59 6 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
September ig, 1908. 
SPECIMEN . . 
Chrysanthemums. 
By D. G. Mclver. 
What do readers do with the “old 
stools,” when all cuttings required are 
taken from them ? They, perhaps, use 
the old soil for potting young Geraniums 
in the spring, an excellent idea, but the 
“stools” themselves are from their point 
of view useless. To prove that such is 
not the case, I will endeavour to explain 
how those varieties of free habit can be 
utilised in forming beautiful specimen 
plants, bearing hundreds of useful blooms 
besides furnishing the conservatory with 
a real wealth of flowers in winter. 
Many amateurs have failed in this ob¬ 
ject by raising plants from cuttings in 
the usual way as, although fair specimens 
were raised, they could not bear compari¬ 
son alongside plants grown as above, 
these latter being in ordinary cases three 
or four feet high and as many through. 
Varieties such as William Holmes, La 
Triomphante, Nelly Pocket, Souvenir de 
Petite Amie, Soleil d’Octobre, W. H. 
Lincoln, Lizzie Adcock, Charles Davis, 
and its sports, may be taken as a selec¬ 
tion for Japanese, while in Pompons you 
may select any variety you wish. 
When the plants have been cut down to 
produce cuttings, do not take any from 
those which you intend growing as speci¬ 
mens, but instead thin out the weakest 
growths till there is only six or eight left. 
There will be sufficient to form a good 
foundation at the outset. 
The ball of soil may now be reduced 
so that it can conveniently be placed in a 
five-and-a-half-inch pot. Make the soil 
(which need not be rich) very firm, 
placing the plants in a cold frame, and 
airing on every favourable occasion. 
When a fortnight has elapsed, pinch out 
the points of the shoots, which will 
induce each to throw two, this 
brings the number to sixteen ; 
when these have attained a length 
of four inches, pinch again, till some 
forty shoots have resulted. Another shift 
into an eight-inch pot will be necessary, 
but this must not take place immediately 
after or before pinching; always allow a 
fortnight to elapse between such opera¬ 
tions. For the final shift use pots not 
less than twelve inches in diameter, or 
butter tubs will do equally well, if holed 
and drained properly. 
The compost should be in a rough state 
and rammed firm with a blunt stick, and 
may consist of three parts turfy loam, one 
part leaf soil, half a part sharp sand, a 
five-inch potful each of Thomson s 
manure, bone meal, and soot. Treat the 
plants in all respects as those grown in 
the ordinary way, the staking alone being 
different. Each shoot will require a 
stake, and these must be placed well out 
so that a free current of air may pass 
through the foliage. Leave one bud on 
each shoot, or, if number is more than 
size, three may be left. 
It will thus be seen that a specimen, 
well furnished with healthy foliage, and 
bearing from a hundred and fifty to two 
hundred blooms, is a sight worth seeing, 
and well repays any extra labour in¬ 
volved. 
SwUawa sepUwfuia. 
Several of the Gentians have got a bad 
name owing to the difficulty some people 
have in preserving them for two or more 
years in their garden. There is no diffi¬ 
culty with G. septemfida if care is taken 
to plant it in a fairly deep soil that is not 
too heavy. Even sand or lime may be 
added to improve a heavy soil, which will 
not get baked and Tracked in summer. 
If planted in March, by taking the above 
precautions with the soil, it gets estab¬ 
lished before the summer is out and con¬ 
tinues to bloom freely year after year. 
The flowers may not have the brilliancy 
of G. verna, but they are very much 
larger and the blue is quite a bright one 
and the fringes in the throat are also 
of the same bright colour. The whole 
plant, even when thriving well, does not 
usually exceed bin. in height. I would, 
therefore, recommend this Gentian to 
those who have difficulty with G. verna or 
G. acaulis. It may be that it roots more 
deeply, and can thus thrive in a soil that 
is less continuously moist than that which 
those dwarf Gentians require. 
D. W. 
-- G. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS: —Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any way,t any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of peBts, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making the award. Mark envelopes “ Com* 
petition," and post not later than the Monday 
following date of issue. Entries received later 
than Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
the following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will he awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
160 words, on any interesting gardening sub- 
jeot. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
A prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to “ H. Stevens,” for the article 
on “ A Blue-flowered Poppy,” page 5,94. i 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to “O.T.,” for the article on 
“Pldox Drummondii carnea”; and another 
t.o ” Joseph Floyd ” for the article on “ Asters 
Dying (iff,' 1 pageSRl. 
THE CULTURE OF 
Delphiniums. 
By A. Lawrence. 
Delphiniums are such very beaut; 
plants, when well grown, that I am of 
surprised to see many good gardens eit 
without them altogether, or to find th: 
represented by a few very poor specim. 
all of the same shade and with very srr. 
flowers. 
This seems a mistake, when everv sh. 
of blue, from the palest sky-blue 
darkest indigo, can be produced fror 
packet of seed. Nothing makes a nr 
beautiful group in the garden than fi: 
six to twelve Delphiniums, if all sha: 
of them are planted together. As g« 
blue flowers are so scarce, everyone she 
have, at least, one bed of them, or a 1.; 
group in a border. 
The seed can be sown now, but I th 
it does besL when sown ea”b- in spr ; 
I got packets of mixed Hybijd. dotl 
Delphinium, and D. formosum coe? 
tinum, all of which cost about one si 
ling. They were sown in a gentle : 
bed, early in spring, pricked out of t 
boxes when about three inches hb 
planted in the hot bed (which had cot; 
by that time) without boxes. They g i 
quickly there, till the beginning of J \ 
when all were planted in the gartc 
Many of them bloomed that year, as 
of them had exquisite shades of bluer 
blue just tinged with pink; thoseo 
purple shades were thrown away, as In 
not care for them, but they would mal 
handsome bed by themselves well at; 
from the blues. 
They were planted in a peaty soil. 1 
enriched with farmyard manure, in is 
tance about two feet apart. After bo; 
there two years, they had grown so Lg 
that every second plant had to be ’e 
moved and planted elsewhere, and t ; 
left are still too close. I have three l.g' 
groups of them, and when in bloom, ru 
showing all shades of lovely blue, e; 
are the admired of all beholders, n< 
quite the feature of the garden. Soir o 
them this year threw up spikes of bbn 
quite twelve feet high, and looked nnni 
ficent; but I consider this is really 01 
tall, as it is so difficult to prevent ei 
being broken in a high wind. So in 
tend lifting and re-planting them, 
find that after being moved they <n 
attain such a great height for a ye; ° 
two. 
I find them very easy to propagate ai 
s e’ 
nv of those I admire most. After 
ave flowered I pull up a few of the a; 
terns, giving them a jerk from the rets 
hese pieces have two small white Id- 
ust at the end, which, on being placL 
[entle heat, root freely, and I da sa 
would root quite well outside, if no t ra 
cere available, but the heat hastenin' 
Towth. When either, the seed!in; ° 
'ffshoots are growing slugs must be m 
ully watched for. They are enenn ; 
nost growing plants, but quite ravepu 
chen Delphiniums are to be had 
ho 
seedlings or when the old plantar 
ppearing above ground in spring, 0,1 
ill clear off a box of seedlings inn 
nd, in spite of care and watchfu w 
rev have eaten down the old plants he 
