The first meeting of the season of the Gardening Section of the British Women's Association was held last Friday afternoon at the home of Mrs. A, K. Craddock, 76 Route de-Zay Soong, when a most interesting lecture on Dahlia history and culture was given by Capt, J, Gordon Dysen.
In its natural state, Capt, Dyson suid, the dahlia isa native of Central America. It was first introduced into Europe by Cerventes, in charge of the Mexico City Botanical Gardens,.in 1789 when sent hig old friend Abb: Cavanille of Madrid three varieties which were planted in the local Botanical Gardens. The plant being then unknown after it had flowered the Abbe gave it the name of Dahlia after the Great Swedish Andre Dahl, The three, which wore all of different colours, were named Dahlia Pinata, Dahlia Rosal and Dahlia Coceina. Al the amore of the broad petalled single flowered type.
Tu the early days of the flower's history Willdenow of Berlin gave them the name of Georgina (pronounced Gorgena) and this lead to! much confusion. Eventually however, botanists of England, France, Holland and South Europe decided to revert to the original name of Dahlia, by which they are now known' throughout the world, with the exception of Germany, Austria, and Northern Russia, "in which countries they are still called Georgina, was not until 1798 however, ult the plant was introduced into England, when, through the efforts Lady Bute, specimens were! grown in Kew Gardens, though after a few years they disappeared.
3804 the second. introduction fifto England was due to Lady ollang who sent seeds home from Spain and from that time Dahlia cultivation has been continuous, In the early days it was the florists great aim to got the flower ea double, in which they succeeded In the form of the old Show and Fancy varieties (the huge stiff honey combed globes) of many colours which many will remember seeing in cottage gardens at Home.
In 1802 it was introduced into France and two years later it was described by the ' botanist Anllre Thouin and. continued its progress throughout Europe until 1850 when Sieekmann, x German, raised and put into commerce the pompon variety then known as. the Liliputian and Inter as the Bouquet Dablin, About 1855 Cnctus Dablias were first introduced into Holland from Mexico, marketed all over th world and from this variety Dutch produced, the decorative and peony flowered varieties.
In 18009 the Collerette Dahlin was first raised at Lyons in France and' during the later.part of the Great War Messrs. heal of Crawley, Varieties.
Sussex produced the new Star]
Speaking on the subject of dahlia culture, Capt. Dyson said that there: are three principal methods of propagating Dablias; by seed; by cuttings; by the division of the roots or tubers, Sowing seeds is perhaps" the cheapest way of growing Dablias and very strong and healthy plant will usually result, although one) cannot always depend on getting: really first class blooms. 'That to say blooms thut are true to the parent plant, and the chances of getting a' real gem fit to hold its own for exhibition purposes is about one per three hundred though 2 per cent. might be passable. That is the usual opinion held by Dahlia experts.
Th Shanghai seeds should be sown (provided the grower has a green house or frame) -in February, boxes, pans or pots, containing sandy soil, and if placed in a warm greenhouse, or hot bed frame, or in any warm situation, they will quickly. germinate.
As soon as the, seedlings are cone to two inches high and have two leaves they should be placed in thumb flower pots or boxes that have been previously filled with soil composed of loam, leaf mould and sand, and the pots or boxes placed in an airy position on the greenhouse shelf, and kept moderately moist. When the plants have grown and the small pots appear'to be full of roots transfer them to five inch pots, filled with mixture of a little old well decayed, manure, loam and sand, and when well established move them to a cold frame and gradually harden off prior to placing them in the open beds in April (after the danger of frost has passed).. But as a safeguard larger flower pots or mats should the ready to protect he plants if the weather should tum cold and frost threaten, If there is no greenhouse or frame the above operations might be cou menced a month later by using a shallow box with a sheet of glass over, and placed in a warm situation, and with straw or mats hanay to throw over to protect at night time, And to keep them warm the same method might be adopted after they are potted, if a frost When growing from cuttings in March the old tubers, covered with fine earth, should be placed in boxes, on It above the hot water pipes in a gresmhouse and sprinkled with water at frequent intervals, They will soon throw out shoots. When these are about three inches high cut them off horizontally just below the lowest joint, and trim off any leaves or small shoots there may be at this joint, then place them in a pot filled with sandy soil. keep well moistened and in a few days the heat of the greenhouse bhat bed, will cause them to pid again. When large enough, harden off in cold frame, and plant out in beds in the same way as Somewhat the same procedure as above can be followed out of doors by planting the tubers in a sunny position in the middle of March. Though the cuttings not be large enough, or the weather suit-acle for them to take root until late April or May, these plants may flower in June and certainly will sri October and November.
