CHAPTER VII 



CULTIVATION — PLANTING, STAKING, AND FER- 

 TILIZING 



THE time for planting dahlias must be con- 

 trolled by climate and the use for which the 

 blooms are needed. On the Pacific Coast tu- 

 bers are set in place in mid-April, sometimes 

 even earlier. Green plants are set out during 

 May and June according to the habits of certain 

 varieties and their behaviour at the end of the 

 season. The growing season in that wonderful 

 part of our country covers a period of eight or 

 nine months. Some of the early blooming 

 varieties would be past their prime when needed 

 for exhibition purposes in September unless 

 plants are set out much later than those of 

 slower growth. This is true anywhere, of 

 course, and should always be taken into con- 

 sideration when dahlias are planted; but where- 

 ever the growing season is long, a careful study 

 of the habit of the variety is of greatest im- 

 portance. In an even climate like that of 

 California this is about the only question which 



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