XvRiv 27, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



341 



DAHLIA CULTIVATION FOR 

 EXHIBITION & DECORATION. 



In Mav dahlia growers turn their atten- 

 tion to the land. Quite early in the month 

 thev thoroughly dig over the plot devoted 

 to dahlias, and\vhere the soil is of a heavy, 



nioi-e or less clayey, nature, this operation 

 will leave it in a rough state. Ot couise, 

 the l>est way to treat soil of this descrip- 

 tion is to let the clods get dry, and then 

 wait for a shower, when it is mere child ^ 

 play to break up the masses of wliat a 

 tew hours previously was very hard earth. 

 But there ;s a danger in leaving heavy lami 

 in a rough state, and that is the possibility 

 of not having rain befoi-e planting time, 

 so it is perhaps the wiser plan to knock 

 down the clods as soon as sufficiently dry, 

 and then turn the tine soil underneath, and 

 bring another lot of heavy soil to the top. 

 In our ca&e, we have to dig and break 

 down again as many times a« will suffice 

 to get a friable coniiition to a goixl depth, 

 which is sometimes a matter of four dig- 

 gings. 



It is, however, impossible to lay clown any 

 definite rule as to working the land, a^s in 

 the case ot one ^^rower, it may be possible 

 to plant out, e\en after a heavy rain, 

 whereas on another class of soil, it woukl 

 be folly to attempt it. One general prin- 

 ciple must be followed, and that is, pre- 

 pare a deep, well-worked, and manured sub- 

 soil, as well as surface. I must here state 

 that I have never had any experience with 

 soil on which dahlias gi'ew so luxuriantly 

 that they burie<l the flowers, and so can 

 give no advice as to treatment in such 

 cases. In the south the trouble is to get 

 them strong enough, and to this end good 

 cultivation is the general rule. 



Returning now to the young plants in 

 the frames. These should be growing 

 rapidly, albeit not so much upwards as in 

 sturdiness, and only one danger is met with 

 h^re, bi^t this is a somewhat general one. 

 I refer to allowing the plants to become 

 root-bound. At this perHxl. it a plant is 

 examined, it will be seen tliat strong thick 

 roots, three to six or so in number. 



pushing through the soil. These are to 

 form the tubers for next autumn. These 

 should not become twaned round inside 

 the jK)t. Anyone wIk) plants out a root- 

 bound plant can wry easily see th(^ result 

 when lifting the tuber in the autumn, as 

 instead of a spreading free lot of loots, the 

 tubers have formed a compact mass resem- 

 bling a club, aiul have not derived full 

 benefit from the manure even at a .shore 

 distance away from them. About a week 

 previous to the day Mhen it is mtemled 

 to i)lant nut. I)eij;in to lianlen off by bavins: 



m ' L ^ 



the lights, at first p-Aix iaily. an<l then 

 wholly, removed at night time. 



Other details of managiMiiciU have been 

 referred to a.s iin])ortaTit, but the work of 

 planting out is <loubly so. While on the 

 one hand wi» exhil)it<u's mav no to one ex- 



treme. It is only t(K) often that the dahlia 

 has to put up with the otlier. A brief out- 

 line of the work of transferring to the 

 open ground may ])(u-ha])s (^x])Iain the sys- 

 tem usually in vogue anuuit^st exhibitors. 

 wIh) are not troubled t)v an undut^ exuber- 



ance as rt';j;ar<ls foliage, ai d a e(ir re.s|K)n(l- 

 ing scarrity of hhK)m. Where the dahlias 

 are grown in rows, measure (»ff the plot, 

 ailowiufi; oft. between each row and 4ft. l)e- 

 tween th*. j.lants in the nnw Having thus 

 parcelltHl oui the phu. <lig <uit a hole about 

 I'^in. .<qnai'e. and rather over 12in. deejK 

 where ea<-h ])lant is lo he ]da<**vl. Next 

 put alKHit two fork-loads of Juanure in the 

 bottom, and thoroughly incorporate this 

 with the soil ; this operation will also en- 

 large and deepen tlie hole. Having re- 

 placed all the soil previously dug out, and 



lightly pressed it down, all is re^dy for the 

 planter. 



I neeil hardly mention in detail all the 

 little items conne<*ted with the work of 



THE GENTIAN CUP. 



holing, such as working to a line, and so 

 on, as any grower will soon arrange a system 

 of his own, so as to finish up one row of 

 hole*s before starting the next. Before 

 transferring the plants to the open ground 

 dip them in a strong insecticide. 



Where dahlias are plantinl in shrubberies 

 or for decoration generally, it will pay to 

 put manure inuler them just the same as 

 for exhibition purposes. In the case of 

 j)omi)ons and singles, it is usual to with- 

 liold manure, or the flowers will l>e too 

 large and coarse-grained for competition. 

