DAHLIAS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 October 1940, Page 9

DAHLIAS

A USEFUL FLOWER. Dahlias are now among the most useful of our late summer and autumn flowering plants, and there are so many kinds that there are some suitable for all purposes and all gardens. Those who like something big and bold have the large paeony and decorative kinds, for bedding purposes there are the Coltness and other dwarf types, and there are other kinds such as the pom-poms suitable for cutting for floral work and house decoration. Dahlias are somewhat frost tender, but the tubers stand the winter in the. open, and it is quite safe to plant them out by the end of October or the beginning of November. They can be grown from seed quite easily when treated like half-hardy annuals, and many good kinds can be obtained in this way. They are also grown from cuttings, taken from tubers started in gentle heat and rooted in gentle bottom heat, and they are also increased by division of the tubers. For those who have not the facilities for rooting cuttings, the latter method is the most suitable. The tubers can be packed in boxes or placed on the bench of the greenhouse or in a frame and. partly covered with rough leaves or soil. When the shoots show round the base of the old flower stem they can be broken up, taking care to have at least one shoot to every part of tuber. Use a light free soil, and stand the pots in the greenhouse or frame for a fortnight or so to encourage the development of young roots. They are afterwards placed in a cold frame or a sheltered spot outside and gradually hardened oft’. Old tubers left in the ground will send up young shoots, and if these are thinned out a bit and the plants topdressed with well-rotted manure, or failing it, blood and bone manure, they will flower quite well during the season.