Evening star., 1929-07-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES 3. TRACEWELL.

To disbud or not to disbud-that Il
| the question at this time OF year among
| home gardeners.
whether It Is better to have few fow-
ers and those large ones, or many fiow.
ers and small ones, is the perpetual
| query among most amateur growers.
It seems probable that the majority
although tF will always be minority
who like b. lie largest blossoms they
can get.
The practice Of pruning. which. in es-
sence. disbudding is, does not come by
nature to the amateur gardener.
It Ii only after several years of care
full observation that he begins to see the
necessity for pruning at all. and when
1t comes down to the fine practice OF
disbudding he still remains skeptic.
To pull OF fine, fat bud-why, that
appears almost suicidal to the home
grower whose only objective Is flowers
He may have read that as much must
be done for dahlias, If the best flowers
are wanted, and he may be willing to
admit the advisability Of the practice
in such q case.
The dahlia is a fine flower In proper
ton to its size. Almost more than any
other flower its blossoms must be large
to be at their best.
II disbudding will do the trick, then
disbudding 1t shall be, but who would
dare ask that the same thing be prac-
ticed on rosebushes, chrysanthemuns.
and so on?
The answer is that no less an au-
thority than the Department Of Agri-
culture makes the suggestion.
In short statement advising the
pruning Of hardy chrysanthemums,
horticulturists of the department last
week declared
Hardy chrysanthemum plants should
be stopped or pruned In early Summer
II they are to become broad. spreading
bushes with strong, upright stems.
This means that the growing tip is re-
moved to induce branching as soon as
tn. the .,l1ls.ne plants show signs OF becoming
1T is usually we'll to pinch out the
top of the shoot after three or four
pairs Of leaves have formed, though
sometimes this is done after the second
pair Of leaves Is mature.
Three to five shoots will appear,
which In turn should be stopped No
pinching out should be done after the
middle of July, as this might bring the
bloom too late in the Autumn"
Here Is advice straight from head
QUARTERS, 0uL WnaG interests US mOSt
about It Is the inspiration 1t gives the
timid disbudder, the home gardener who
for one reason or another does not have
the necessary faith in Nature to pro-
ceed with such pruning as he knows to
be necessary.
Is this not a curious thing, that any
one should be distrustful Of Nature,
who has been at work with her plants
for so many centuries? Yet such is too
often the case.
Home gardeners are not willing to
believe that little plants will grow into
big ones. They shrink from learning the
lesson of too close planting, with the
result that lilac bushes grow crowded,
spelling the effect Of the yard and re-
ducing the bloom of the bushes.
They are not willing to admit that
their prize roSebuShes would do better
bscause Of a vigorous pruning In early
Spring. or that the privet bushes would
be thick and bushy, the way they want
them, II they had cut them back
severely last year.
Home gardeners read these truths, or
have them told them by other garden
ers, but their faith is small, either In