208 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
November 30, 1895 . 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Storage of Dahlias. 
In its season the Dahlia is almost, if not quite, as 
popular as the Chrysanthemum. For one thing it is 
rather more easy to grow, and another is that 
although its blooming period may be cut short by 
early frosts, some reward for trouble expended is 
always obtained in the way of flower. The intro¬ 
duction of Cactus varieties has undoubtedly given 
the cultivation of the Dahlia a wondrous fillip ; for 
previous to their appearance upon the scene of action 
many people were beginning to tire somewhat of 
Dahlias, and the huge show and fancy blooms were 
called all sorts of uncomplimentary names, and 
declared to be stiff, heavy, and inartistic. The grace 
and beauty of the Cactus and single varieties seem, 
however, to have induced flower lovers to put up 
■with the heavier character of the show and fancy 
varieties, and during the past few seasons, at any 
rate, the early autumn flower has been treated with 
great courtesy and attention. Very small indeed 
will the garden be in which no Dahlias are to be 
seen. 
The sharp frosts at the end of October cut the 
plants right down to the ground, and left only 
blackened stems and leaves where a short time 
previously all had been health and beauty. The 
knife will have been set to work and the stems cut 
back to within a few inches of the ground. Unless 
very severe frosts appear imminent it is always best 
to allow the stools to remain in the ground for ten 
days or a fortnight, as this greatly assists the tubers 
in plumping up. Now, however, it is high time that 
they were lifted from the ground and stored away 
for the winter, as we may now expect sharp frosts at 
any time, and these would do great injury to the 
roots. 
A long-pronged digging fork is the best tool to lift 
them with. This must be inserted at some little 
distance from the central stem or stems, say from 
ten inches to a foot. The soil must be loosened all 
round first, and then, using the fork as a lever, one 
hand grasping the woody base of the stem of the 
plant, the stool may be easily lifted out without 
injury to the tubers, which are somewhat brittle and 
likely to break off if roughly treated. They should 
then be laid upon a hurdle in a shed or outhouse to 
dry. This allows the greater portion of the soil 
adhering to them to drop off and thus the tubers can 
be stored away in the least possible space. Great 
care must be taken that the correct names are affixed 
to them, for if this is not seen to, much confusion of 
nomenclature is sure to result in Spring, when it is 
time to divide the roots so as to obtain a stock of the 
best varieties. In all cases wooden labels should be 
used, for paper ones are liable to be torn off. The 
names must be clearly written and firmly affixed to 
one of the central portions of the fleshy rootstock. 
A dry shed from which frost can be excluded is 
the best place to keep the Dahlias during the winter 
months. On no account should they be packed 
away in places where they cannot be got at without 
a lot of trouble. Some advise packing the roots in 
boxes with'dry sawdust or sand, but this is not to be 
recommended, as some portions of the tuber-like 
roots are sure to rot during the winter, and it will 
readily be understood that where this is the case it is 
not a wise proceeding to pack them up and never 
give them a thought until it is time to start them 
next March. Time should be found at intervals to 
go over the whole of the stock and remove any 
decayed parts, cutting them clean out with a sharp 
knife. 
If the very simple precautions referred to are 
taken, the amateur should experience no difficulty in 
keeping his Dahlias through the winter in first-class 
condition. It may be necessary to add that the 
roots should on no account be placed near to hot- 
water pipes, flues, or any place where artificial heat 
is used, or the fleshy rootstocks will shrivel up and 
lose a large portion of their vitality.— Rex. 
--- 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. 
The Dry Side. —A very amusing letter reaches us 
from Quiz , who is evidently trying to have a joke at 
the expense of teachers of horticultural practice. 
He says that in reading the various papers which 
have a column or so devoted to gardening matters he 
often comes across the advice to keep certain plants 
on the dry side. He is naturally curious as to what 
this means, and asks what is the dry side ? and 
where is he to find it ? 
