Gardening Notse

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 21, 16 October 1930, Page 9

Gardening Notse

THE CULTURE OF THE DAHLIA.

Preparation of Soil.

When, using virgin soil care should bB taken in its preparation. It must be well trenched at least two monitths before planting, and the top sods ' broken up as little as possible to allow of free circulation of air for sweetening purposes. Drainage should also bo attended to at the same time, as it is of ■die utmost importance1/ Allow the ground to remain in the rough until a month prior to planting, when it should be re-dug and manured with horse or cow nianuTe. The addition of a little clay to soils of a sandy nature will be found most 'beneficial. Pario. yara manures should ibe dug" well into the sub-soil at least 6 inches below the surface; t>he roots will then be forced to go down for nourishment, and the extreme heat is then less liable to affect the plants. Tho object of manuring one month prior to planting is to allow the soil to settle down thoroughly. Dahlias like a firm soil and a sheltered position. When the ground (has been used previously for Dahlias I have always adopted the following course. Directly t&e Dahlias are lifted roughly dig the bed over, and when a good crop of weeds ihave'grown dig them in, and repeat the operation if necessary before finally manuring. If-you don't as v. rule get a^good crop "of weeds, plant blue lupin or mustard, and imaaifdiately the flowers are over dig them ito; they are the best green manure you can introduce to the soil, as it contains a> immense amount of nitrogen, and in ciy opinion green manure does more towards the production of good show blooms than all the other manures put together. Though tiie* Dahlia is a gross feeder it is, at the same time, necessary that the grower should exercise discretion in manuring. Continued introduction of horse and cow X manure is unwise; they should be used in rotation with cihemieals, viz., Ist year, horse; 2nd, chemical; 3ri, cow manure, with the addition otf a little/ lime occasionally, if the soil xequires it. Staking. Ater the bed has been manured place tho stakes in position about 3* to 4ft i apart. After the 'staking is "completed iun over with «, rake, and level up. Planting. The best'time to plant is during November, but quite good results can be obtained by planting between Christ 1 mas and the New Year. I have always {found* tihat the division of tuJbcns give tin best results, but I am informed bj- others that that is not always their expernience; however/ one can prove this for himself. Care s&ou'ld be taken when selecting green plants to secure small stocky specimens. Mulching. The object of mulching , Dahlias is not so much to keep the root cool but to provide steady nourishment during the flowering season, it should be spread liberally over the ground up to 2 inches deep. If occasional showers occur during the early part of February delay mulching until the Ist MareSt and by so doing you stand a better chance of obtaining Show blooms for . the late Shows. If these directions are followed cut I am firmly of opinion that liquid manuring is unnecessary, and thereby saving a considerable amount of labour. Pruning and Disbuding. Start your plant with one main shoot, and endeavour to keep it fairly free and open by continual pruning; which should be commenced directly the plant starts to grow, and continued T&o the end. Over-pruning is bad, as it tends to produce coarseness in the flowers, so the grower nuust use ihis own judgment, and a little experience will put him on the right track.

Tieing is very important, and NewZealand flax serves the purpose splendidly. The use of stakes, for tieing the outside branches out and away from the main shoot 'will help to prevent the flowers from rubbing against each other in windy weather^besides admitting light and air to the plant. Palings cut -.down to an inch or tiwo in widtih. will be found very stataible for the purpose. . N

Disbudding should be very carefully attended to; nip away all shoots so as to leave from 1 foot to 18 inches of

j stalk to each flower. The selection of , buds is also important; the central one is generally the best but if at all black, or out of shape, discard it, and work on one of the side ones. All leaves liable to come in contact with the flowers should be nipped away. Watering. This should be done with a light spray. Give the ground a thorough soaking once a. week, and avoid frequent waterings every two or three days, as it only tends to produce tall plants, and «the flowers must suffer in consequence. . Staging, etc. In staging Dahlias the exhibitor .-"zciLl. endeavour to make his exhibit as attractive as possible,, and I venture to say that by so doing he improves' his ohance of success, -besides helping to beautify the Show.. Ait the present time so little space is allotted" to ea^eh .exhibitor, and the exhibits,are packed so closely together, that the general public fail to distinguish one from."the other. 'This-'matter should engage^the .consideration- of the. various Societies if they desire to encourage the growers, and the public to \ patronise their Shows. In arranging an , exhibit great care should be exercised iii the blending of J eoloui'Sj and it is astonishing how much a poor exhibit e,an be improved thereiby. Avoid, if possible, staging too many of one colour, arid always strive for evenness. I have continually noticed an exhibit -ruined^ by the inclusion of one or two huge flowers, when the others have been of moderate size. Vases of 12, 9, and 6 inches in height are splendid for staging Dahlias, and allows each. row to stand well above the other. The use of art muslin, etc., for staging the blooms on will also materially help towards the general appearance of a-n exhibit, and at tihe same time enaible the public to distinguish the various exhibits at a glance. I always cut the blopms the sight; before the Shaw, and place the stalks In boiling waiter, but care must be taken to see tkat the steam does not; come in contact with the flowers. ißy this means the flowers keep quite fresh for several days. Flowers inclined to show a ©entre must not be treated in this" way. darefully go over each flower before stag-! ing, and discard mis-shapen and dam-; aged petals. Lifting and storing Tubers. Tho tabers should be partly lifted art; the beginning of June, and taken up early in July. They should be stored away in a dry place, but before doing so put the hose on them and cleanse them thoroughly, in ease you have ■ mealy bug or other pests in the ground. ■ •[ ■ DOUBLE FLOWERING PEACHES. HOW TO PRUNE. Many growers of these fascinating. beautiful flowers find their trees after a while begin to yield less and less bloom. This generally arises from want of pruning, and this again from, the fear only too well founded of eutiting off the flowering wood. The trees are left like other peach trees till winter, and the natural idea with most growers is that of saving the flowering wood. ■ ~-■•.;■■ -■ ■ ' ... '■ ■ '"'. ■." -. - The rigtht time, 'or at least'the moat convenient time .to prune is immediately the blossoms have commenced to fall, and when the beauty of the tree is about done. Then' drastic pruning is required; half the growth can be cut off of a tree that has been left to go unpruned Most of the young growth then formed so luxuriantly will carry blossom buds, and the grower will find his tree rejuv- | enated. Then eac&t succeeding year's ! growth must be cut baek,to within a few inches of where it started. TMs method is practically what is done with all flowering shrubs. After the glory of bloom has "departed, and before too much foliage has been made hard eut-^ ting back or thinning should be done, then tihe tree or shrub has the wihole summer to carry on its normal process of bud manufacture.