404 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AWE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, September 28, 1858. 
little more useful information concerning tliem this 
season; and that may be chiefly summed up m the 
belief, that in general we are apt to defeat our intention, 
by giving these plants too much of our Lind attention, 
so far as Leeping them in much heat before plantmg- 
out time is concerned. But to be more particular. 
With respect to the first complaint, I found that the 
plants were not planted with single stems, but that the 
old root, after it had thrown up shoots a foot or so in 
height, had its numerous shoots thinned out to six or 
seven, and was then planted in rich, well-dunged soil. 
These dwarf Dahlias, when intended to grow naturally, 
I have uniformly recommended to be planted with one 
stem, or shoot, to each. Even that, after it has thrown 
out plenty of side-slioots, and the soil is rich, will 
require a considerable amount of disleafing near the 
flower-buds, to show off the bloom to perfection, and to 
cause a good amount of the strength of the plant to be 
thrown into these flower-buds, instead of into a mass 
of parasol leaves. Under the treatment given, I 
should only have expected full flowering to tahe place 
when many of the leaves were removed, and the roots 
were a little stunted, as respects rich feeding. On the 
one-stem system, and moderate disleafing, the plants 
will never complain of generous treatment at the roots. 
Much experience enables me to say, with some degree 
of confidence, that Dahlias in general, and these dwarf 
Dahlias in particular, never bloom so well as when 
planted with only one stem, whether that stem has a 
portion of the old root attached to it, or is strucL from 
a slip or cutting. 
Secondly. With respect to such plants, and those 
alluded to in the second complaint, and especially if 
they form part of a group of uniform height, there 
need be no scruple about tying, or laying them down 
to any desired height. If such layering was my object, 
I should not so greatly find fault with the plants haying 
two or three stems instead of one. I lately described 
how my friend, Mr. Eraser, layed the tallest Dahlias, by 
giving the stems a twist near their base without breah- 
ing them ; that twist enabling him to turn the shoot at 
pleasure, whilst the mere twisting of the stem did not 
materially interfere with the circulation of due support 
from the roots. On that method I would have no hesi¬ 
tation in layering these beds to any desired height, by 
merely commencing at one end, and going regularly 
over them, placing stem after stem, and just leaving as 
much foliage as would cover the layering down process 
from observation. If time and labour are no great 
objects, some pretty beds may thus be formed,—the 
prettiness, however, in my estimation, greatly consist¬ 
ing in the whole process being so hid from the observer, 
that the fact that they are so layered never strihes 
him. In some of our public gardens,—and where com¬ 
plaints of want of labour-power not unfrequently are 
placed before one’s attention,—this layering process, 
in flower-beds, is becoming all the rage; just as if the 
beauty of a flower-bed, whatever the natural habit of 
the plants with which it is filled, consisted in these 
plants being tortured into almost a uniform level with 
the grass, or gravel, with which they are surrounded. 
If this uniform low level is the great object, would it 
not be better to use naturally low-growing plants at 
once, and more especially when economy is a pro¬ 
fessed objectP I have seen beds of the tall Agera- 
tums, Salvias, &c., such as fulgens, a few inches in 
height, and as flat as a chess-board, pointed out as 
perfect triumphs of artistic layering, and pegging 
shill. While, to my mind, the very fact that all this 
labour had been bestowed, just to deprive them of their 
natural habit of growth, tooL from them just so much 
of their interest and beauty; and, more especially, 
when, to my eye, such beds, in suitable circumstances, 
allowed to grow more naturally, with the flowers at 
the sides sweeping the lawn, and rising gradually and 
gracefully from the sides to the centre, would, after 
all, be a more pleasing picture, present a more massive 
appearance of bloom, and be accompanied with a tithe 
of the trouble and labour. I have had, and seen, pretty 
laid-downbeds of these dwarf Dahlias, and, therefore, by 
all means let those who lihe them have them; but I have 
never seen any so managed, so massive, and strihing in 
outline, as when the plants were trained from a single 
stem, and allowed to grow upwards naturally. If on 
a bed, of course the strongest and tallest should go to 
the centre ; if for a mass, the plants should not be more 
than from eighteen to twenty-four inches apart. For 
a row, the plants cannot be too equal in size and 
strength. 
Thirdly. Extra care and Lindness is not always at¬ 
tended with extra success, just because extra codling 
is as sure to spoil a plant as it is to ruin a child. 
Keeping this in view, it is quite as useful to record 
inistabes as to chronicle successes. I tliinh that, with 
a part of my plants, I made a mistahe this season, and 
it is right that every reader should have the oppor¬ 
tunity of judging for himself, and shaping his future 
conduct accordingly. The facts are these, both tend¬ 
ing to show that extra care is not attended with extra 
success. 
Sometime ago, I looLed in on my neighbour, Mr. 
Watson, and noticed a row of very strong plants of the 
dwarfish Dahlia, Mrs. Labouchere, and well set with 
flower-bucls. They were grown with one stem ; that 
stem, about nine inches high, had branched into several, 
and each of these was supported by a stout, short stick, 
concealed by the foliage. The treatment, however, 
was the principal thing, and I deem it worth the price 
of some volumes of The Cottage Gardener, to every¬ 
one having large aspirations and little house or glass 
room. A hard garden - border was selected. The 
Dahlia roots were placed on it, in the end of March, 
and were at once covered over with from eight to 
twelve inches of leaf mould, rotten dung, &c. This 
Lept them safe from frost, and, as the sun gained 
power, the buds broLe, and the shoots began to grope 
their way through, and the roots to ramify freely in 
the rotten dung and leaf mould. By the end of April, 
some of the shoots began to peep through, and, if frost 
was apprehended, a little soil was pulled over them, 
or a few evergreen boughs placed against them, as 
would be done with a row of early Potatoes. By the 
middle of May and onwards, the roots were taben up, 
cut into pieces, retaining only one shoot, and planted 
out at once into moderately enriched ground; the mass 
of fine roots that had run through the leaf mould 
preventing their feeling any checL. If the roots had 
been considerably divided before placing them on the 
border, it might have given less trouble afterwards, 
but that is a matter of oinnion. By this mode there 
would be a dense mass of bloom, six weebs before our 
correspondent coipplains that now he can get few 
flowers. Even for early blooming, therefore, our 
codling in hotbeds may defeat our object. In cor¬ 
roboration of this idea, tabe a second fact from my own 
practice. I started these dwarf Dahlias this season, 
on the floor of a forcing house. I am here confining 
myself to the dwarf purple Zelinda. When the shoots 
were two or three inches long, they were taben off with 
apiece of the old root attached, and placed about two 
inches apart, in narrow, portable boxes, and in sandy 
loam and leaf mould, and set in a house where there 
was just a little heat, before they began to grow and 
put out roots. Now, what follows, so far, is in favour 
of roughish treatment. When fresh roots were mabing 
from these divided plants, for want of room elsewhere, 
early in April the boxes were taben to a trench, formed 
for Celery, in the bitchen garden, from three to four 
! 
l 