This is just an instance of how gardeners love to 
indulge in technicalities that few besides themselves 
can understand. The query coming from Quiz is 
something of a chestnut, however, for many people 
have found the “ dry side ” too dry for them to 
understand, and have accordingly asked for informa¬ 
tion. It may be simply taken to mean a drier state 
of things than ordinary. 
Pot Pelargoniums.—I have some Pelargoniums in 
pots that have been blooming in my window all the 
summer. As they got very straggly towards autumn, 
I cut them back, expecting that they would soon 
send out young shoots. They are very backward in 
doing this, however, and a friend tells me that I give 
them too much water, and that I ought not to give 
them any at all. Is he right ?— H. J. 
The plants to which you refer will certainly need 
but very little water, but it would be a mistake to 
keep them entirely without. Do not give water until 
you are sure they need it. Perhaps you are rather 
too impatient with regard to their starting into 
growth. Things move very slowly at this time of 
year. 
Chrysanthemum Cuttings.—A large number of 
amateurs are in the same position as myself—viz., the 
possession of very limited space, and therefore 
cannot, as a great many gardeners can, afford to 
throw away at the blooming season ten or a dozen 
and even sometimes thirty or forty plants because 
they are failures ; but every plant an amateur (with 
limited space) grows must produce a fair quantity of 
good blooms at the time when the " 'Mum fever ” is 
at its highest—viz., show time. 
In my own case I grew about no plants this 
season, and was able to cut at the time of the show 
over ioo good blooms. Now to enable one to do 
this the cuttings must be put in at the right time; 
for instance, if Boule d’Or, E. W. Clarke, Mrs. E. D. 
Adams, and a host of others naturally late are put in 
at the time mentioned in the answer to W. L. T. 
they would not produce good blooms until some 
time in December or perhaps not then. All late 
varieties should be struck in October and November 
if cuttings can be got. Then, again, there^is another 
section—viz., those that require to be taken on the 
second bud so as to get colour, and are a little earlier 
than the foregoing, such as Viviand Morel and its 
sport Chas. Davis, Etoile de Lyon, Duke of York, 
M. R. Bahuant, and Globe d'Or. These should not 
be taken until December or early in January. Again, 
other varieties such as Eda Brass, Sunflower, W. 
Seward, and Col. W. B. Smith should not be taken 
until late in February or early in March, because 
they produce their buds very early and open their 
blooms very fast. If, therefore, the cuttings are 
struck early the crown flowers are all gone before the 
time of the shows, and a certain amount of disappoint¬ 
ment to the grower results. 
To grow the early cuttings during the winter 
months I strike them out of doors in a box covered 
with an old sash, and when they are rooted give 
them plenty of air. If the weather is very severe I 
cover with an old mat or two. The later struck ones 
are placed in a similar box in the greenhouse. The 
hardier they can be grown the better the plants are. 
— Wm. Letheren. 
Old Chrysanthemums.— Convalescent writes to ask 
whether it is better to obtain fresh plants of 
Chrysanthemums by striking cuttings each year 
than to grow on the old ones. He has been led to 
make this query through observing that a plant that 
was put out in the flower garden two years ago has 
borne an abundance of flowers this season. He 
knows that it is usual for those who grow Chrysan¬ 
themums for show purposes to strike cuttings each 
year, but does not see why he should do it as he has 
no intention of growing, or trying to grow, large un¬ 
wieldy blooms. 
Neither do we. If Convalescent simply grows his 
“ 'Mums " for producing flowers suitable, when cut, 
for filling vases there is certainly no need to put in 
cuttings each year. Indeed, he will find that if he 
looks after the old plants properly they will bear a 
far greater number of flowers than the younger ones. 
This being the case we should certainly not advise 
him to go to all the trouble of rooting cuttings 
when he may obtain better results with less work in 
the other direction. The old plants may be kept in 
a frame and protected from severe frost until 
spring, when they will need to be shaken out and 
potted afresh. When that time arrives if Conva¬ 
lescent will write us again we shall be pleased to 
advise him further. 
