WHEN AND HOW TO CUT FLOWERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 December 1929, Page 16

WHEN AND HOW TO CUT FLOWERS.

Rare floral gems have their special attraction for the gardener, but flowers of the “cut and come again” variety will always be sure of popularity,* chiefly because they can be used’ for indoor decoration, or can. be cut and given away to friends, without in any way robbing the garden. Sweet peas, coreopsis, geums, roses, snapdragons and others are among the plants which give us more and more blooms, if they are constantly picked before they develop seeds. But these flowers, to give the greatest amount of satisfaction, must be cut with care and understanding. It is generally accepted that the best time to cut flowers is in the early morning, before the dew has gone from them. If this cannot be done, the next best time to cut is in the late evening. Flowers cut at this time should°be immediately put into water, and allowed to remain there until the morning before being arranged in vases, or before being sent by post. The petals of flowers should not be allowed to stand in water, but if the flowers are of the type- which soon droop their heads, thev may be immersed up to the neck in water,’a tall vessel being used for the purpose. All flowers begin to fade when the process of fertilisation has taken place. It follows, therefore, that if flowers are plucked before they are open, and brought indoors, where insects are less likelv to find them, and where fertilisation* is delaved in consequence, they will last better than those plucked when fullv.open, whose postils- have already received the pollen from other this‘respect. A full-blown poppy will last, perhaps, only an hour, but a poppy cut in the early morning, just as the greensepals are bursting irom the flower head, will last for three or four davs in the vases. Boppies tliat been carried a distance should hate the ends of their stalks cut under water when they are being arranged. Roses are best cut in the. bud. not nilv because their beauty is generallv best before they are full-blown, but because they frequently lose their colour more in the sunshine «ian mloors. To cut them with short stalks s a mistake. Long stalks are a great isset in arranging decorations, and, in addition, roses of the vpes that are pruned back alter flovi ?rincr will usually yield a second crop ,f bloom. One good bud low down on .he flower stalk, i.e., just. abo ™ mion with the main stein, 13 sa ®" ient o leave for the second crop of flowers. Occasionally flowers, such as clal ‘ kia end to droop their tips when cut for ndoor decoration. The trouble car. in . ome cases be avoided by. the simple

method of pulling the plants up by the roots instead of cutting the stems. Clarkias pulled in this way will last well in the flower vases, and the same process could be adopted with other annuals.

Of flowers that are specially suitable for cutting, which could be grown in special masses, or rows in the vegetable plot, some of the prime favourites are coreopsis, stocks, love-in-a-mist, gypsophila, sweet peas, dwarf sunflowers and sweet scabious (annuals), and among the perennials, linaria, coreopsis, single dahlias, chrysanthemums, gladioli, gerbera, carnations and pinks. To prevent substituting other kinds than those supplied, the names of the particular varieties supplied should be known only to some responsible person attached to the horticultural SO( ' a " ety. In any case boys and girls should be encouraged to grow flowers and vegetables, and every means should be <rivcn them to grow the best and produce the best in the best possible condition..