How To Grow Dahlias And Gladiolus Plants For Compliments
Dahlias and gladiolus may be planted this month (May). The main requirements for these are a mellow soil, deeply prepared to insure easy root movement. Heavy soils will benefit, as will the crop from the addition of coal ashes. Bulbous plants need good aeration. This is more important in their earlier growth than an overdose of fertilizer. Indeed, until they have grown and developed sufficient foliage, they cannot use too much of this. Dahlia clumps should be divided. Do not plant a whole clump; one or two roots each with one or two good eyes, will give the best results.
Give permanent perennials a top dressing of 5-10-5 fertilizer mixed with the same quantity of steamed bonemeal and dried blood. Apply 3 to 4 pounds of this per square foot. Peonies, iris and delphiniums will benefit especially. If your peonies failed to flower last year due to the buds drying up or falling off, they were probably infected by one of the peony blights. Where a blight has been exceptionally severe, remove 2 inches of the soil surrounding the peony roots and replace with fresh, fertile topsoil. When the young shoots reach a height of about 3 inches, spray with Bordeaux mixture and soak the ground around the plants. Give another application in a week or ten days.
Compost Pile
Start a compost pile. Mine is a shallow pit a foot deep. Into the bottom of the pit goes all the coarse material saved from the previous pile. This consists of unrotted leaves and partly decomposed material. The remainder is built up of vegetable refuse, weeds, kitchen waste, young hedge clippings and grass, which are added as they become available. Each 8-inch layer is sprinkled with dried chicken manure and superphosphate.
The manure is an activator. while the phosphate supplies phosphorus as well as trapping the escaping ammonia and avoiding obnoxious odors. A thin covering of garden soil covers each laser of material. Thus is the pile built to a height of about 4 feet. Because the materials are added over a lengthy period, I have found it necessary to turn the pile over when this height is reached, in order to get uniform decomposition. An important factor in decomposition is moisture. Wet down the pile as each layer is added.
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