Flowers for the Million Indeed, but Often Fussed Over Too Much for Their Good— Simple Ways of Successful Culture 



Dahlias! Elusive, Yet So Easy! b y r. 



W. WALTERS 



c 



Cutting made by 

 taking shoot of 

 sprouting root. This 

 is the best way to 

 get exhibition 

 flowers 



HANGE- 

 ABLE Dah- 

 lia; fickle 

 Dahlia, dis- 

 appointing Dahlia, 

 and sometimes — Oh 

 happy memory — 

 the gorgeous Dahlia ! 

 well named Dahlia 

 variabilis. Mrs. 

 Amateur's Dahlia 

 average is usually 

 one season of good 

 blooms and two sea- 

 sons of large bushes 

 and sunburned 

 blooms. 



In high hopes she 

 planted her clumps just as she dug 

 them the previous autumn. She 

 planted real early in a small hole she 

 made with a trowel. They came up 

 briskly, such nice shoots and so many 

 of them ! They flourished like the green 

 bay tree the Bible tells about. Every day that 

 it did not rain she turned the hose on those 

 helpless plants. " Dahlias are like fish, they need 

 lots of water" some one had told her, and 

 she meant to do her duty. The soil becane 

 crusted, but what of that? There were no weeds 

 around them. The first of July she triumphantly 

 displayed to envious competitors the first Dahlia 

 blooms of the neighborhood. The weather was 

 still cool and the blooms were richly colored. 

 But when cut for the house they soon wilted. 

 "Dahlias aren't very good for cutting anyway" 

 she explained. No one told her that it was be- 

 cause they were grown too wet and soft. Enter 

 the summer drought. Who ever saw a summer 

 without a "bad dry spell"? The wood hardened; 

 what few flowers came were one-sided and poorly 

 colored. However, with the advent of cool fall 

 rains the plants made a second desperate effort 

 to bloom, and would have succeeded had Jack 

 Frost only remained away a few days longer. 

 But he didn't, and the Dahlia season ended — a 

 disappointment. 



HTO PRODUCE early Dahlia blooms might 

 -*- be called a disappointing success. Dahlia 

 shoots can be made to grow almost as fast as 

 ground vines, and they get hard and woody much 

 quicker. Good flowers are produced always on 

 the vigorous young growth, and to keep this 

 growth vigorous is the one high aim. The chief 

 causes of failure are (in order of their importance), 

 hard crusted soil, dry weather and insects. With 

 the advent of cool weather insects usually dis- 

 appear. 



It is to keep Dahlias from trying to bloom dur- 

 ing extreme summer heat that late planting is 

 advocated. The flowers show their fire and in- 

 tensity of colors only during cool weather. Quite 

 true, some years we are favored with cool moist 

 summers which are termed "good years for 

 Dahlias," but they are the exception, especially 

 in the inland region of the Northern states. 



From the latter part of May until the middle 

 of June is the accepted planting season in the 

 North. Well begun is half finished. Whether 

 we plant in beds or rows, the soil upon which the 

 tuber is placed should be deeply dug so as to 

 furnish a loose friable subsoil which will tempt 

 the feeding rootlets of the Dahlia to grow down- 

 ward out of reach of the hot summer sun. If 

 the location is moderately fertile no fertilizer 

 is necessary at planting time. Indeed, should 

 it be too rich or of heavy clay, one may well 

 add sand or fine coal ashes to lighten it. Too 

 much nitrogen tends toward top-heavy bushes 

 and few flowers. Excessive watering in the 

 early stages of growth has the same bad effect. 



T~\ONT plant large clumps. Divide them. Make 

 *-* certain to have a portion of the old crown 

 attached, as this year's shoots start from the base 

 of last year's stem. One sprout to a tuber is 

 sufficient — never allow more than two to grow 

 if the best flowers are desired. Lay the tuber on 

 its side always, and not standing on end. Plant 

 about six inches deep, but do not cover to that 

 depth at first. Leave each planting rather bowl- 

 shaped, and fill in with soil as the shoots grow. 



