2S4 PLANT CULTURE 



The classification of Dahlias approved by the American Dahlia 

 Society is of interest. 



1. Cactus Dahlias 



A. True Fluted Type: Flowers fully double; floral rays 

 (petals) long, narrow, incurved or twisted, with sharp, divided 

 or fluted points and with revolute (rolled back) margins, 

 forming, in the outer florets, a more or less perfect tube for more 

 than half the length of the ray. 



Typical examples: Snowdon, T. G. Baker, Mrs. Douglas Flem- 

 ing, J. H. Jackson, H. H. Thomas and Rev. T. W. Jamieson. 



B. Hybrid Cactus or Semi-Cactus Type: Flowers fully 

 double ; floral rays (petals) short as compared with previous type, 

 broad, flat, recurved or twisted, not sharply pointed except when 

 tips are divided (staghorn), margins only slightly revolute (rolled 

 back), and tubes of outer florets, if any, less than half the length 

 of the ray. 



Typical examples: Master Carl, Perle de Lyon, Flora, Mrs. 

 J. T. Mace, Kalif and Rheinkoenig. 



2. Decorative Dahlias 



Double flowers, full to center in early season, flat rather 

 than ball-shaped, with broad, flat, somewhat loosely arranged 

 floral rays (petals) with broad points or rounded tips which are 

 straight or decurved (turned down or back), not incurved, and with 

 margins revolute (rolled back), if rolled at all. 



Includes forms like those of Souvenir de Gustave Douzon, 

 Jeanne Charmet, Le Grand Manitou, Delice, Lyndhurst and 

 Bertha Von Suttner, but does not include Le Colosse, Mrs. Roose- 

 velt, Dreer's White, Grand Duke Alexis or similar forms, which 

 fall into section B. of the ball-shaped double Dahlias. 



3. Ball-Shaped Double Dahlias 



A. Show Type: Double flowers, globular or ball-shaped 

 rather than broad or flat, full to center, showing regular spiral 

 arrangement of florets; floral rays more or less quilled or with 

 markedly involute (rolled in) margins and rounded tips. 



(The class called Fancy Dahlias is not recognized separately in 

 this classification, but is included in this sub-section A.) 



Typical examples of Show Dahlias: Arabella, Dorothy Peacock, 

 Gold Medal, John Walker, Colonist and A. D. Livoni. 



B. Hybrid Show, Giant Show or Colossal Type : Flowers 

 fully double, broadly hemispherical to flatly globular in form, loosely 



