HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 14, 24 March 1950, Page 3

HOME GARDENS

(By J. S. Yeates, Massey Agricultural College)

DAHLIAS AND LILIES The dahlia is undoubtedly the flower of the month. A gardener may or may not like dahlias but there is no gainsaying their brilliance. Now, when there is still a good display of blooms is the time to make your choice of varieties. The situation for growing dahlias need not be particularly favourable. They like good drainage in winter but ample soil moisture in summer. They are grass-feeding plants and to do them well there should be a good proportion of organic matter in the soil. For fertiliser, blood and bone two parts, superphosphate one part, and potash one quarter is a good mixture. Too much nitrogenous manure, without phosphate and potash to balance it, will tend to make the plants too leafy, soft, and rough growing.

The cycle of operations in growing dahlias is quite simple if you remember that they are frost-ten-der. In the autumn when the tops die down, .cut them back to within six or nine inches of ground level. Dig the clumps and knock the soil off; then let them dry and store them in a shed, or under a hedge in milder situations. In the spring the whole clump can be planted about September, so that new growth is not frosted. The clump may be divided before planting. As an alternative method, let the root tubers start to sprout, and then divide up the clump into separate tubers, which may be planted each complete with a young sprout. The sprouts come near the junction of Tuber and stem, and a sharp knife is the best means of dividing into, single tubers. Nurserymen grow these sprouts as cuttings, but such a method is unnecessary for the home gardener. Growing dahlias from seed sown indoors in August is a good way to grow a large range of types. These seedlings have the great advantage of being free from the virus diseases so prevalent in most dahlias. One piece of advice is not to mix dahlias too 'closely with lilies, because dahlias carry a very wide range of virus diseases. 1 Lily Planting

The nurseries will very soon start to send out lily bulbs and those who intend to plant any of them should have the site prepared in advance. The most important point to watch is the drainage. The soil should be , free-draining, down to a depth of about two feet. This can be achieved by mixing coarse sand, and plenty of well rooted organic matter with the soil; and of course it is useless having deep porous soil if the water cannot get away. Use no lime, but a little complete fertiliser may be well mixed with the soil before planting. It is generally agreed that just after flowering is the best time to transplant lilies, the main argument being that the bulbs form new roots at that time. My own preference in < our mild autumn, is not to transplant until the stem and leaves go brown. Provided the bulbs are planted with good living roots in soil warm enough to commence rooting again, therte should be no trouble. * Lilies From Seeds There are two types of lilies so far as growing from seed is concerned. The seeds of L. regale and its related species and hybrids grow as one would expect seeds to grow. They should be planted in the early spring and should germinate to about three weeks. The easiest system I know is to mix the seed in damp sand in a pot or a box and keep in warm place in September. As soon as a fair proportion of the seeds show small roots beginning to emerge, take out the mixture or sand and seeds and scatter it on the bottom of a wide flat drill about one inch deep. Cover with coarse sand, which will have few weed seeds in it. If they are in good ground many of the bulbs will have a small flower in their second year. That is the best stage to transplant the whole row of them. The other group of lilies, including L. auratum, L. giganteum,. L. speciosum, L. japoriicum, L. rubellum, have seed which behaves quite differently. In its first summer, each seed forms a tiny bulb about the size of a rice grain, but shows above ground until the spring about 12 months after planting. The seed needs a warm summer period to form the small bulb, and then a cool winter period before it can send up a leaf. Taking advantage of this knowledge, we can mix seed of these types thick in damp sand in a pot, a tin or a box and leave it outside all the summer, watering it occasionally. In the autumn you should find a mass of small bulbs which can be broadcast or pricked out in a bed or a box' of fine soil. Cover them about one inch deep and let them feel all the frosts of winter.