March 16, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



225 



i 



1 ' 



I - 



a- 



HE 



HULL AND EAST RIDING 



CHRYSANTHEMUM SOCIETY. 



THE TWENTY-FIRST SHOW 

 of the above Soci-e^tY will be held in the CITY HALL, 

 TICTORIA SQUARE. HULL, on WEDNESDAY and 

 THURSDAY, 20tli ajid 21ist NOVEMBER next. 



Soh-ediil-eis Free. 



JAMES DIXON, 



County Building's, HiilK Hon. Secretary. 



THE PERPETUAL-FLOWERING CARNA- 

 TION SOCIETY. 

 GREAT SPRING EXHIBITION. THURSDAY and 

 FRIDAY, March 2l6t and 22nd. 1912, HORTICUL- 

 TUHAL HALL, VINCENT SQUARE. Nine Silver-gilt 

 and silver Cliallenge Cujiis offered for Competition. 

 Special Claj&st-s for Amatt^ur^. Aleo Conference on 

 Carnationis (First Day of Show),- March 2l6t., at 

 3.30 p.m. Admifieion l>s. For schedules, etc., apply 

 E. F. HAWES, Ulyeisee, Fortune Green, London, N.W. 



w 



OLVERHAMPTON. 



CHEAT FLORAL FETE, July 9th, lOth. 11th, 1912. 



££C0 IN PRIZES. 



Schedules on application to the Seeretarv (po«^t free), 

 R. F. AMPHLETT, 80, Darlington St., Wo'.verhampton. 



HORTICULTURAL SHOW ADVERTISE- 

 MENTS are inserted in this column at b.x- 

 pence per line, the minimum charge being two Shil- 

 lings and Sixpence. Offioe«s, 148 and 149, Aldersgate 

 Street. London, E.G. 



EXHIBITIONS AND 



MEETINGS. 



National Dahlia Society. 



Tliiri society held a conference at Carr's 

 Restanrant, Strand, W.C, on Friday, Marcli 

 Owing to the inclement weather, the at- 

 tendance was not so large as at the 1911 con- 

 ference, but many of the prominent growers 

 and raisers were present. 



^ The President, Mr . George Gordon , 

 V.M.H., opened the proceedings, and in 

 doing so expressed the pleasure he felt in 

 meeting so representative a gathering of 

 those who were specially interested in the 

 dahlia and its cultivation. He felt, and he 

 had no doubt that those present shared in his 

 feelings, that the National Dahlia Society 

 had acted wisely in adopting the policy of 

 holding a conference annually. Such gather- 

 ings could hardly fail to greatlv stimulate 

 the mterest in dahlias, and to be of much 

 value to those who are engaged in their 

 cultivation. To the veterans of the cult an 

 interchange of views on various matters con- 

 nected with the flowers was beneficial, but to 

 beginners it was an immense advantage to 

 nave an opportunity of obtaining from ex- 

 perts advice on cultural methods, selection 

 ot varieties, etc. He said he had a long- 

 tounded regard for the show flower, but felt 

 that it was the duty of the society to en- 

 courage every section of the flower, and so 

 eiHist the sympathy and support of as large 

 a number of dahlia-lovers as possible. He 

 tiien called upon Mr. George Davidson to 

 address the meeting on 



'IHi: CULTIVATION OF DAHLIAS IN A 



TOWN GARDEN. 



great 

 com- 



Davidson said: The amateur with the 

 S'liiall garden in the suburb,* is at a s 

 fli^advantage in cultivating his flowers, ( 

 Pai^d with hin fellow in the country, or 

 iartlier irom town, where there i.s the advan- 

 tage ot more space and air. If exhibiting 

 ^ us aim, then his difficulties increa&e, and 

 1X11 such flowers as the rose and sweet pea 

 1m P^'^t'tK-ally impossible for him to be 



te nv •.■°'i?P''**' anything like equal 



\T, . fortunately situated, 



the nl ■^"•however, with the dahlia, for with 

 is ,1 f exception of the carnation, there 

 sub rK f^'^ growing in the 



t on of'vr*^'^' exhibition or the^decora- 

 nrm of the garden. 



Drmi/"!]"?^ face difficulties 



Inr'tt''' there ai^ very few, if 



'S'n K '^T""^ ^^-itli a little 



'itv and work. Soil, aspect, trees, 



^)>i^ik fbfhf- ^^'■^^^'"ts no real difficulty, as I 

 "■^ flahha.> oan be grown well on prac- 



but 



tically any eoil, provided it is properly pre- 

 pared. I have grown exhibition blooms on 

 sandy soil, soil with a subsoil of brick-hats, 

 sardine tins, etc., and now^ on a wet stiff clay. 

 Asi>ect, of coui'se, cannot be altered, but 

 unless the garden is entirely shaded dalilias 

 of one section or the other can be successfully 

 grown. 



Trees I find the greatest disadvantage. 

 If the suburban gardener is fortunate enough 

 to have a plot wathout any, or only a few 

 small ones, then all is plain sailing. How- 

 ever^ the majority of modern gardens are, 

 as a rule, parts of some old estate, and his 

 small space is as often as not occupied wnth 

 one or two old trees of the forest kinds. 

