

 of your dahlias, "They 

 are short, because I didn't 

 want to cut the buds." 

 Cut buds and branch and 

 all; don't have them 

 "short"; and you will so 

 prune the bush and stim- 

 ulate the sap that flower 

 stalks will actually 

 lengthen. This is not 

 theory; I practice it, and 

 I know. Also, for com- 

 mercial cut flowers, any 

 florist who does much dec- 

 orating through Septem- 

 ber and October will pay 

 $1.50 per hundred for 

 your freshly cut, long- 

 stemmed flowers, cactus, 

 decorative, or ball; and 

 not a picayune per bushel 

 for the most beautiful 

 6-inch-stalk cabbages you 

 can offer him. Special 

 orders for one color, or 

 for very large flowers, or 

 yard-long sprays (Jeanne 

 Charmet, Gustave Dou- 

 zon, or any extraordinary 

 giant white which is dur- 

 able in water), of course 

 command special prices. 



5. Varieties — In buy- 

 ing from the catalogue of 

 a reliable dealer, the 

 average purchaser had 

 best choose varieties listed 

 as "free flowering" or even 

 "very free flowering." 

 Some splendid exhibition 



dahlias are not worth their board in a 

 flowery flower garden. After freedom of 

 bloom, consider long flower stalks, color, 

 and price; these in the order named. 

 Size is desirable, but not an essential 

 either for garden effect or for cut flowers. 



Dahlias in Southern Gardens 



By T. J. Steed, Georgia 



r\AHLIAS can be grown to perfection 

 ■*— ' in the South, either from roots or 

 seed. Those grown from seed are not as 

 large nor as early as those grown from 

 roots, but very fine flowers can be had. 

 By sowing seed you get a great assortment 

 of varieties, and possibly something en- 

 tirely new. The time for sowing the seed 

 is February, in hotbeds or coldframes. Be 

 careful not to sow too thickly, and trans- 

 plant to permanent quarters just as soon 

 as possible so that the plants will have 

 plenty of time to grow stocky, as weak, 

 thin-stalked plants (which are the result 

 of growing too close together or in the 

 shade) never amount to much, more 

 especially the first season. Be sure to 

 get good seed; cheap dahlia seed is ex- 

 pensive in the long run. 



When they are flowered successfully dahlias are among the most pleasing of garden flowers. 

 The starry-rayed cactus varieties are the most esteemed 



Select a sunny place for the plants and a 

 rich, sandy loam soil, if possible, and spread 

 a good quantity of cow or sheep manure 

 over it (if done last fall so much the 

 better) and spade it under deep, loosening 

 up the soil. Never plant dahlias on poor 

 soil without manure and expect results. 



Good strong roots in good soil should 

 stand two and a half to three feet apart 

 each way. And that is the kind to buy. 

 They cost more and they are worth more, 

 as they will produce more and bigger 

 flowers. Seedling plants should stand 

 eighteen inches to two feet apart each 

 way. Keep the beds free from weeds and 

 grass at all times by frequent shallow 

 cultivation. Allow only one stalk to a 

 root, and if very large flowers are desired, 

 prune and disbud as you would chrysan- 

 themums, allowing only from two to four 

 of the main central buds to develop. 



If the season is dry when they begin 

 flowering, water should be given (a- 

 gallon to each plant every afternoon, 

 or two gallons every other afternoon) in 

 trenches beside the plants. Cover the 

 surface with dry soil as soon as the water 

 has soaked in. Liquid manure applied 

 twice a week is also beneficial in producing 

 extra large flowers. If 

 liquid manure cannot be 

 had, dissolve one ounce of 

 nitrate of potash or nitrate 

 of soda in three gallons of 

 water and give each plant 

 a gallon of water at a time. 

 This should begin just 

 before the buds begin to- 

 appear and continue until 

 large buds have formed ? 

 or until the flowers begin 

 to open. 



A mulch of green grass 

 is of great benefit to the 

 plants in the summer, 

 especially in the middle 

 and lower South. It pre- 

 serves the moisture and 

 keeps the soil cool. If 

 the grass is not obtain- 

 able, strawy stable manure 

 is a good substitute. 

 Stake the plants to pre- 

 vent high winds from 

 blowing them about. Use- 

 strips of soft cloth one 

 inch wide for tying the 

 plants to the stakes. It 

 is a good plan to plant 

 dahlias in a spot which is 

 protected from the wind,, 

 provided it is not in the 

 shade or where the soil is 

 penetrated by tree roots. 

 In the middle and lower 

 regions, dahlia roots keep 

 best in the ground where 

 they grow, if it is well 

 drained. I usually cut off 

 the tops in November and 

 cover the bed with strawy 

 stable manure, which is 

 dug into the soil in spring. 



