Practical Pointers on DaKlia Culture 



MY method of culture has given good 

 results, and yet I feel that I know 

 very little about the nature of this 

 remarkable flower. In developing my 

 "Sunburst" dahlia, I began with a very 



1. Sunburst — A Show Dahlia 



chrome yellow with coppery bronze centre. 

 Diameter. -»t inches. 



ordinary flower of the show type, whose 

 color, a deep chrome yellow, with a 

 coppery bronze centre, appealed to me 

 as one worthy of attention. It was 

 given me, and was not named. In size 

 it measured three and one-eighth inches 

 in diameter, was of perfect form, and 

 opened out like a ball, the ray flowers 

 reflecting to the stem. It looked like an 

 overgrown pompon. 



The next year I selected the largest, 

 healtliiest and most promising tuber, 

 planted it six inches deep in rich soil, 

 that was half sand and half clay, with 

 bone meal thoroughly mixed through it. 

 The bush grew to be thirty-seven inches 

 high, with a strong stalk. After the 

 buds began to form, I gave the plant a 

 mulch of well-rotted stable manure, and 

 covered this with about an inch of sand. 

 The first bloom measured four and seven- 

 eighths inches in diameter, and was of 

 good form, with a coppery-bronze cen- 

 tre. See illustration No. 1. The second 

 bloom measured five and one-eighth 

 inches in diameter, was of even better 

 form, but had a centre like dull brass. 

 See illustration No. 2. After this my 

 plant met with misfortune. One of my 

 children, while playing near it, fell 

 against it and broke down the greater 

 part of the bush. It bloomed after- 

 wards, but from a smaller side branch, 

 and the flowers were not .so large, 

 although of as good form, but all with a 

 copper)' centre. 



The result of the above experiment 

 led me to believe that by selecting the 

 best tubers from year to year, planting 

 them horizontally six inches deep, in a 

 rich soil, half clay and half sand, with 



Max Moineau, Toronto 



bone meal and wood ashes thoroughly 

 mixed through it, and only one tuber in 

 a hill, the hills being from three to four 

 feet apart, there would be splendid re- 

 sults. Nor was I disappointed. This 

 method gives a good bush, fine bloom, 

 and better tubers. Putting a whole 

 cluster of tubers in one hill is wrong. 

 After they have sprouted sufficiently to 

 show an eye, separate them carefully 

 with a sharp knife, and select the best 

 for planting. Sprouting should be pro- 

 moted in the cellar, by wrapping the 

 cluster of tubers in moss from the 

 florist's, and keeping this damp until 

 eyes appear. 



QUALITY BETTER THAN QUANTITY 



It is better to have quality than 

 quantity When starting in the cellar, 

 I place each carefully-selected tuber in 



2. Another View of Sunburst 

 The petals, open back to stem, make a ball shajie. 



a separate box, the earth the same as in 

 my garden, half clay and half sand, 

 with bone meal and wood ashes, in small 

 quantities, thoroughly mixed through it. 

 The boxes are made so that they can be 

 easily taken apart. When planting 

 time comes, I carefully place the con- 

 tents of box in the hill, disturbing the 

 tubers as little as possible. This pre- 

 vents the breaking of the long, slender 

 roots of the tuber, and insures a much 

 better growth. 



In Canada, this plant should not be, 

 started too early. Keep the tubers 

 dormant until after the first of May, 

 then start them in the cellar, setting 

 them out in the garden about the first 

 of June. The dahlia is in reality a fall 

 plant, and it flowers best after the hot 

 season. I never expect a good fall 

 bloom from a plant that has been started 

 early in the cellar, forced to eight or ten 



297 



inches in height, then transferred to the 

 garden as scon as the weather will per- 

 mit. Among amateurs it seems to be 

 quite an achievement to produce the 

 first bloom of the season. For my part, 

 I much prefer producing plants that will 

 be sturdy and prolific through a later 

 season. The result is much more satis- 

 factory in the end, when flowers are 

 scarce. 



Having planted your tubers, be care- 

 ful how you treat them. Remember 

 that nature can do a great deal more for 

 them now than can you. Do not -water 

 them. Let nature do this. Artificial 

 watering promotes the growth of the 

 bush at the expense of the bloom. If 

 tubers are six, or even eight inches deep, 

 they will keep sufficiently moist between 

 showers, unless in very dry . weather, 

 then give them an occasional soaking. 

 Keep the earth about stalks well stirred 

 up, so that it will not bake, and pluck 

 put all suckers and weeds. I usually 

 clip out the lower flower shoots, which 

 never do well, that the strength expend- 

 ed in their development may go to the 

 better part of the plant. 



THE ORIGIN OF NEW VARIETIES 



Propagating dahlias from seeds re- 

 quires considerable care and patience. 

 Having let one of your favorites go to 

 seed on the bush, gather the seed before 

 frost, and keep dry until the middle of 

 March. Then plant in flats in the cellar, 

 as you would aster seeds. When the 

 second or third set of leaves have formed, 



3. Mrs. Roosevelt — the True Type 



transplant about three inches apart to 

 give room. When weather will permit, 

 transfer plants to the hotbed or cold 

 frame. As soon as all danger of frost 

 has passed, plant out in the garden, and 



