THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



dealers. The early ones are safe enough, but one cannot tell 

 whether it is the first or the forty-first plant we are getting when 

 we buy them. 



It is fascinating to grow dahlias from seed, but a good deal 

 of space is needed, and the beginner must not expect more 

 than one really fine type out of a hundred or more. If seed 

 is purchased, buy only from a reliable man who pollinates by 

 hand. Definite results are more possible by selection of pollen. 

 Start the seed in a flat in the cold frame in April. Let them 

 germinate slowly, and when two or three sets of leaves appear 

 they may be planted in three inch pots. Plunge in the cold 

 frame and allow them to grow until the pots are filled with roots, 

 but not crowded. Shift them into larger pots if necessary and 

 set them out the latter part of May. If seeds are started earlier 

 than this, the plants become too large to handle safely. Seed- 

 lings are also inclined to bloom early, and it is better to allow 

 them to form tubers first and bloom in the cooler weather. 

 They may be planted about two feet apart, so that when ugly 

 or misshapen ones are rooted up there is plenty of room for 

 those allowed to mature. Give them the best soil in the gar- 

 den, and the type is sooner established. The only reason new 

 dahlias "improve " the second year, is that they are better grown. 



To fertilize seed by hand, put a light paper bag over a bud 

 selected to be the mother flower, just as it is about to open. 

 Cut a full blown flower chosen for the pollen, and place in water 

 in the house. When sufhcient pollen has formed, and the bud 

 on the plant has opened well, pollinating may be done. After 

 removing the bag, either the flowers may be touched together 

 directly or the pollen may be applied by means of a brush. 

 Bag again at once, and repeat daily three or four times, as the 

 tiny florets open in circles, the center ones opening last. The 

 bag may be removed after the petals have wilted, and evidence 

 of seed formation shows itself. To insure against self pollina- 

 tion in this rather crude form of hybridizing, first wash the 

 pollen from the mother flower with a small syringe, using blot- 

 ting paper to remove superfluous moisture before applying the 

 pollen. This should be done as late in the season as possible, 

 for the plant's best efforts toward reproduction commence in 



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