 It may appear quite an easy matter U) ob- 

 tain a small flower, but to get a really tiny 

 but perfect pom])on is not so easy, tor if 

 starvinl the plants juoduce .shaliovv flowers, 

 and if grown freely they may l>erome too 



We have much pleasure in giving our 

 readers an illustration of the Gentian Cup 

 which Messrs. ii. Wallace and Co., Colches- 



ter, are ofi'ering as a prize at the forth- 

 coming International Horticultural Exhibi- 

 tion, for the Invst rock garden in a space 

 not exceeding 100 square feet in the 

 amateur sei tion. The cup is a particularly 

 handsome one^ and quite distinct in design 

 from the majority of prize cups. It is of 

 silver, and the va>se or cup proper repre- 

 sents a large ujiright bloom of the lovely 

 (Jentiana a<-aule; while over the base, an<l 

 in a most natural mainn»r. aj)pear rejire- 

 sentations of oth<»r gentianas. vSo distinct a 

 j)rize is worthy of a keen competition. an<l 

 Mc»ssrs. Walhu are to b^* congral ulat<^l 

 n))on the sueet ss ol a <I**sign that is eTitir<*Iy 

 in kwping with the class in which il will 

 l)eoffere<l, Su<*h a s}>len(li<l memento nl ihe 



Tin: (;k\ riAX < rp. 



Offered by Messrs. Wallace aiul Co. a- a uri/.e at the liay:*l International 



Ibu i ienltural Kxliibitien. 



gross. I hav(^ seen good flowers orrown on 

 poor lan<l, on little wiry-wooderi plants; 

 and on the other hand. I Iku »■ seen hu Lie 

 plants <-o\cr*^l witli small eouijiaet fiowi is, 

 the qnantitv of growth ser\ in;^ a.^ a ele < k 

 to size. In the ease of donhles the 4inly 

 fear is in ha\in^ the ]tlants t<Kt ^loss and 

 sueenlent. ;i> hv ^o doin^. althon;^h liie_:<' 

 flowers mav irviiU. \hv\ will latk nratn.s> 



arul symmetry. 



In jdanting the different s*'<tii>n^, put 

 out the ea<-tns varieties any time after 

 May LV). tor late Augnst or Sept^^mlnT 

 shows, the (h>ubles rather lat< r. and the 

 ])<)mi>ons and singh'N any tinu. a> thr-.f 

 flower earlier and <-ontinue indi'iiniK'ly. 



One more word as to ])lanting. and that 

 is. don't ])Ut tlie b:dl of eartli too <b^ep. 

 just cfnnfortably under the Nurfaee of tho 

 soil is sufficient*. I saw some \\v>rv< la^t 

 autumn wbi<*h had \hh^u eight inches deej). 

 i.e., eight indies of stem under the so, I. 

 One other little matter I always ni>iM u])on. 

 and that is to liave a stout stake i)laei d to 

 each phant at once. H. Streuwu k. 



International Horti^-ult oral Kxhiltition is 

 ( a hula ted to inspir(* conipet it <m s and ni- 

 du<e them to put fo]th lh*M \i r\ host 

 woik in riKk-;ia rdcn cons! i U't hui and iur- 

 ni^hin^j;. in an eif(U't to w ni ii . The i-up 

 has be<Mi manufaei ur* d hy Mi'^m >. J<»l!Ti-'<u 

 WalkfU'. a»Hl 'I'olhui vt. ^M. A id< i --l:.! i 

 ^- ■ . lauido]i. w It i> un \ m w . M im a. 



'\ M i\ ('t'oim' [)dlslon. win' 

 tile employ of the Mossrs, Wallae*'. 



in 



Cctmellia Apollo. < a inel lias have 

 ll(twt']r<] !^ luai k;is.]y w v]\ nj the fipeii air in 

 t ht^ Hon] iie!iif *at it f]i-t 1 i(i t h i> v<'ar. Hut 

 none liave e\<-el]ed t ht- ti<>wer> ^:f tln' ah(.ve- 

 nanied variety, which coTM](!ri!r<'d t<i <t]ien tlie 

 tir>t Wi'ck in MaK li in Mr. W . 

 <^arden at M ii h i I i o \ 1 1 nU'< 

 w<'re -^lu'wn JU a iai^r tiat h"' 

 >how 114'ld oii Marrh and 12'' 



]ierf<'rt . 1 In* colour \\ a - ■ 



intiUisc eji!ti>uij. :*^otii'- 

 rvnuil nntre than Itt, m - . 



( ' M ^ lark's 

 ^ >v ' i*looms 



-prin^ 



were 



'] an 



1 - 



