240 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



March 23, 1912. 



DAHLIAS* 



The dahlia appears to owe its name to 



its popularity is founded. However, it 

 may be stated in general that a gowl cactus 

 dahlia should be of large size, with a closed 



Andre Dahl, a Swedish botanist, and a centre, and no suspicion of 



pupil of Liunpeus. In Germany, howeverj 

 the flower was known to some extent as the 

 Georgina, this name Imving been originally 

 proposed as a substitute for dahlia, so as 

 to prevent confusion with Dalea, an insig- 

 nificant leguminous plant. For. many 

 years the flower was only single and semi- 

 double, but the German florists at length 

 obtained very double blooms, and a multi- 

 tude of different varieties of all colours 

 (except blue) and shapes were afterwards 

 raised in this -country. Subsequently, 

 when popular interest in the flower was 

 flagging, the cactus dahlia was introduced^ 

 and quickly attracted interest. Mean- 

 w^iile, German horticvdturists turned their 

 attention to a section which we know as 

 the pompon. At present, the Dutch 

 p^ony-flowered dahlias are being grown to 

 a large extent, and it is thought that this 

 section is to be the next rage in dahlia etd- 

 ture. 



It would appear that the late autumns 

 experience<:l dur-ing recent years have 

 been extremely Auifavourable to the 

 dahlia grower. I was very mneh im- 

 presse<:l, however, by the excellent dis- 

 play of dahlias which were on view 

 in Seft-on Park^ Liverpool, during the 

 past autumn. This display seemed to 

 attract more than ordinary attention, as 

 the border in which the dahlias were 

 planted presented an absolute blaze of 

 colour, such as it would have been almost 

 impossible to secure with any other class 

 of plant of like stature. Some kinds, such 

 as the cactus dahlias, have unodubtedly a 

 very important value from a decorative 

 point of view; like chrysanthemums, the}' 

 are caj^able of retaining their freshness for 

 some considerable time when placed in 

 water. Few cottage gardens throughout 

 the south of the country are complete with- 

 out a collection of dahlias. The dahlia 

 classes at the various country flower shows 

 attract hosts of exhibitors from amongst 

 the cottagers, and so keen is the interest 

 displayed that I have known of many who 

 have cheerfully paid fancy prices for novel- 

 ties of recent introduction. 



The Cactus Section. 



The cactus dahlia is undoubtedly a flower 

 of extreme beauty, graceful in form, and 

 probably of a wider scope of colouring than 

 is to be encountered in any other form of 

 flower in the w^hole realm of horticulture. 

 The following varieties are among the l>est, 

 and the list is compiled from a selection 



the most noted dahlia 



Caradoc, Clincher. C. 



(iray, Faunus, 



Western, 



given by one of 

 growers of to-day ; 

 E. Wilkins, Dorothy, I)r 

 Fairy^ Glory of Wilts, Great 

 Kathleen Bryant, Nelson, and Ruby Grin- 

 stead. In the modern tyi>e of cactus 

 dahlia the edges roll back in the opposite 

 direction from that in which they were 



making the floret appear 



AH the 



mucli 

 diffe- 

 their 



formed, 



narrower than it really is. 

 rent varieties of cactus dahlias owe 

 elegance and grace of form to the varied 

 curves and flutings, and the curious twists 



The best 



and irregularities of the florets, 

 varieties have their buds formetl 



m 



the 



shape of a filbert, pointed at the end, and it 

 will be noticed that the florets unfold from a 

 straight position, instead of being curved 

 inwards. 



Exhibition Dahlias. 



It is difficult to formulate a list of show 

 points to which all dahlias should conform, 

 since the very diversity of form in this 

 flower is the principal factor upon which 



green. The 



florets must be long and narrow— the nar- 

 rower the better; and it will be more in 

 their favour if they are curved inwards to 

 a slight extent ; every floret must, of 

 course, be regularly and evenly placed, 

 without confusion. The ordinary or double 

 show dahlia, of which some surprisingly 

 good specimens are shown in country shows, 

 should have the following points : The 

 flower must be round and perfectly sym- 

 metrical, the florets regularly and evenly 

 placed, and their edges rounded and shell- 

 shaped, not in any way mouse-eared or 

 pointed. The latter, by the way, should 

 taper gradually to a smaller size towards 

 the centre of the' flower, not suddenly. 

 Pompon dahlias must have the same points 

 as regards shape and form, but should be 

 of smaller size, no more than two inches 



across. Broad 

 substance 



, rounded florets of good 

 essential in the 



are essential in tne single 

 dahlias; they must also lie flat, without 

 being crumpled or twisted ; also the edges 

 should be slightly reflexed. Single dahlias 

 should have a clear and decided colour. 

 Pseony-flowered dahlias seem to score best 

 when the shape, form, and colour are as 

 grotesque as they can j>ossibly be ; in fact, 

 the very ugliness (from a florist's point of 

 view) of this section seems to have brought 

 them into popular fancy, 



Propag^ation. 



Plants in pots may be purchased from 

 nurserymen during spring, and these 

 should not be planted out until May if they 

 are to be grown in the open ground. Where 

 plants have been obtained and grown 

 through one season, however, the roots 

 should be carefuUv lifted when cut down 

 by frost, and stored in a cellar or ovit- 

 house when fairly dry; it is advisable to 

 bury them in ashes or sand so as to prevent 

 mildew. They may be brought to light in 

 March, and placed in a warm house of some 

 sort, when J as soon as the eyes commence 

 to grow, the central stem can be divided in 

 such a way as to leave a growth and some 

 of the tubers on each section of it. These 

 make very good plants for the late summer 

 or autumn if planted out in May, but for 

 exhibition culture cuttings taken the same 

 season are best. The roots should be 

 started in heat, and the cuttings will root 

 readily in March. To avoid deterioration, 

 it is advisable to take the cuttings quite 

 close to the root, where the stem is solid; 

 if they are taken higher up where the 

 stem is hollow, deterioration will certainly 

 ensue. 



