jor January, 1921 



427 



The Dahlia and Its Future 



By RICHARD VINCENT, Jr., President American Dahlia Society 



THE past history of the UahHa up to a few years ago 

 has been published many times, so tliat while it is 

 interesting as any other flower that is grown, it is 

 hardly necessary to repeat it again in these columns. What 

 interests us most at the present time is the tremendous 

 change that has taken place within the past decade, in 

 the wonderful size, coloring and texture of a number of 

 varieties produced. 



There is a little lack of good commercial and all round 

 varieties but these will come along, as several real good 

 ones were shown at the last New York show, and more 

 will be produced as the requirements call for them. The 

 majority of new Dahlias are adapted to the amateur 

 more so than to the commercial grower. That the 

 Dahlia is growing in popu- 

 larity is plainly evident, as 

 the Dahlia shows every- 

 where indicate, and should 

 the interest this season in- 

 crease as it has done the 

 past few years, there is no 

 doubt but that there will 

 be such an exhibition of 

 blooins at the various 

 Dahlia shows that it will 

 surprise even the most en- 

 thusiastic growers. The 

 indications are that the 

 New York show the com- 

 ing year will be the largest 

 and best the world has 

 ever seen, additional space 

 has already been engaged 

 and many entries made 

 One thing that will and 

 does help the Dahlia 

 cause, is its easiness of 

 cultivation, its adaptabil- 

 ity to various situations, 

 the many uses its flowers 

 can be put to both by the 

 florist and the private 

 gardener, as the more the 

 Dahlia blooms are cut the 

 better ones there will be. 

 The time has arrived 

 when any garden not hav- 

 ing a few Dahlias to cut in 

 the Autunm misses a big opjiortunity for a display 

 just at a time when they are most needed, as it is 

 the Dahlia that tills the gap between the Summer 

 flowers and the Chrysanthemum, and we all know that 

 a bunch of beautiful Dahlias are acceptaldc anywhere 

 and at all times. 



New types are constantly being brought forward, so 

 much so, that a set of rules made by the nomenclature 

 committee a few years ago has now to be changed, and 

 so it will contintie for time to come, as new seedlings are 

 continually introduced at every exhibition, some entirely 

 different from previous ones, which make it puzzling to 

 the judges, and often a disappointment to the exhibitor, 

 as there are alriiost sure to be some among those ex- 

 hibited that, according to the present ruling, are apt to 

 be disqualified by the judges, simply because they show 



some other tyi)e ditterent to what the class calls for. The 

 nomenclature committee of the American Dahlia So- 

 ciety will attend a meeting in New York during the 

 month of January to take into consideration the classi- 

 fication of newer types and hybrids and to formulate 

 new rules for the judges of this year's shows to judge 

 by ; there will also be a set of rules adopted that will 

 meet all cases wdierever possible, so that no one will be 

 debarred because his or her type does not conform to a 

 certain form of classification. 



When w-e realize the few limitations that the Dahlia 

 grower has in either soil or climatic conditions and that 

 it will grow better with less work and also yield more 

 blooms tor the work done than any other flower, we real- 

 ize how hard it would be 

 to forecast what wonderful 

 achievements the Dahlia 

 specialist will have accom- 

 plished at the end of the 

 next ten years. It would 

 seem like a wild prophecy 

 to predict restilts as there 

 will be almost a countless 

 host of people growing 

 the Dahlia when its easy 

 cultivation and the charm 

 and beauty it adds to the 

 home garden during the 

 Fall blooming season be- 

 comes better known. I^et 

 the American Dahlia So- 

 ciety's motto be "Educa- 

 tion and Onward for 

 Dahlia Beauty," whether 

 in the palace garden or 

 the cottage home. 



In the March number of 

 the G-\iU)EXERs' Chronicle 

 there will appear an article 

 on the cultivation of the 

 Dahlia, the uses it can be 

 put to, a description of the 

 novelties and newer va- 

 rieties and special notes by 

 some of our Dahlia en- 



Ihihlia I'lilrick O'Mara, Introduced by Richard Vincent, Jr. 



thusiasts. 



OUR COVER ILLUSTRATION 



TTHE illustration on our front cover, reproduced from 

 a photograph through courtesy of John Scheepers, 

 Inc., shows a group of the famous "Marean" Dahlias in 

 the private gardens of Judge Josiah T. Marean, Green's 

 I'arnis, Conn. The varieties shown are. from left to 

 right: Theodora Bickley, Airs. I. de \'cr Warner, Cleo- 

 patra, Venus. 



The Judge does not plant his wonderful Dahlia crea- 

 tions in rows ; he uses them for decorative etfect in his 

 ornamental gardens, together with the full range of other 

 fine flowers, and he succeeds admirably with them. 



During the flowering season, many of the Eastern 

 Garden Clubs and Horticultural Societies visited the 

 Judge's private gardens, which are open to the public, 

 everybody leaving full of enthusiasm about the wonders 

 thcj- had seen. 



