Lovely Dahlias.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 20, 16 November 1910, Page 40

Lovely Dahlias.

THE NATIONAL SOCIETY’S EXHIBITION. The dahlia rinks next in importance to the rose in the florist’s eye, and its history discloses the fact that it has attained its present grandeur through the persistent efforts of experts, extending over a century. No plant has ever reeponded more readily to the art, skill, ami intelligence of the florist. There was a time when it shot up as a weedy thing, 8 feet in height; but continued selection

has now produced a dense, bushy habit ranging from 5 feet down to 1 foot, and this improvement in its stature makes the plant as stately as it is manageable. The flower has increased in size and form, and sports into endless varieties, which appear in new and chaste colourings each season. This plant is now so extensively cultivated in gardens that it is interesting to look back into the days when it was a rarity. It is a native of Mexico, and was discovered by a traveller, growing in sandy soils at an elevation of about 5000 feet, and was introduced into Europe in 1789, the first variety flowering in the Botanic Gardens at Madrid in that year. The name dahlia was given to the plant in honour of Professor Dahl, a Swedish pupil of Linnaeus. A German botanist made an endeavour to get it ehanged to Georgina, but his ideas did not meet with general approval, and it speedily reverted to its original appellation. A visit to the annual exhibition of the

National Dahlia Society early in September at the Crystal Palace impressed the observer with some idea of the range of variation in the characters of the different species and varieties. Indeed, a first-class bloom has more the appearance of a geometrical model painted with the severest precision than any other flower. It was found difficult to ensure the enormous heads of some kinds being safely carried on the stalks, and, owing largely to this cause, a sudden reversion was made some years ago to the cultivation of lighter and more elegant types. Hence the single dahlia became popular, and many beautiful forms have since.been raised, but the taste for the single variety has waned somewhat. Now. the cactus types, which had their origin from a Mexican plant, with a scarlet flower named Jaurezii, are all the rage, and this class is now so large and varied that it embraces all that is graceful and handsome. Yet it is the opinion of many that the florist is attempting too much m pushing to the front a spidery petalled type, most of which only look well on the exhibition table, as the majority do not throw their bloom well beyond the foliage. Here are the names of some varieties which should please even-body: Attraction, Decorator,

Loveliness, Miss Willmott, Mrs. Charles I'oster, Penguin, Salisbury White, Sensation, Stalwart. Mr. Freeman Thomas, Veritas, Lightship. The paeony-flowered cla-ss are of a more vigorous character Still, and the loosely petalled heads of bloom are much appreciated by ladies for decorative purposes in vases. Here are twelve good sorts: Albatross, Bronze Gem, Corallina. Lemberg, Lamartine, Bayard, Attraction. Eleanor, Firefly, Ladysmith. Mrs. J. B. Riding. Ruddigore.—"The Queen.”