Staking and General Manage- 

 ment. 



Tlie young plants should be potted into 

 six-inch pots in good compost, and stood 

 in cold frames until about the first week in 

 June. Then they may be transferred to 

 their permanent quarters, staking imme- 

 diately with a good stout 6ft. stake, and 

 supplying the plant with plenty of water 

 in the absence of rain, so as to enable it 

 to establish itself quickly. Delay at this 

 stage generally means late flowering and 

 consequent disap}K>intment. As soon as 

 fresh grow^th is made, four additional 

 stakes should be placed around the central 

 one^ about 12 or 15 inches aw^ay from it, 

 and with their tops leaning outwards. The 

 sidA shoots should }ye tied to these stakes 



'eloped. 



WTien grown for exhibition purposes it is 

 most essential that the plants should have 

 a number of their shoots reduced, and their 



buds removed ; a cluster of buds is gene- 

 rally produced in the points of the prin- 

 cipal stems, and these should be disbudded 

 to the best and generally the leading bud- 

 the growth-buds that are produced in the 

 axils of the leaves immediately below the 

 flower buds should be pinched out at the 

 same time. 



As soon as flowering commences a soaking 

 of liquid manure or guano may be given 

 with advantage . Old blooms, as the 

 florets fade, must be removed at once, and 

 no useless spindly growth should be allowed 

 to develop in the centre of the plant. 



J. C. Newsham 



NARCISSUS SEEDLINGS. 



At a recent meeting of the Royal iEorticul- 

 tural Society's Scientific Committee Mr. 

 Worsley made soone remarks upr>n the 

 growth of narcissi in gardens. It was the 

 general opinion that narcissi, when allowed 

 to grow untended, may become smaller, but 

 never, in spite of a somewhat general 

 opinion to tlie contrary, revert to the speci- 

 fic type, tliQUgh seedlings may vary from 

 the parent type. Sir John Llewelyn showed 

 fiowers of wnd plants from S. Wales, includ- 

 ing N. obvailaris and a large deep-coloured 

 form with something of the coloration of N. 

 Oolden Spur. The plants occurring wild in 

 S. Wales showed a good many variations in 

 form and colour of flower, but there were 

 two types of foliage only which never seem 

 to intergrade. Canon Fowler wrote that he 

 sometimes found form.s among such varietif^ 

 as Emperor producing finer flowers than the 

 majority, and he believed these variations 

 to be constant; one plant was found among 

 Weardale Perfection last year having two 

 flowers of only a fourth the size of that 

 variety, and something like Johustoni m 

 form. Mr. Malcolm, of Duns, also alluded 

 to a sport which he had found in his garden. 

 Sporting appears to be rather frequent. 

 Some discussion arose as to varieties that 

 commonly produce seed, and Mr. Williani>. 

 of Lanarth said N. cyclamineus reproduced 

 it&elf bv 'seed quite freely, but seed- 

 lings died out rapidly in the gra^^s: 

 N. pseudo-narcissus also produced itfielj 

 freely from seed in the grass and reached 

 flowering size. In Mr. 

 N. pallidus pra&oox is 

 dant seeder, but the 



Bowles's garden 

 the most abnn- 

 seedlings raielv 



gave the pale form, thougli they retainer, 

 the early-flowering habit; pseiido-narcissib 

 seeds freely, as to Triandrus albus, yariilor- 

 mis, and cyclamineus. Mr. Chittenden saia 

 that N. cyclamineus seeded very freel} 

 W^isley as do X. bulbocodium and ^- 



andrus' albus; other forms r^^'^^^y^^'^/p" 

 more than a stray capsule or so. ^^-^ 

 had onlv found Sir W^atkin with a ^^^^ 

 once, and Empress rarely needed, but WJ 

 Wing^ frequently with him. Weather con- 

 ditions appeared to determine to a la^^^ , 

 tent the amount of seeding that occurrea, 

 for in 1910 he found only nine varieties p 

 duce seed, but in 1911 21 ^f^™- . ^"^^ ^i^- 

 bees were required to effect P^^^^^f V?'^ f- 



Mr. P. Barr found that ^ 



factorily. x,^x. ^. — — . 

 fertilised seedlings of garden ^'^"*^7\\\, 

 daffodils tend to revert to their parent t _ ■ 

 e.g., Horsfieldi ^elf-fertilic^d produces nin« ^ 

 OUQ poor forms of p^udo-narcissus. -^^ ^ 



Alfred/ on the other hand, pi'^^i^^'/Se 

 very nice vellow trumpet forms, as d 



more or la^ dwarfer than theu: Pf ^ 

 Backhouse remarked in reference to _ 

 mon belief that single wild daffodU^ i 

 eport to double formb^ that f ^^^J^^^^ ,th^ 

 suiting from the first t^ros.s betweeu ^^^^ 



single wild form and the do^^^^ jglit 

 some of them, be double, and the idea ni ^^^^ 



have arisen in another way ^^^^ ^practically 



poo 



poor 



daft> I ^ 



,'ould 



mm wuiVJt iniu^i. i^^^*^^^ . fiiiG 



become typically double. Against tmb, 



• the fact that the true doyWe^t .^^^^ 



ro>vn 



Van 



ever, is 



of the wild daffodil is rare in 



Zion being the form wmmonl} g 



