88 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



may be applied with advantage. Should the beds or 

 borders have been so liberally enriched in previous years 

 that Dahlias make an excessively strong growth, give instead 

 of manure a liberal dressing of slaked lime, previous to 

 breaking up the soil. It is advisable to trench the ground 

 for garden Dahlias in precisely the same manner as for 

 those grown for exhibition purposes ; but trenching is not 

 so imperative, and good results may be obtained from plants 

 growing in ground that has been dug to a depth of not less 

 than 12 inches. If shallow digging is resorted to the roots 

 will be so near the surface as to incur the risk of the plants 

 suffering from an insufficiency of moisture should there be 

 a period of dry weather during the summer months. 

 Stations for single plants or groups in mixed borders should, 

 as a matter of course, be prepared in much the same 

 manner as the beds and borders. 



WHEN AND HOW TO PLANT 



Having dealt with the questions of sites for exhibition 

 Dahlias and soil preparation for all classes, it becomes 

 necessary to give attention to the plants in their several 

 stages of development. If the advice given in the chapter 

 on propagation is acted upon, the greater proportion of the 

 plants will be well established by the middle of April in 

 pots 3 inches in diameter. Those raised from cuttings 

 rooted rather late in the spring will be well established in 

 their pots at the beginning of May. Both early and late 

 plants and those obtained from the nurseries should be dealt 

 with in precisely the same manner when they have reached 

 the stage at which more root room becomes necessary. 



