Henderson daily dispatch., 1942-08-17
IHE TAR HEEL
GARDENER
BY JAMES G. WEAVER

,. inc season in North Carolina This
~" mas been favorable TO ,hc
""ul oil The dahlia. 1t has boon ia,
,' =" thcS Tor the plants To form
,'e'' flowers but the plants them
',.eS nave grown satisfactorily. TIN
gwen them from now on will
~ ''''hc' 10 Il great extent. ,h,
''DMcFS produced this fall.
Is assumed that the plants have
oe'h Tried to gruod substantial
,'"NcN. This is usually necessary ~
Y,.o,. mem from blowing or falling
opening star
,'s or falling over when The
''|\! flowers start opening
III o'ocf |" secure the fines, flow
S'S, IL Is necessary To practice dis
n"dolng, which should be- starred
n ~, ~" August and early September
NV '''"n' growth usually carries
80 o""'' any one of which will
u'E''op It nice Flower. The central
"uu Is usually selected because i,
VIII develop u ,tvaightrr s,cm TIT.
Snoulo be done when the buds ,rc
sL,, -, VI ~"'t'h peas. Side
sio"'S VIII appear along the SIGN
Us me Hover bud d.vclpp, ard w;li
oiVcrt food required %, the rIowcr
"hiicSS lhcy are punched or SnauncJ
"''t as soon as large c,o,,rh ~
handle. Remove all -, these side
shoots except the lower pmr ,rhich
should be allowed Ia devotion and
FORM branches for later flowers +,
laNrS ,hcS lateral shoots abnu, rn,,,
l" SIN weeks To- bloom. dcpcndinn ,o
great extent on the variety and tho
season.
During the growing season ,hc
"IlIiH requires large amuun, nf
wafer. While small. the planIs do
h"' need so much and hi; Ii,tIr
artificial Watering is usually ucrcs-
Sary. Us the plants become lorpcr
however. more moisture is rcuIircd
ana We sometimes have tp resort
l" ARTIFICIAL watering Plants suffer-
ing from lack of water will become
hard and Stuntcd. and q, course in
thlS condition cannot prudr,cc IN,
best flowers.
The best time to wafer is in the
iac afternoon. The soil should bn
soaked I" a depth of eight 10 twelve
inches. II you take a hose with tho
nozzle attached and flirt il back and
iorth to dampcn the surface Won dn
more harm than good Il is much
better to water part of the garden
one day and the rest another and do
IL well. MnIStcning the surface causes
IL 10 dry. forming a crust which al
lows the moisture to cvapuraic RAD
IDLY from the soil.
After rain or Il heavy Watering
the ground should be cultivated as
soon as II can be worked. This not
only Kills small weeds that have
started. but also conserve moisture
and allows air Ia circulate in the soil
This hastcnS the bacterial action
upon the unavailable plant food.
After the flowers have developed
you should be careful in cutting so
they will not wilt. They should be
cut early in the morning or late
IN the afternoon. The flowers of some
varieties. for example. may be cut
before completely developed. as they
Will continue opening in water. Other
varieties must be cut after they are
fully open Have pail of water at
hand when cutting: cut as long a
steam as possible: remove leaves
from the lower part of the steam.
and plunge nj once in the water
The deeper the stem can be placed
in the water. the better il is for the
flower. Placing the flowers in waite,
IN 4 cool dark place for an hour or
Two helps Ia revive those that have
a tendency Ia wilt: this also may
improve the keeping quality.