Saier ’s 
GARDEN MAGAZINE 
DIMONDALE, MICHIGAN. 
VOL. 3, No. 7. (12) JUNE, 1954. 
Owner and publisher of SAIER’S GARD- 
EN MAGAZINE, Harry E. Saier, Dimon- 
dale, Michigan. 
Subscription price: 25¢ per copy; $2.00 
for 12 issues or $3.00 for 24. Issued about 
5 or 6 times annually. 
SCOTCH TAPE AND CURRENCY 
Quite often we receive currency in the 
mail and for some reason the sender usually 
attaches it to the letter by Scotch tape! Now, 
there seems to be just enough real Scotch 
in this tape that it wont let go of the cur- 
ency without keeping a little of it. Do not 
Scotch-tape currency to you letter if you 
want us to have all of it! 
NEXT SEED CATALOG 
The last seed catalog was printed in Feb- 
ruary. A revised issue is now being made; 
there are several hundred additional seeds td 
be added to this issue; many new cultural 
directions and many other improvements, 
including the new Zone Map. The catalog 
will be mailed free to all subscribers and. 
this year’s customers; any one else wanting 
a copy should write for it. 4 
HOW DO THEY FIGURE MAIL RATES? 
Mrs. O. D Miller of Tacoma, Wash- 
ington who is librarian for her Garden Club 
wrote in for 16 copies of the seed catalog. 
If we had put the 16 catalogs in ONE 
package the postage would have been $1.59, 
but if we mail 16 different packages or lf 
she had given us the addresses of the memb- 
ers to whom the catalogs were to go, and, 
each one to a different addreess, whether to 
Alaska, Australia, China or Japan, the post- 
age on the entire 16 catalogs would be $1.04! 
I wonder if Mrs. Miller thot we were crazy 
when 16 seperate copies arrived? Just how 
politicans in Washington can figure such 
foolish rates cannot be explained but the 
people elect them year after year! 
OR DID THEY? It is more likely that 
the voter soon forgets for in reality he only 
votes to legalize the candidate! In the last 
national election, Michigan went to the great 
expense of a primary election where the 
people voted to nomnate Senator Taft for 
the nomination for the Presidency. The 
delegates should have remained for Mr. Taft 
until he released them; however this was not 
what was done! In some way the present 
Postmaster General swung these delegates 
to Eisenhower regardless of the primary of 
the people of Michigan; whether he got the 
Cabinit post for this work or not, he is the 
Postmaster General! A great many people 
voted AGAINST Trueman and not for any- 
one a fact the Republicans may realize in 
the next elections! 
THE HERMITAGE 
Mrs Arthur Gibson of Laurel, Ontario, 
writes: ‘‘Was glad to see the pictures of The 
Hermitage at Nashville, Tennessee; we have 
been down there, I, twice, and my husband 
three times. I would dearly love to go 
down again this year; we have friends in 
Nashville and Franklin, Tenn. 
Note: I am glad to know that there are 
readers in Canada better acquainted with The 
Hermitage than the post office at Nashville. 
We mailed a bundle of magazines. addressed 
to “The Hermitage, Nashville, Tenn”, the 
package was RETURNED for “better ad- 
ress”, with the notation, “The Hermitage 
Hotel, Hermitage Apt., Hermitage Garage” 
and last, “The Shrine”! A lot of postage 
wasted. 
Growing Dahlias 
from Seed Intreisting 
By Miss Eleanor J. Kilroy, N. Y. 
If you are the kind of gardener who likes 
to go out to your flower beds and find a 
surprise from day to day, try growing, 
Dahlias from seed. 
Several years ago a friend of mine gave 
me five miniature Dahlia seedlings that she 
had started indoors, first in an ordinary 
clay pot for seed starting and as the plants 
grew, she transferred them to flats. 
I took my five seedlings home, and know- 
ing that Dahlas are heavy feeders, spaded 
up the ground making sure I went deeper 
than where the plant’s roots would be when 
I set them out. I always put some peat 
moss, a bit of bone meal and some 5-10-5 
fertilizer in the ‘holes’ where the plant is to 
Mrs. Kilroy’s Little Greenhouse. 
go, being sure that some soil is between the 
food and the plant roots. When I put the 
plants in, they are placed in the hole, then 
the hole is filled with water — usually con- 
taining some B-1. When the water drains 
away, I fill the cavity with soil, leaving a 
saucer-like formation on the top of the soil 
to hold future waterings. The Dahlias 
with the largest flowers were given stakes 
to hold them as they grew. 
Then, I watered and waited. When thd 
plants formed buds my curosity was unlim- 
ited and those Dahlias were certainly watch- 
ed, morning, noon and night! The first bud 
opened semi-double and a _Poinsetta-red, 
jt actually reminded me of a Poinsetta with, 
its yellow pollen center and red petals. 
