DAHLIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



DAHLIA. 



515 



seasons. Staking and tying out the 

 shoots must be attended to, as the stems 

 are brittle and break under little wind- 

 pressure. Earwigs are great enemies to 

 Dahlias, but can be trapped in small 

 round troughs which may be got from 

 any pottery. They may also be caught 

 on pieces of Hemlock stem, 6 in. long, 

 by leaving a joint at one end, and stick- 

 ing the pieces here and there through 



cuttings every two or three days. These 

 may be taken off even as early as 

 March, close to the crown, without how- 

 ever injuring it, as others will come up 

 at the base of those removed. The cut- 

 tings must not be too long before they 

 are taken from the tubers, as then they 

 flag. When the crowns have supplied 

 all the cuttings that can be got from 

 them they may be divided, and therefore 



Cactus Dahlia " Juarezi. 



the Dahlias. Small pots, with a little bit 

 of dry Sphagnum Moss inside, inverted 

 on the tops of stakes, also form good 

 traps. 



INCREASE. The usual practice is to 

 take up the roots and store them in a dry 

 frost-proof cellar in winter. Dahlias may 

 be propagated by cuttings, root-division, 

 and seed, the last way being used only 

 where new kinds are sought. Cuttings are 

 the best means of propagating Dahlias, 

 though division of the roots is usually 

 practised. If started in February or 

 March in a temperature of 60 to 70 F., 

 each crown will produce three or four 



nothing is lost. Cuttings may be success- 

 fully struck during the summer months ; 

 but this is unusual except in the case of 

 choice varieties. Three-inch pots are 

 best for putting the cuttings into, six 

 cuttings being put in each pot. They 

 should be plunged in a brisk bottom-heat, 

 covered with hand-glasses, and shaded 

 from bright sunshine. In less than a 

 fortnight they will be all rooted, and may 

 be potted off singly into large 3-in. 

 pots. Harden them off gradually until 

 planted out in May 



To raise seedlings sow the seed in heat 

 in February, and treat the young plants 

 L L 2 



