A dahlia fancier's garden, the plants being arranged in beds 



Dahlias in a crowded tenement district of a large city, in October 



Planting for the Most Gorgeous Flowers of Fall— By m. Fuld, 



WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH DAHLIAS IN A CITY BACK YARD AND EVEN ON SOIL THAT IS NOT RICH OR 

 EXPOSED TO SUNSHINE — THE WHOLE ROUTINE OF HANDLING ROOTS AND PLANTS FOR SPECIMEN BLOOMS 



Massa- 

 chusetts 



[Editor's Note: This article, which deals with the planting and growing of this old favorite garden floiver, is to , 

 'The author is the Secretary of the New England Dahlia Society^ 



• followed by one dealing with varieties. 



NO FLOWER is the peer of the dahlia 

 for variety of color, brightness, large 

 size of both plant and bloom, and profusion 

 of flowers at a time when the garden is mostly 

 bare of bright color. The only thing that 

 has so far been lacking in the dahlia is fra- 

 grance, but the announcement was made last 

 year, even, that a variety was offered for 

 which fragrance was claimed; a pure white 

 single, the odor faintly resembling that of a 

 honeysuckle. 



August, September, and October are the 

 months of the dahlia, but the foundations 

 must be laid in the early spring by preparation 

 of the soil during April, ready for the 

 actual planting of the roots in May, or even 

 later. The dahlia needs special provision 

 for its adequate development, although not 

 arduous care. The ideal spot for the dahlia 

 garden can easily be found. You are not 

 restricted to conditions of soil, direction of 

 sunlight or conditions of weather. A wonder- 

 ful showing can be made in an ordinary 

 back yard. The proprietor of the city garden 

 illustrated above was the recipient of an 

 award from the local Improvement Society 

 of his city, yet nothing but dahlias were 

 used in the decoration of the place. 



The first important step is to select a spot 

 for growing them. The poorer the soil, 

 and the lighter, the better the plants will 

 grow, thriving as well in a sunny position as 

 in a shady one, with the one difference that 

 in the bright sunny spot the plants will 

 be dwarfer, also flower earlier and more 

 profusely. 



Carefully cultivate and turn the soil of the 

 border as soon as possible after reading these 

 words (as a matter of fact the work should 

 have been done in the fall, but if done in 

 spring remember that no manure of any kind 

 is to be added to the soil) . Rich or manured 

 soil has a tendency to produce most luxuriant 

 foliage but hardly any flowers at all; there- 

 fore, if the soil is rather rich, I advise dress- 



ing with a heavy layer of fine coal ashes 

 thoroughly spaded into the surface soil. 



The dahlia is not hardy, but makes a 

 tuberous root that can be lifted and stored 

 indoors over winter. Most amateurs confine 

 their operations to caring for the old roots, 

 buying new ones of newer varieties each year, 

 and thus constantly enlarging the collection. 

 At this time of the year old roots that were 

 taken up last fall must be attended to. 

 About the first of March the real enthusiast 

 carefully gives water to the packing soil to 

 induce the "eyes" to start. By April 15th 

 the separating of the roots can take place, 

 the pieces being treated after that exactly 

 the same as newly received bulbs. 



If you have to purchase your bulbs it is very 

 important that they be treated properly upon 

 arrival. Unpack the shipment and if pos- 

 sible plant each tuber in a pot and plunge 

 in a coldf rame, and water them so the sprouts 

 will develop and grow on. 



If a coldframe is not handy, a cool place 

 in the cellar or anywhere in the house will do, 

 but light is essential. Many bulbs received 

 early in the season and not looked after will 

 be worthless by the time of planting. If 

 the growth of these new bulbs is making 

 rapid progress do not pinch back, but 

 simply retard it by placing the plants in 

 a cooler spot. 



When planting place the tubers in the 

 ground by laying them horizontally about 

 three inches below the surface and carefully 

 covering. A stake should be placed near by 

 and the label carrying the name of the variety 

 attached to it. 



There is nothing to do now except keep out 

 weeds until the plants make their appearance. 

 From the moment the dahlia shoots show 

 above ground they should be well watered 

 at least twice a week. Also the ground near 

 them should be stirred at least once a day. 

 The stirring up of the soil is worth more to 

 dahlias than tons of fertilizer or manure. 

 156 



The feeding roots of a dahlia are very near 

 the surface, and the admission of air is one of 

 the greatest benefits to the plants. 



If more than one shoot appear above the 

 ground from one root the weaker shoot should 

 be cut down below the surface. As soon as 

 the plant attains the height of one foot its 

 tender stalk should be carefully and loosely 

 tied to the stake. 



When the plant attains the height of two 

 feet, it is time to begin feeding. This should 

 be in the form of rotted stable manure, 

 placed in a circle around the plant to the 

 depth of fully four inches. It serves a double 

 purpose, keeping the surface cool and moist, 

 besides feeding the newly formed roots. 



SHAPING THE PLANT 



From now on the plant makes rapid prog- 

 ress and begins to branch. If a dwarf, 

 bushy growth is desired it is now time to 

 prune. This is done very simply by pinch- 

 ing the crown of the plant back to at least two 

 inches. The result will be that branches will 

 break from every joint or leaf, and soon you 

 will have a very bushy and dwarf growth. 

 This plan is not recommended as a common 

 practice; rather allow the plant to grow 

 its natural way, only cutting out or thin- 

 ning the branches when they appear in 

 such quantity as to completely cover every 

 available space. Plan to have sunlight strike 

 through the plant at all times. Whenever you 

 prune, prune back to the very joint, leaving 

 no stub. If you intend to grow flowers for 

 exhibition use, this is very important. 



When the plant has again attained a height 

 of eighteen inches pinch back the crown 

 as before directed, and when new branches 

 appear watch them carefully and do not 

 allow any subsequent branches to grow 

 larger than to enable you to cut them out with 

 the ordinary budding knife. The branch 

 appearing from the main stem should pro- 

 duce nothing more than one set of leaves at 



