April 20, 1907. 
THE flAPnENINO WOPf.D 
47. Dahlias not Sprouting. 
About three weeks ago 1 put my Dahlia 
bers in a box of cinder ashes. Before 
acin 0, them in the box I made sure that 
jey were sound. After covering the tubers 
ith the ashes 1 gave a good watering, and 
en put the box in a warm, light shed, 
ivering the box with glass. 1 have neither 
eenhouse nor cold frame, so I thought this 
Duld answer the purpose. The shed re- 
rred to gets the full power of the sun all 
ly. They do not seem to have started yet. 
id I treat the tubers rightly? If §0, will 
,u please tell me how and when to plant 
it in the open ground? I shall gladly 
rept any information you can give me on 
is subject. (S. W. Maile, Middlesex.) 
You made a mistake in watering the tubers 
ter covering them with ashes. Water is 
itirely unnecessary to start Dahlias, and 
lght even cause them to rot. Bottom heat 
of great advantage in starting Dahlias 
to growth, but instead of putting them into 
ich a position you put them in cold ashes 
id then watered them, which will keep the 
;hes cold for some time. Damp ashes 
ould have been quite sufficient around the 
ibers until they commenced to push. When 
icy have sprouted about ^ in., or even less, 
du can cut up the tubers into pieces, each 
jaring one sprout. These tubers can then 
5 shortened and the portion bearing the 
jrout potted’up singly. 'Stand them in some 
osition where the sun will strike upon the 
ats and be sheltered from the east and from 
orth winds. This will encourage the Dall¬ 
as to 9prout a little earlier than they would 
: planted out in the open ground. Very 
ttle water will be necessary after potting 
n.til the shoots develop some leaves, and as 
rowth proceeds an increasing amount of 
'ater will become necessary. These young 
lants may then be put in their flowering 
ositions during the first or second week of 
une, but until that time it will always be 
ecessary to have the plants protected 
gainst late frosts at night. Some manure 
an be dug into the bottom of the holes taken 
ut to receive the plants at the time stated. 
1 stake should also * 1 be driven into each 
osition before planting takes place, to avoid 
njury to the roots. 
748. Arrangement of Annuals. 
I have sown seeds of Cyanus minor, Gode- 
;a Lady Albemarle, Candytuft (mixed), 
lyacinth-flowered Larkspur, Ten-week 
tocks, German Aster, Bartonia aurea, Sweet 
ilyssum and Mignonette. When big enough 
intend to plant out in a large bed. In 
•’hat position should I plant so as to lock 
ffective? At what distance shall I put them 
part? (S. W. Maile, Middlesex.) 
The above constitute rather a lengthy 
ssortment to arrange in any one bed. If, 
or instance, you wish to put them all in 
ines within the other, the Cyanus should be 
danted in the centre, followed by Bartonia, 
.arkspur, Candytuft, Ten-week Stocks, 
Asters, Godetia and Mignonette in this 
■rder, with the Sweet Alyssum as an outer 
dging. We chink it scarcely possible to get 
hem all in this particular order, as they 
ere so numerous. If the bed were divided 
,nto two portions, then half might be planted 
|vith Bartonia as a centre, followed by Lark- 
,purs, Asters, Mignonette and Sweet Alys- 
•um. The other half of the bed could be 
planted with Cornflower in the centre, fol- 
owed by Candytuft, Ten-week Stocks, Gode- 
ia and Sweet Alyssum. It is impossible to 
errange the.-e with any regard to colour, as 
hey are evidently mixed varieties, which 
vill give you a number of colours of each 
and. There is still another plan, which we 
hink the most interesting of all, for a col- 
■ecticn such as you have got. Prepare and 
jake the bed evenly for planting, them put 
Iweet Alvssum for an edging, followed by 
c line of Mignonette. The rest of the ground 
ould be marked off in irregular patches in 
such a way that the taller plants will be 
in the centre and the dwarfer ones outside. 
The first arrangement we described will in¬ 
dicate their heights. Having marked off the 
bed into so many irregular patches, then 
proceed to plant all of the above kinds 
cj in. to 12 in. apart each way. They will 
ultimately occupy the 12 in. and last longer, 
though you would get an earlier effect by 
putting them at 9 in. apart. The Sweet 
Alyssum may only be given,5 in. from plant 
to plant, as it grows dwarf, and will soon 
form a close line. We should not advise 
you to transplant Mignonette. That should, 
indeed, be sown where it is to bloom. Its 
roots prevent it from transplanting easily. 
By making an irregular bed such as we have 
described you could get a pleasing and in¬ 
formal arrangement. 
1749. Raising Seeds. 
Will you kindly inform me when and how 
to sow the following seeds? Also the after 
treatment of the plants, if space will permit. 
I have no glass. (Dialstone, Middlesex.) 
