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THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



flowering and if one is familiar with their habits in this respect 

 he can take that into consideration in choosing the time for plant- 

 ing, starting the late varieties early and holding back the early 

 ones. It is the belief of the present writer that the midsummer 

 hardening and checking of growth, alluded to above, may be pre- 

 vented in a large measure by judicious watering during the hottest 

 and driest periods. 



Methods of Planting and Culture 



For the propagation of dahlias amateurs use either roots or 

 seeds, though professionals often resort also to pot-grown cuttings 

 and other special devices for increasing their stock. Seeds, if 

 started early, commonly produce plants that blossom the first 

 season, but one never knows exactly what he is going to get from 

 a dahlia seed, and unless he has a plenty of land, a taste for ex- 

 perimentation, or an ambition to originate a new variety of com- 

 manding merit, it is better to rely upon roots for new plants. A 

 modern cultivated dahlia is the result of many crossings and a 

 seed from it may " strike back " to anyone of its numerous an- 

 cestors or may represent some new blending of the characteristics 

 of its forerunners. On the other hand, a root-grown plant is a 

 sort of a continuation of a single individual from one season to 

 another and, if continued indefinitely, is a sort of immortality for 

 a single plant. Except for occasional very slight variations in 

 color or other character, due perhaps to change of climate or 

 soil, the flowers of a root-grown dahlia hold absolutely " true." 



Some people make the mistake of setting out a whole clump 

 of roots instead of dividing it. This is not only a wicked waste 

 of good roots, but the results are usually not so good as when the 

 clump is divided. All that is wanted for growing is a single good 

 shoot, though it is sometimes well to leave two or three until 

 danger from cutworms has passed. The single shoot makes a 

 strong firm trunk, sometimes suggesting the trunk of a small 

 tree, and one gets larger and better flowers than when numerous 

 crowded spindling shoots are allowed to grow. 



The beginner should remember that dahlia " tubers " are not 

 tubers in the botanical sense of the word — they are not tubers 

 with eyes or buds like those of the Irish potato. They are simply 



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