 If he requires a larger garden he will almost 

 invariably find it attached to an older dwell- 

 ing and contain a number of fully-matured 

 and w^ell-developed fruit trees, which, 

 whether fruitful or the contrary, are gene- 

 rally highly prized by the landlord. I have 

 always found it extremely difficult to obtain 

 hi^i permission to remove these obstacles to 

 successful cultivation of flowers. If the gar- 

 den is comparatively free from trees pro- 

 bably a neighlK>ur makes up for it by tak- 

 ing a fiendish delight in growdng as many 

 of the strongest varieties as he can close to 

 your fence, so that you get the full advan- 

 tage of the roots. On one side of my garden 

 I have to contend with a row of willows, 

 which on the ^et soil flourish amazingly. I 

 very soon decided that the pompon dahlia 

 was most likely to succeed here, so after 

 cutting away as many of the large branches 

 hanging over my garden as I could (w^hich, 

 by the way, must be done with a certain 

 amount of tact to prevent unpleasantness), I 

 proceeded with the help of a pickaxe, and a 

 navvy, to get out as many of the roots as I 

 possibly could, the whole piece of ground 

 being thoroughly broken up to a depth of 

 tw^o feet or more. In this ground I planted 

 my dahlias, wuth partial success. I managed 

 to get plenty of exhibition bunches from 

 those placed farthest from the trees, but 

 those nearest the stems came wnth bad 

 centres, or shoAved eyes, in spite of con- 

 tinual watering and feeding. The trees 

 were taking practically all the moisture, 

 while under the plants the ground was quite 

 dry. 



Tlie next year I tried a slightly different 

 plan. After digging the ground thoroughly, 

 w^liich in the meantime had become full of 

 fibrous roots, I inserted in the soil nearly up 

 to the rim a six-inch pot, against each plant ; 

 this was plfTced clo^e to the stick before 

 planting, so as not to damaqfc the roots. 

 These pots were filled two or three times in 

 the evening, and about three times a week, 

 wnth water, in addition to the ordinary 

 watering. This M^as quite successful, and it 

 was a rare thing to have blooms with bad 

 centres, at any rate during September and 

 early October. 



I place nearest the trees those pompons 

 which naturally produce rather large 

 blooms, and therefore there is not the same 

 difficulty in getting them small enough for 

 the shows as when grown in naturally good 

 soil. On th^ other hand, feeding is some- 

 times required to keep them up to the net^is- 

 sary size. 



A number of amateurs experience difficulty 

 in getting some varieties sufficiently small 

 for the earlv exhibitions. Tliis can be obvi- 

 ated by growing plants from old tubers, 

 which will give an earlier and large display 



of 'bloom of the right size. 



The small amateur very often makes a big 

 mistake when growing for exhibition by hav- 

 ing too many varieties and too few plants oi' 

 each. Find out what does best with you. as 

 what will do well in one garden may not in 

 another, and plant three or four plants of 

 each. Personally, I consider if one cannot 

 get a good bunch of six blooms from four 

 plants that variety should be discarded, as 

 however pretty it may be, if it is a shy 

 bloomer, or only gives an occasional good 

 flower, there is no room for it in a small 

 garden. 



In my garden I can generally depend on 

 the following varieties to give me good exhi- 

 bition bunches : Adelaide, Phoebe, Cyril, 



Little Bugler, Neris^a, Queen of Whites, 

 Daisy, and Montague Wootton. 



Now, though it is possible to obtain good 

 blooms of both the pompon and single 

 dahlias when grown under trees, provided 

 they are not so large as to exclude too much 

 light and air, I have never succeeded in get- 

 ting show and cactus varieties to do well in 

 this position. Tlie blooms can be had large 

 enough, but invariably lack substance and 

 depth. It is therefore necessary to have a 

 piece of ground as free as possible from the 

 influence of roots. 



The great objection to growing the cactjis 

 dahlias i^ the large amount of room they 

 take up. Though they certainlv require 

 more ground than the other varieties, they 

 can be grown, at any rate for exhibition, in 

 a much smaller space than is generally advo- 

 cated by those with more ground at their 

 disposal. 



I use a plot 12ft. wide from walk to fence; 

 this is divided up into 5ft, beds, with IJft. 

 between them. p:ight plants are put in a 

 bed, in two rows. Of course, at this space 

 there is a great deal more work and incon- 

 venience than when grown at a more ortho- 

 dox distance, but thi*j is better than not 

 growing them at all. 



The greatest trouble is to prevent the 

 blooms getting damaged by being bh^wii 

 about by the wind, and thus coming in con- 

 tact with neighbouring plants. This can }ye 

 prevented by tying the stem^s of the bloom to 

 bamboo canes, placed at intervals around 

 each plant. One advantage of close planting 

 is that blooms may be more readily ])rotected 

 from the vagaries of the weather by judicious 

 tying. Tliinning out the laterals will have 

 also to be more severely done so as to allow 

 the plants to have all the air possible. 



From a decorative point of view dose 

 planting cannot be recommended. a> the 

 plants will make too much growth and the 

 blooms would not be seen. I consider that 

 the gardener with a limited amount of space 

 will find it more satisfactory to grow the 

 singles and pompons, as they not only take 

 up less room, but give a far more ]>lf'ntiful 

 supply of blooms than the majority oi cactus 

 dahlias seen on the show board. 



It will be found that dahlias, more espe- 

 cially the cactus sorts, grow considerably 

 tall er in the suburban garden than in the 

 country; taller stakes should therefore be 

 used, or there will be danger of their being 

 broken down by the autumn gales. 



I have also noticed that they are generally 

 later in blooming. If a bud does not appeal^ 

 about the beginning of July, I invariably 

 pinch out the centre of the plant, and when 

 necessary give a few light doses of nitrate of 

 soda, which will cause the side shoots to 

 start away vigorously, and plenty of bloom 

 should be had by show time. 



I have not attempted to go into cultural 

 details in this paper, a*i the proceedings are^ 

 exactly the same whether the garden is large 

 or small, and full particulars have already 

 been given from time to time. However, 

 watering, and probably feeding, will have to 

 lie indulged in more freely. Very often, 

 even after a couple of days' rain. I give my 

 plants a good' soaking, as it must not be for- 

 gotten that trees and other plant.s take much 



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