DAHLIAS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 544, 22 December 1928, Page 26

DAHLIAS

FOR AUTUMN DISPLAYS For brilliancy of colour, variety, shape, hardiness and long flowering, few garden plants excel the dahlia. Each year this gaudy flower is becoming more popular, and each season new and distinctive types are being introduced. Dahlias will succeed in almost any soil. Some growers favour light or sandy loam, while many of our most successful exhibitors have raised their plants in clay. We would, therefore, attach more importance to cultivation and position than to the class of soil adopted. In any case, the position selected should be a sunny one, sheltered and well drained. Deep digging is advised, and the incorporation of good feed "well below, is claimed to be one of the secrets of success. Well-rotted manure and bone meal .are recommended for this purpose. Occasionally growers apply the manure to the place where each dahlia is to be planted, caking out the soil to a depth of ISin or two feet, by two feet wide, and mixing in a quantity of manure with the bottom spit. . For planting in beds or borders, it is advisable, where time and labour is at hand, to dig over the whole area, and work in the manure as advised. Three feet should be left between each two plant?, more if there is room to spare. Place the tubers about six inches deep, laying them on their sides, so that the eyes are well covered. When the shoots appear above the ground, remove all but the strongest one, and when this has attained a height of about 12in, or rather has made at least two sets of leaves, pinch out the top as this will induce it to form branches from the base, under the soil, and so make a more symmetrical plant, and better able to withstand all winds without the aid of staking. Where the plants are inclined to make spindly growth, such as in partially shaded positions, each plant should have a short stake provided to which the central shoot should he tied, using soft twine that will not cut the stem. To have strong, healthy plants, it is imperative that the soil be consistently stirred, especially during a dry spell. Besides keeping the ground clean and free from weeds, this forms a natural mulch for the plants, preventing undue evaporation of the moisture contained in the soil; therefore, never allow the surface to become hard, but keep the hoe constantly going. During hot, dry weather, the plants will be greatly benefited by frequent and copious watering, but this should be done in the evening, and never given in driblets. Unless you are prepared to give the plants a thorough soaking at least twice a week, never start it; rather give the plants a good mulching of stable manure or grass, and leave the rest to the weather. If the grower contemplates exhibiting, the plants must be given extra care and attention. A proportion of the branches must be cut out of the plants, and also the laterals immediately below the flower bud, while only one bud should be left on each shoot removing all the others. In timing the flowers for a show, it is well to remember • that from the time a bud forms it will be three or four weeks before it is a perfect bloom. The pompoms and single dahlias do not require this treatment.

Cover a sponge with treacle and lay at entrance to ant-hill. The ants will congregate on the sponge, which should be plunged into hot water, the process being repeated until the colony is exterminated.