Then came a second plant to flower. This 
time a daisy-like single with orchid petalg 
in whose centers was a purple dot. ‘Tha 
third plant to bloom had white flowers sim- 
iliar to the red one; the fourth had a yellow 
semi-double flower and the fifth and last 
had a single rose colored flower that seemed 
to be dusted with gold. 
That summer was a dry one, so I did have 
to give the Dahlias a drink most every 
night, but certainly I was more than well 
rewarded — five plants, five different colors 
ed flowers! When fall came and after the 
first frost, I dug up my ‘toes’ and again [| 
was surprised at the number and size of 
them. 
So, if you like surprises in your garden, 
try raising Dahlias from seed. Best results 
are obtained from indoor started seeds, but 
the seeds can be planted directly in the soil 
fn climates that have a long summer and 
late fall. Or, perhaps, you may be able 
to purchase some started plants from a 
nursery or Dahlia grower. 
FOLIAGE VALUE IN IRIS 
Too often Iris are selected on their flowers 
alone. The foliage effect is equally of value. 
Many ‘top’ Iris have a very poor foliage or 
a poor green color and this is especially 
noticeable when the plants are near a walk. 
A good foliage should have a good green 
color, the leaves should be erect and nicely 
shaped; not too narrow or too wide for 
the particular type plant. In the lower 
growing types such as the pumilas and 
371 
chamaeiris, the foliage is of special value 
because these make nice plants in the rockery 
or close to walks and if the foliage is attract- 
ive all thru the year, the variety is of 
special value. 
The height of the flower should also be 
considered. The higher the flower the more 
liable it is to be damaged by a heavy wind 
and rain storm. These varieties should 
always be planted in a sheltered place so 
that at least a strong wind cannot blow them 
to the ground when in full flower. 
SAW DUST AS A FERTILIZER 
Eventually all kinds of saw dust maké 
good fertilizer — organic fertilizer — but 
one must keep in mind that the decay of 
woody material and even course straw, re- 
quires considerable nitrogen in the process 
and this results in nitrogen starvation for 
any plants growing on this soil It is this 
very reason that seedlings placed in soft 
wood plant bands need additional nitrogen 
while they are surrounded by the band; the 
cypress plant band does not decay while the 
plant is in it and thus is a much better band 
for growing-on perennials, etc., A 
However, in the field with field crops one 
m‘ght not notice the nitrogen shortage as he 
would in a flat where actually he can see his 
plants. Heavy applications of saw dust 
as a mulch, where it will not be disturbed 
most likely will do no harm but the grower 
should keep a careful watch and if the plants 
show any nitrogen starvation, it should be 
quickly corrected by an application of nitrate 
of soda. Hard wood saw dust will be safer 
to use than soft wood and again, saw dust 
from trees with gums may be actually bad 
in the garden. 
DEEP PLANTING OF TULIPS 
Ordinarily, Tulips are planted from four 
to six inches deep and while this is a good 
recommendation for the average planter, it 
can be improved upon. 
Shallow planted bulbs break up quickly 
into small bulbs and where multiplying is 
the object, this is the proper method but 
when practiced in your flower beds, it often 
makes it necessary to replant every three or 
four years. 
Bulbs planted from ten to twelve inches 
deep do not break up and excellent beds 
have been possible for up towards twenty 
years. To do this it is very important to 
have perfect drainage and that no water 
stands around the bulbs, especially during 
the winter. In the case of clay soils it 
may be necessary to remake the bed and 
mixing in sand, even providing tile drainage. 
The common Tulips will not do well in 
a hot climate and for this reason, it is a 
common practice to replant every year in 
the South; but if planted deep and proper 
drainage provided, there is no reason for 
costly annual plantings. 
This does not hold, of course, for some 
of the species or botanical Tulips that are 
native of hot districts in Asia Minor. 
TULIP — PRINCESS ELIZABETH 
Of all the Tulips we grew this year, 
none equalled the above beautiful variety. 
It stood up straight and even, with perfect- 
ly formed flowers, in a most beautiful shade 
of pink. A bed of several hundred would 
certainly make a beautiful sight. And just 
this week we note an article on recommends 
ed varieties of Tulips in one of the national 
magazines, that did not even list this beauti- 
ful variety, in fact we wonder just why some 
that were recommended, got in the list. 
FOUR ESSENTIALS FOR CLEMATIS 
1. They all must have full sun with a cool 
root soil The base of the vine must bea 
shaded. 
2. Well drained, deeply dug soil con- 
taining plenty of humus, with some lime. 
3. Do not transplant too early in the 
spring; never in the summer or autumn. 
4. Do not prune freely and know what 
method for each species, when you do 
prune. They are not all prunned alike. 