After four or five pairs of leaves have been 

 formed, pinch out the tip. This causes laterals 

 to start, two at each joint, making a dwarf and 

 symmetrical plant, able to endure weather hard- 

 ships without the use of unsightly stakes. Also 

 this pinching back tends to delay blooming time 

 until cooler weather is in sight. 



Don't forget to cultivate. If one practice is 

 of more importance than another it is to keep 

 the ground frequently and thoroughly stirred 

 from the sprouting of the tubers until flower buds 

 form. Cultivate more and water less. If ex- 

 tremely dry weather compels watering, use a pail. 

 Pour the water gently and directly to the roots, 

 covering, next day with dry earth. Then keep 

 on cultivating to conserve this moisture. No 

 good blooms ever came from a baked soil. 



No use in planting the entire old root; but divide to get an eve 

 to each piece 



One caution: — Care must be exercised not to 

 break or injure the bottom leaves of the Dahlia. 

 They serve a two-fold use in the plant's econ- 

 omy — shading the ground, thus keeping the soil 

 mellow and, last but not least, upon the vigor of 

 the large bottom leaves depends the vitality of 

 the tubers forming under ground. 



A CRITICAL period arrives with the forma- 

 ■*■*• tion of flower buds. Cultivation must 

 now be shallow to prevent injury to the tiny feed- 

 ing rootlets. This also is the proper time to 

 fertilize if the soil is lacking in strength. That 

 good all-around fertilizer, well rotted manure, 

 will serve both as a mulch and a plant food. 

 Then, too, this is the period of disbudding. 

 Strong growing Dahlias usually form flower buds 

 in clusters of three, one large and two small side 

 ones. Remove all but one — the most perfect 

 one. Not always is the largest bud the most 

 perfect, owing to the depredations of sucking 

 insects, but only one bud should grow to a leading- 

 shoot. Disbudding also includes the removal of 

 two or three pairs of the tiny laterals just starting 

 at this time below the flower buds. Left to grow 

 they would choke the newly forming flower. 

 Removing these tiny laterals gives a good flower 

 stem so much desired for decorative purposes. 



If one would keep plants blooming, flowers 

 should not be permitted to wither on the bush, 

 nip them off. The more blooms cut, the more 

 will form. However, this rule does not apply to 

 foliage if the most vigorous tubers are desired for 

 another year. Indeed, personal experience is that 

 severe cutting back to force new growth is done 

 at the expense of the vitality of the roots. 



Don't dig Dahlias at the first light frost. Wait 



65 



until a killing frost arrives. Even then no need 

 for hurry. Allow a few days for the bulbs to cure 

 properly and dig carefully on a dry day. Permit 

 some soil to adhere to the crown to prevent the 

 heavy tubers from breaking off. Partially dry 

 and store in a cellar protected from both frost 

 and furnace heat. Both are fatal. Boxes or 

 barrels lined with paper make good receptacles. 



Astovarieties , ' 



froin 1 Put thus into a pot the cuttings 



aim to retain ■ root q U i c kj y an( j started in frames 



only healthv m are ready to put out as growing 



J M plants 



growers 



and free 

 bloom-1 

 e r s a- ' 

 dap ted 

 •to your 

 locali- 

 ty. Dis- 

 c a r d 

 those 

 wh i c h 

 after two or 

 three years 5 

 trial prove 

 unsatisfactory. 

 You will find a 

 better one of 

 the same type 

 and color, for 

 at present the 

 Dahlia is in 

 active, am al- 

 most tempted 

 to say violent, 

 state of evolu- 

 tion. New varieties 

 succeed the old shy 

 bloomers and with 

 better flowers. Not 

 all new in trod uctions, 

 however, are the 

 models of perfection 

 they are claimed to be, yet the general trend is 

 toward great improvement. What types do you 

 admire? What is your favorite color? Tell your 

 favorite Dahlia specialist. It's a part of his bus- 

 iness to please you; and he is an enthusiast too! 



One failure should not discourage, because it 

 requires skill, care, and plenty of work to produce 

 quality Dahlia blooms. Their production is a 

 most fascinating hobby. 



In a narrow border with some shelter behind the Dahlias fine 

 blooms glow forth in their glory 