Of the plants you name you need not at¬ 
tempt to grow Cyclamen giganteum, as you 
must at least have a frame for that. Double 
Cactus Dahlias may be sown at once in a 
well drained pot or pan of light soil and 
placed in a warm, sheltered position, and 
attended to in the matter of watering, if the 
seedlings appear above ground presently it 
will be necessary to protect them at night 
until the beginning of June, in case of late 
frost. You will have to treat them much in 
the same way as a half-hardy annual, finally 
planting them in the open about the first or 
second week of June. Reared in this way, 
they can scarcely bloom this year, but the 
tubers can be kept over winter for next year’s 
work. In the case of Chamaerops excelsa 
you could grow the plants out of doors, if 
some one were to rear the seeds for you, but 
we are-afraid you will be unable to do that 
yourself. They are best placed in a warm 
greenhouse or stove to insure gocd germina¬ 
tion. Geranium argenteum may be treated 
as advised for Dahlias. When you have got 
fair sized plants they should be transferred 
to an elevated position on a rockery, as the 
plant is of very dwarf habit and not over 
hardy. A fairly dry situation would be 
necessary for it in winter. Seeds of the Rose 
Glcdre de Dijon may be sowni in pots and 
stood in some,warm, sheltered position. You 
need not be surprised nor disappointed if the 
seeds should lie for twelve months after 
being sown, as they take a good while to 
germinate under the best of circumstances. 
The Con-'-allaria majalis and Gentiana verna 
and G. aoaulis may be sown in pots or pans 
of loam, leaf mould and sand, made rather 
firm. They may be stood in some situation 
where they will be shaded from the mid¬ 
day sun until they germinate. If you had a 
cold frame it would have been easy to raise 
any of the above, except Cyclamen and the 
Chamaerops. In the case of Gentiana you 
are dealing with subjects that are rather 
ticklish in many situations, even when pro¬ 
cured in the form of plants. You will have 
to nurse them very carefully, therefore, in 
well lighted situations, but shaded from di¬ 
rect sunshine. You will also have to attend 
regularly to watering, as they cannot bear 
to be dried up. 
1750. Bulbs to Flower in Autumn. 
Could you please tell me what bulbs to 
get to grow in pots to flower about August 
or September, if I plant them now? I do 
not want Lilies or very expensive bulbs. 
(F. W. South am, Birmingham.) 
If you will turn to p. 229 you will find a 
list of bulbs recommended for autumn flower¬ 
ing. These, of course, include some very 
handsome Lilies. We fear other bulbs are 
not likely to come very much cheaper. Most 
of the hardy bu.lbs bloom in spring and 
early summer, and only those things which 
277 
are grown in quantity for the trade can be 
sold cheaply. You might, however, be able 
to obtain some early flowering varieties of 
Gladioli, and if potted at present would 
bloom late. Other things which you might 
try are Schizostylis ccccinea (to b'.Odm in 
autumn and early winter), Galtonia candi- 
cans (for September), Bessera elegans (July 
to September), Agapanthus umbellatus (July 
to September), and Bravoa geminiflora 
Duly). The Montbretias mentioned on p. 
229 would be as likely to give you satisfac¬ 
tion in pots as anything. Nevertheless, you 
must not forget that the season for potting 
bulbs is now altogether late for flowering 
this year. There are some very handsome 
hardy Crinums that could be flowered in 
rather large pots for bicoming from July to 
September. They succeed best, however, 
when planted out of doors at the foot of a 
warm wall, where they may be left out all 
the winter. Of all those we mention we 
think you would most likely succeed best 
with the Montbretias and Agapanthus. 
1751. Pampas Grass Recently Moved. 
In the garden I have a Pampas Grass 
which was moved last year about this time 
by excavators .when laying a drain. It still 
looks very bad, ibut is show ug a few green 
shoots What ought I to do to get it to 
flower this summer? (D. P.. Glam.) 
We could scarcely guarantee anything that 
would make a Pampas Grass bloom if it is 
i'n poor condition and perhaps half dead. 
The only , thing you can do is to take mea¬ 
sures that will encourage the live pieces to 
make good growth during the coming sea¬ 
son. There should be bare ground where 
the plant is growing so that ycu can keep 
the soil frequently stirred, or you can place 
a mulch of well rotted manure or ccocanut 
fibre over the surface and apply water fre¬ 
quently during warm and dry weather. If 
any portions if the plant are really dead, 
they should be removed, so as to give the 
live portions all the benefit of light and air. 
It is, of course, too early to see much growth 
about a Pampas Grass, and you can adopt 
the measures we mention, except the water, 
which need net be given till Tune. If you 
get strong growth into the plant during this 
season it should flower the next. 
TREES AND SHRUBS. 
1752. Rooting Daphne Cneorum. 
I should be glad if you could tell me how 
to strike Daphne Cneorum. (C. H.) 
We should like to know how to strike cut¬ 
tings of Daphne Cneorum, but we do not 
know anybody who tries to root it in that 
manner now. The most common method of 
propagating it is by layering the shoots in 
a peaty soil during July and keeping them 
moist during the remainder of summer. They 
can be removed in spring after ascertain¬ 
ing that they have become sufficiently rooted 
to pass through the operation- successfully. 
It may also be grafted on the roots of D. 
Laureola, but there is less object in doing 
that than in grafting it standard high on 
that plant for the sake of getting a bushy 
head on a stem 12 in. to 18 in. high. 
VEGETABLES. 
1753. Uncovering Rhubarb. 
I have some Rhubarb which was covered 
with straw during the winter. Should I now 
uncover it and take away all the straw about 
it? What is the best treatment to give it in 
order to have it early ? It is planted near 
a wall, and has a good southern aspect. I 
want to force a few crowns. I only planned 
this Rhubarb where it stands at present last 
October. I shall be thankful for informa¬ 
tion as to the best treatment to grow this 
vegetable to perfection. (B. Feehan, Cork.) 