'Cuttings can be taken as late as Sune provided that they are protect ed from the direct rays of the san by means of mats fastened three er four feet' above the ground on sticks in the usual Chinese method.
The third method is by the division of the old tubers.
Tubers which have been taken out of the ground after the foliage has been cut down bythe frost in the previous early winter, November or December, are carefully labelled dried and then stored in boxes of dry ashes, sand poet moss: or dry sawdust, A good -preventative against mildew is to dust] them with a little lime, & the same time removing any damaged or diseased. tubers." 'Those remaining are left in this state in a dry, frost proof, shed or room, until the middle of March when' the following procedure is adopted:
With a sharp pruning knife out in an upward direction through the stalk, retaining a piece of the utter with each tuber. As it is at the base of the old stalk where all] the eyes are, and it is they which) send forth the shoots.
We now come to the question of preparing the ground for planting out the roots cuttings or tubers which may have been grown or raised by any of the afore-mentioned methods.
In the autumn the ground is well and deeply dug, working in some well rotted manure, and the top surface left very rough to allow the air, moisture and frost to do their work. "Then a month or so before planting (February) the ground is dug over again, and before finally planting, dig holes two spades deep placing again some well rotted manure at the bottom of the hole, and covering with six inches of soil, that the Toots do not come into planted apart, except for the small bedding variety, should be four fest each way, and reserve the tallest varieties for the back rows.
While the dahlia plants are growing the ground should be kept well hoed so as to conserve as much moisture as possible. Give plenty of water after sundown in the hot weather. Keep the plants well supported to the main stake with soft string, bass or tafia and add additional stakes if required.
When the buds appear every third night manure water may be given with advantage, and. the intervening nights fresh water. If the weather is-very Gry occasionally dust. the ground with soot or powdered slaked lime, as this prevents Mugs from getting at the plants, When growing flowers for -oxhibition purposes the first essential point is that the sot must not be {foo rich, (over matured,) especially with fresh manure. Tt should be deeply. dog and in a pliable condition when planting.
Carefully follow the instructions already given for planting, and as the plant becomes established and grows, keep it supported to the main stake with-tafia or soft string which may be treated with Stockholm tar (as a preservative). As the plant gets larger, place three more stakes round it with string to protect from the wind. Remove any second shoots which may come out of the ground and reduce the side growths to six or eight according to the vigour of the plant, Keep it tidy and symmetrical, 30 as to allow plenty of light and air.
If large flowers. are looked for, the central bud on each main shoot should be left, and the rest removed, also cutting the side growths back to the third joint When pale tinted flowers are going to be shown, it may be necessary to protect them from the sun, by tying them up in paper bags or placing'shades over them. This applies equally in case of rain which may spoil the darker blooms. As a matter of fact obtaining the largest best flowers at the right moment for the exhibition table, is perhaps one of the greatest difficulties the dahlia enthuasist has. to face, and this is where the large grower has a better chance to select his blooms, although there have been several instances Home where a cottager has had good luck with a few plants and scored: heavily against the bigger man.
'When showing in the various Classes for dabliss at shows, particular care must be taken to' show the right variety in the right Class. 'And finally if six blooms afe called for do not show seven of reduce the number to' five, or you will, if the judges notice it, be disqualified.
Capt. Dyson then concluded his lecture by giving a few details of the recognized classes which were adopted by a Joint Committee of the National Dahlia Society and Horticultural Society of Great Britain in 1924.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.