Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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Wise-oAcres removing the top soil and forking well-decayed manure into the sub-soil and then placing the top soil on its previous place. When the soil is prepared, the Delphiniums, which are usually one-year-old plants, are planted. This is usually done in spring when the plants begin to grow, but if the garden is well sheltered and the soil well drained, they may be planted in the autumn and that gives them enough time to settle before the frost comes. If arranged in beds, they should be planted about three feet apart, as they grow into quite large plants, but if used among other per' ennials they should be planted in groups and at least a space eight feet square allowed for each group. The best position for Delphiniums when planted in a wide herbaceous border is from the middle to the back. The position of the border where the Delphiniums are to be planted should be airy and sunny but not windswept. If the soil is of a light nature a top dressing of organic manure with bone meal, meat meal, or dried blood produces better results than a combination of sulphates, nitrates and so forth which have no organic substances in them. On a heavy soil, chemical manure gives the best results, if some humus forming material has been dug in before planting. The best method of application is to sprinkle the fertilizer in a ring around each plant about twelve inches from the crown of the plant. The fertilizers should be applied in small doses at intervals of ten days or two weeks. They should be applied after rain and worked into the soil the following day. There are three methods of propagating Delphiniums, the most common way being by seed, but division of old plants is often practiced. Cuttings, if taken in spring or after the plant has finished flowering, root readily if inserted in sand and kept well shaded. If propagated in this way, they should not, however, have any bottom heat; they benefit by being frequently syringed with water during the hot summer says. Cuttings should be three to four inches in length and they should be cut immediately below a node. After they are rooted, they should be potted on or planted out into nursery rows. Seed of the perennial Delphinium should be sown in February' or March in the greenhouse or in a hot bed. The seed usually germinates very slowly. When the seedlings have two or three true leaves they should be pricked out into boxes or potted on into small pots so as to give them enough room to grow, and also to prevent damping off. Later on, about May, the plants may be planted out in nursery rows, provided it is done carefully and the plants are looked after for several days until they are properly established. The seedlings should, in late summer, produce one or more spikes of lovely flowers. If seed is sown out-of-doors during spring, the plants should be well looked after during dry weather, and these seedlings should flower in the following season. If Delphinium plants are rather large in a perennial border, they may be taken up and divided and then transplanted. This is usually done in spring when the new shoots appear, or in summer after their first flowering is over. If done in summer, the plants should be cut down and allowed to start fresh growth and after that the plant may be dug up, divided, and transplanted again. Summer division should be done in wet weather, otherwise great care must be taken in watering and shading the plants until they get established. Delphiniums can be kept flowering for several months by continually cutting the spikes after they have flowered and thus preventing them from seeding. If the central spike is removed, the lateral and the new basal shoots begin to flower and so quite a succession of bloom may be obtained. But if this constant blooming goes on, care must be taken to provide the plants with nourishment in the form of a dressing of decayed manure or an application of liquid manure. A top dressing keeps the soil moist and cool and produces healthy growth and vigorous blooms. T wenty'Six

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School of Horticulture Something oAbout Delphiniums Anne Jelinek DELPHINIUMS, to most of us at least, immediately take us back to an old-fashioned or an English garden. The picture comes up before us of a rather sheltered, secluded garden, with soft grassy paths, corners of it deliciously shady, parts of it in the full blaze of the sun -combining a great wealth of color with a sweet and delicate fragrance—and then in these wide herbaceous borders one sees with joy great masses of tall, magnificent, blue Delphinium. And after all, who can resist the beauty of those handsome spikes of flowers which have such a range of different tones— blue, mauve, purple, pink, and white? And the soft green of the ornamental foliage makes such a splendid background for the smaller growing border plants. What a delight they are, too, when cut and arranged in a vase and mixed with some flowers of a contrasting color such as yellow snapdragons or pink primulinus gladioli, both of which flower at the same time of the year as the Delphinium. Moreover we are furnished with Delphinium spikes for quite a long period, usually from June until October and it is only with feeding in midsummer and removing the flower-spikes before seeding that one prevents the Delphinium from exhausting itself. We read in various books and magazines that the Delphinium is not particular as to its soil requirements or its situation, but like other perennials it benefits greatly if given proper attention. Delphiniums belong to Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family, to which belong many of our garden plants, e. g., Paeony and Aquilegia. The types of Delphiniums usually grown are Delphinium Belladonna, Delphinium chinense, and D. formosum, but in recent years great progress has been made in hybridization and most of the Delphiniums in our garden now arc hybrids. Before planting Delphiniums, the soil should be dug and well-rotted manure should be added to it. If the top soil is shallow, double digging should be done. T werityfivc

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School of Horticulture It is quite a good plan to cover the roots in winter to protect them. This may be done either with sand or wood ashes and a little mound of either sand or wood ash may be placed around each crown. This keeps the crown fairly dry during winter and prevents the young shoots from rotting. Until quite recently there has been practically no disease which has attacked Delphiniums and bugs were apt to get rather scared of the healthy, vigorous plants or perhaps they had respect for the handsome foliage and refused to destroy it. Anyhow the Delphinium was left severely alone so far as the insect world was concerned. Only in very neglected ground did one find a few millipedes, wood lice, and wire worms, which did some damage. To prevent these attacks the soil should be cultivated and also fumigated. For fumigation, small holes about three inches deep should be made and a fresh, dry mixture of the soil vaporizer (one spoonful to each hole) should be put in the ground, covered with soil and left undisturbed for ten days before planting. Delphiniums are sometimes attacked by mildew and in such cases precautionary measures should be taken. The preventative which is most commonly used is sulphide of potassium. This is dissolved in hot water and then rain water is added to make a two and a half gallon solution. The plants should have three sprayings, first, when the shoots are about twelve inches high and then later and again when the flower spikes begin to show. On cold soils, Black Rot Fungus sometimes appears at the base of the stems, penetrates to the crown of the plant, and causes decay of the entire root-stock. This disease, however, may be checked by improving the drainage of the soil and also by surrounding the plants with charcoal. Several years ago a peculiar “blight” attacked Chestnut trees all over the country and killed them. Although research work was done to find out the cause of the blight and how to prevent it from spreading, nothing definite was really found and practically all the trees were killed. In our woods there are still some of the diseased trees which show us what handsome trees the Chestnuts were. Now, something of the same nature is trying to kill off many of our fine Delphiniums. Last year the Journal of Agricultural Research published an account of the work done in connection with Delphinium Leaf Spot. In short, it stated that bacterial Leaf Spot on Delphiniums occurs north from Pennsylvania and westward from Maine to Illinois. It is interesting to note, that it occurred in the West in one place only, in Washington State. The spots of the disease are irregular in shape and about one to two centimeters in diameter. On the under side of the leaf the spots are small and brown and later when more developed, the spots are tarry black on the upper surface of the leaf. The old spots, however, do not have water-soaked edges like most bacterial diseases. In its very early stages, it can be readily seen with an ordinary lens. The lower surface appears to be sunken while the upper surface of the spots is slightly raised. Spots occur on the leaf blades as the result of stomatal infection and they are also common on the tips of the leaves where they make their entrance through the water pores. When infection takes place on the young leaves, distortion usually results from the failure of the diseased areas to keep pace with the growing healthy tissue. Flower buds are occasionally attacked and become black and distorted and the petioles and stems are also attacked. In later stages of the disease the spots coalesce and form large areas, sometimes covering the entire leaf. The climatic conditions play quite a large part in the development of the disease. In spring, cold, moist weather is very favorable to its growth, while in winter T wenty-seven