Evening star., 1950-07-16
Stake Plants
ToKeepFruit,
Flowers Safe
By W. H. Younsmun
Garden Editor

and preventing the taller growing
ones from being toppled over dur
ing transforms are parts of the
job of keeping the garden trim
and orderly.
Supporting plants is done for
one or more reasons, not the least
Of which are to keep the fruit
and flowers clean and undamaged.
and to assist in the control of
diseases and insect pests.
Crowded plants prevent air cir
ciulation. Red spiders thrive in
such situations and the chrysan-
themum nematodes spread from
I1eaf to leaf.
Stalking can be simple or COM
plicated. There are many pat
ented devices for supporting
plants. These include nets for
sweetpeas,e circular frames with
legs for peonies. metal stakes, etc.
Also, most garden supply houses
carry various sizes of bamboo
stakes (often referred to as "ton-
kin" caneS). Some have cypress
stakes, which are especially suit
able for dahlias and tomatoes.
Special plant ties are offered as
a substitute for the commonly
used strips of cloth.
The home gardener will find
that supply of bamboo stakes is
convenient to meet the many
needs of the home garden. Plants
such as lilies, glads, chrysanthe-
NUNS, tomatoes. garden peas,
peppers, etc., need this attention,
although too often they are neg
lected. If the stake supply con-
sists of stakes ranging in diameter
from "a to u inch and in length
from 3 to 6 feet it will meet the
majority of needs. Heavier stakes,
inch or "a inches square and
6 to 8 feet in length are needed
for dahlias and tomotoes.
Set Them Deep Enough.
To be effective, stakes should be
driven from l to 2 feet into the
ground. Most any kind of ham,
mer or ak will do the job, although
the rubber headed hammer is less
likely to split a stake. In stony
or hard ground driving stakes will
be easier if a hole is first made
with sharp pointed crowbar.
1t is important that the stakes
be placed as early as possible.
Placing them after the tuber or
the plant is in the ground is to
run the risk of injuring the tuber
or the root system. Most dahlia
growers set their stakes before
placing the tubers in the holes.
If the stakes are unsightly while
the plants are small it is good
garden practice to use a small
stake at the start, replacing it
with larger and stronger stakes as
plant growth progresses.
While bamboo and cypress
stakes are relatively long lasting,
it will payte treat them with one
of the newer copper wood preser-
vatives. The cost is small COM
pared to the increased life. Metal
stakes will rust unless protected
with metal paint.
Avoid Cutting Bark.
The materials used in tying
plants to stakes should be soft
and coarse to avoid cutting the
bark. Soft cords, strips of cloth
and wire embedded in plastics are
most commonly used. The recon-
mended practice is to fasten the
tie securely to the stake and
loosely to the plant stem. This
allows the plant to assume a
somewhat natural position in spite
of being anchored to a stake.
Where a considerable number of
plants are to be supported in a bed
or border it is frequently easier
to place strong posts at the ends
and to stretch wires between
them. Strips or cross pieces may
be fastened across the wires to
keep the plants upright.
Some gardeners have adopted
the practice of placing a stout
piece of brush besides each chry-
santhemum plant. The plant then
grows up through the brush and
is protected from wind and rain
injury. Strong limbs should be
used for this purpose and they
should be selected for twigginess
and size. A good branch will do
much neater job than several
stakes in supporting the usual
garden variety of chrysanthemum.
1t is generally common practice
to remove the stake as soon as the
plant has finished Towering, but
this hardly accomplishes all of the
objectives mentioned.
III DsH HVI