Among the New Dahlias — By e. i. Famngton, 



Massa- 

 chusetts 



SOME RECENT INTRODUCTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN TRIED AND PROVEN WORTH WHILE - 

 A FEW VARIETIES THAT ARE PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO CULTURE BY THE AMATEUR 



A new comer in the decorative class: Dorothy Flint, 

 of good form and pure white 



AMONG the newer sorts of worth 

 while dahlias now being distrib- 

 uted widely enough so that all 

 amateurs may obtain them, are 

 several of particular merit. In the popular 

 cactus class, Advance ranks high. It is 

 extra large and a bright, fiery scarlet, shaded 

 with yellow at the base of the petals. Duc- 

 kie, a cactus hybrid, grows four feet tall and 

 has short, thick and lustrous foliage which is 

 rather unusual. The flowers are rich cream 

 with delicate pink suffusing each petal. 

 " Imp is unique, being very dark, almost 

 black. It will have many admirers. An- 

 other very new variety possessing much 

 merit is Miss Stredwick. The colors are 

 yellow and pink. America produces 

 striped flowers of large size. Mme. Henri 

 Cayeux is not so new, but in the hands of 

 a skilled grower, it is one of the best cactus 

 dahlias in cultivation. Unfortunately, it 

 can not be commended to the novice, for it 

 is a shy bloomer. Mrs. Ferdinand Jeffries 

 has the same fault, yet it is the largest 

 cactus dahlia that has been grown and ex- 

 cellent for exhibition. The color is a deep, 

 velvety maroon, with crimson shading and 

 a black centre, the color being practically 

 the same as that of the well known decora- 

 tive dahlia Papa Charmet. 



Snowstorm is white, of course, and is 

 charming in form, while it flowers freely. 

 In Marguerite Bouchon amateurs will find 

 a dahlia of the soft rose pink shade ; the cen- 

 tre is white and the blooms full and heavy. 

 Coming to the show and fancy typ es > 

 probably the best white show dahlia which 

 has yet been grown is Mme. Henrietta 

 Scalibre. While not extraordinarily free 



with its flowers it is by no means a shy 

 bloomer; its flowers are of large size and 

 splendid form and borne on extra long stems. 

 Mary Garden is a yellow show which sur- 

 passes any other free flowering yellow show 

 dahlia. It is very large, has a much longer 

 stem than the fine Toison d'Or and above 

 all, flowers profusely. King Charles is a re- 

 cent show dahlia which has several unique 

 characteristics; the petals are cupped, and 

 while one side is a reddish purple, the other is 

 silvery pink, making a contrast which is de- 

 cidedly unusual. It grows very tall, often 

 five and a half feet. It is not so liberal with 

 its blossoms as might be desired. 



There seems to be a growing demand for 

 good cutting dahlias, as the fact becomes 

 recognized that these flowers have excellent 

 decorative possibilities. A fairly new show 

 which is especially fine for cutting is Mar- 

 guerite Rousseau, flesh pink, with a white 

 centre, quite large enough for vase use and 

 very well formed. 



Those who find Grand Duke Alexis too 

 double will be pleased with Mile E. E. Ris- 

 ser, which much resembles it except that the 

 petals are more loosely formed. The fancy 

 dahlia Marmorata is white, with fine purple 

 stripes, and the flowers are exceptionally 

 large, especially considering the fact that the 

 plant itself is low growing, usually not being 

 taller than two and a half feet. It may be 

 said, too, that this variety is altogether an 

 amateur's flower, throwing its flowers gen- 

 erously and being very easy to grow. The 

 chief characteristic of Eugene Mezard, a 

 yellow show with pink tips, is the fact that 

 the flowers grow to mammoth size, while 

 the plants themselves are only three feet 

 tall. It is a good variety for a small garden. 

 Turning to the single dahlias, several 

 comparatively new and particularly good 

 varieties are found in the catalogues. Marie 

 Antoinette is among the best. The flowers 

 are very large and the centre of each pure 

 white petal is splashed with crimson. 



Margaret Perkins is a seedling 

 from 20th Century, but on the 

 whole may be said to excel that 

 favorite flower. On each white 



petal is a little delicate pink, which softens 

 as the season advances. The flowers are 

 large, showy and borne freely. 



Helvetia is a new single which promises 

 to become popular when better known. 

 The blossoms are bright scarlet, with white 

 stripes, a charming combination. The 

 flowers are extra large and on well grown 

 plants there is sure to be a profusion of 

 them. For sheer, delicate loveliness, Pink 

 Beauty will rank high. In several ways, 

 this is an extra good variety for the ama- 



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Marguerite Bouchon, with petals of a soft rose pink 

 shading into white toward the centre 



teur's garden. Souvenir de Paris is quite 

 new and altogether remarkable for size. 

 The plants themselves grow five feet high 

 and the pure white blossoms are enormous. 



Of the peony flowered dahlias of recent 

 introduction Souvenir de Franz Liszt is 

 among the finest. In color it is rather pe- 

 culiar, a reddish purple, with a white disc 

 around the centre. Both plant and flower 

 are large, the former standing five feet tall, 

 while blossoms seven inches in diameter 

 are not uncommon. Geisha is a large, 

 strikingly handsome flower, and makes a 

 fine show in the garden, the plants being 

 tall and robust. The blossoms are orange- 

 scarlet, with a yellow centre. This variety 

 is one of the best in its class. 



Caesar is another very fine yellow peony- 

 flowered variety. The strong growing 

 plants often reach a height of five feet and 

 the flowers are borne well above the foliage. 

 Bertha von Suttner has now been grown 

 long enough to be fairly well known. The 

 flowers are large, with narrow petals, sal- 

 mon pink in color, but shading to yellow. 



Garden makers who like flowers of bright 

 purple will be interested in a new dahlia of 

 the Decorative type which has been named, 

 fittingly enough, Royal Purple. It is a well 

 formed flower of large size and grows on 

 long stems. Few better dahlias of this class 

 have been seen. Paul David is another 

 excellent decorative dahlia. In color it is 

 a bright crimson and the flowers are carried 

 on long stems. It needs a back row, for the 

 plants commonly shoot up five and a half 

 feet. Dorothy Flint is a very new, pure 

 white decorative form which promises ex- 

 ceedingly well. 