Chrysanthemum Philadelphia. — Grumbler has some¬ 
thing to grumble about, and a real grievance it is, 
no doubt, to him. Thinking he had got hold of a 
grand incurved variety at last he went in for several 
plants of Philadelphia, only to have his cherished 
expectations sadly disappointed. Although he has 
taken every care of his plants, he says they are weak, 
straggling, sickly-looking specimens, and the flowers 
have not that depth and quality he expected to find 
in them ; and he finishes up with some strong words 
against this particular variety. 
Philadelphia, like more than one other sort, that 
might be mentioned, that has been introduced from 
America, does not give such satisfaction when grown 
on this side of the Herring Pond as it does in the 
land of its birth. In America there can be no doubt 
that it does well, and those who saw the blooms sent 
from Philadelphia to the Royal Aquarium in 
November last were certainly justified in expressing 
an opinion that we had got a real good thing. It is 
stated to have been the result of a cross between 
Margaret Graham and Mrs. Craig Lippincote. As 
to whether the complaint against it is re-echoed 
from other quarters we shall be better able to 
say after the November shows, which we are 
in the thick of, for these are unfailing tests of the 
comparative values of all the varieties. 
Echeverias .—Boston has a quantity of these pretty 
and useful beddiDg plants, which he lifted from the 
open ground just in time to escape the recent frosts. 
They have since been planted out in a cold frame, 
and he is fearful that they will not pass through the 
winter safely there, as he has no means of heating 
it. 
Boston need entertain no fears as to the safety of 
the Echeverias; for they are wonderfully hardy 
plants, and we have kept them through very severe 
winters in unheated frames such as he describes. 
Of course the frames were covered at night with 
mats, and during spells of very severe weather a 
thick layer of dry bracken was thrown over as well. 
And yet although they never saw the light of day for 
a space of three weeks straight off (the frost was too 
severe to admit of their being uncovered) they came 
up smiling at the end of it. The great thing in 
dealing with them is to avoid using the water-pot, 
otherwise they will be sure to damp off. The 
moisture in the soil will be quite enough for their 
needs until the spring-time. It is, therefore, im¬ 
portant that the glass of the frame should be intact, 
so as to exclude all the rain and snow when it 
comes. 
Mignonette in pots. — B.A. sowed some Mignonette 
seed in pots a while ago, and this has germinated 
pretty freely, some dozen or so of plants being in 
each pot. He asks if it is advisable in transplanting 
some of them into other pots ? he has heard that 
Mignonette will not transplant well and wishes to 
know why ? 
The usual plan to adopt in such cases is to thin 
the seedlings down to about three in a pot, which 
will be quite sufficient to fill it. Transplanting is not 
usually done to any great exteat, as it is, to say the 
least of it, somewhat uncertain, especially at this 
time of year. Still there is no reason why B. A. 
should not try his hand at it, if he is not afraid of a 
few failures. In order to do this he must be very 
careful to lift the young plants without injuring the 
delicate rootlets ; for if these are harmed in the least 
the plants will be almost sure to die, and indeed this 
is the prime cause of so many failures in transplant¬ 
ing Mignonette. Some nice soil should be prepared, 
consisting of equal parts of leaf soil and loam, with 
a little sand, and the little plants may be potted off 
singly into small pots. They should then be stood 
close to the glass in a frame or pit having a minimum 
night temperature of 50° Fahr. In this they should 
remain until they have got over the check, when 
they may be given cooler treatment. 
Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs, by 
A. D. Webster. A valuable guide to planters of beautiful 
trees and shrubs for the adornment of parks and gardens, 
Price, 3s.; post free, 3s. 3d. Publisher, Gardbninq Woree, 
1, Clement's Inn, Strand, London, W.C. 
