Delphiniums More Popular.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

Delphiniums More Popular.

STATLINESS AND BEAUTY. The delphinium is a power in the flower garden, and ( is increasing each year. What fs it that makes the delphinium so popular and ao much admired? Surely its stateliness, its great beauty and effectiveness in the garden, and the ease with which it can be cultivated. One of its chief weaknesses is the love of slugs and snails for the young growths in the early spring, but this difficulty, being surmounted by careful watching, it is at once unsurpassed by any other genus of plants. 1 Some of its popularity is due to the wide range of colour and form, for in any good flower garden a wide range of form and colour always ensures a large patronage, and so many tastes are provided for. Certainly the main colour is blue, but in what other variety of plants ran that same raiifje of blue tones bo found as in the delphinium. There is no finer sight in the garden than a bed of delphinium in bloom, their, tall, noble spikes, a solid mass of open flowers, some feet in height, with siv ille.* lateral spikes showing up ail round, making a well-grown specimen a noble, impressive, pleasing, and not easily forgotten sight. Delphiniums will growin almost any soil, but there is a marked difference in the results obtained when good culture and an open situation are afforded, as compared with poor cultivation. Delphiniums repay good cultivation, and this implies a thorough preparation of the soil be f ore planting. If a light, sandy nature, a plentiful supply of rich cow manure is a great help to success, but if of a heavy clay consistency, a lighter manure will be better, such as horse manure. Should this not be obtainable, decayed leaves, old hot manure or old mushroom bed manure will be helpful. The soil should be well dug, and M possible to the depth of; two'or three spits, well incorporating

the manure ag the work proceeds. It will be an advantage if this operation can be completed a month before planting, to allow the soil to settle. When planting clumps of delphiniums in borders that are already occupied with other subjects, it wilt not be ao easy to prepare the places; the same principles, however, should obtain, and the soil be well worked and manured before planting. It is a very debatable matter as to whether it is best to plant in autumn or spring. It depends so much on soil,, situation and conditions, and also on which is the most convenient to the grower. Generally speaking, plane early in autumn or wait until spring. This, however, can be modified to suit special conditions and circumstances. Should the soil be of a light nature, and in a well-drained situation, late autumn planting can be practised with impunity, whereas in a wet, heavy soil, it would bo fatal, and possibly result in total loss of plants during the cold wet days of mid winter. In such a soil the first fortnight in April is late enough, and should plants arrive at'a later date the safest plan will be to pot them and winter in cold frames. They can then be planted in the border after they have commenced to grow, in spring. The delphinium is perfectly Aardy in the sense that it will stand any amount of frost. It is our changeable winter climate that is so often fatal. The wet autumn and winter is the cause of the loss of many plants which had they been froxen up all the winter would ..have come through safely. Planting in September, however, is quite safe and can be done without lose of plants and they will flower quite well during the summer. There fc little doubt that the damage committed by slugs has been the direct cause of manv lovers of delphiniums giving up their culture in despair That being so, it is well to take all precautions to safeguard them trom their depredations. One of the most efficacious means of protecting them during the winter ie to remove all

loose soil and small clods of earth from -7" of t . he plant, and then cover with sharp gritty ashes to which hoe been added a little soot. Rough scoS or metal elilps can be used in place of tlie ashes. The material must be hard »nd gritty if so „ it purpose, as the slug will crawl over it. This can remain until the shoots have pushed their way through moZ.H 8?r ? g ' Anotl,er -ethod of protection » to surround the plant with L l ar ! V letal band ' fir3t taking care that no slugs are in the crown of L *V ,a l' and kill f -he slugs Itr ! 1 * 1 ' 8 ' 4 ,neans of protection, notion 18 C f n , be done hy placing small portions of bran on the ground and covering with pieces of board of slate, four to six inches square. Slugs are very fond of bran; they will congregate under the pieces of board and can be picked up and destroyed at any time, liie traps should, of course, be examined and cleared of slugs at frequent intervals, and the bran replenished as it disapixjars. One of the available soil funngants can be used of which there are several on the market, the base of which is camphor or napthalene. These can be worked into the soil around the crowns, and the fumes will Keep awav insects. This must be attended to an'i applications periodically made, although it will be found after two or three dressings at intervals of, perhaps, three weeks or a month, that the i>cste are under control, and an occasional dressing will keep them under control. ° RAMBLER ROSES. The growths from the base are now developing rapidly and care must be taken of them, as next year's display depends on their welfare. They should be loosely looped up out of the way as much as possible, so as not to interfere with the present year's flowers. Just the necessary number of these growths should be allowed to develop, the remainder being broken out at the socket, as if cut back they develop a raafs of weak, spindly growths at the | base of the plant, which are quite useless' tor any purpose.