248 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 1913 



to be potted up in early spring using pots 

 6 or 7 inches in diameter. If the roots are 

 too large for the pots the tubers may be 

 reduced to the proper size by cutting. 

 After inserting the root fill up the pot with 

 soil, leaving the crown of the root an inch 

 or so above the soil level. Instead of pots 

 boxes may be used, and if a greenhouse be 

 not available they may be placed in a 

 sunny window of a warm room. The 

 soil should be moderately moist, but 

 no water given until the eyes begin to 

 swell. 



In from two to three weeks the shoots 

 will be three inches in length, and as these 

 first shoots very seldom make good plants 

 they should be removed with a sharp knife 

 and thrown away. The majority of the 

 succeeding cuttings should make good 

 plants with the exception of any that are 

 hollow centred. Should only a few plants 

 be required the cuttings may be taken off 

 with a heel or small piece of the old root 

 attached, but should all the cuttings 

 available be wanted care must be taken 

 not to cut the shoots quite close to the base 

 or crown, thus leaving intact the cluster 

 of eyes, all these will in a few days push up 

 shoots to be taken off again as cuttings. 

 The shoots should be taken when from three 

 to four inches in length; those about the 

 thickness of a slate pencil will make the 

 best plants. 



MAKING THE CUTTING 



In making the cutting use a sharp knife 

 and cut just below a joint, removing the 

 leaves on either side and insert in the soil 

 up to the next joint. Use a blunt stick 

 for dibbling in the cuttings making sure 

 that the base of the cutting is resting on 

 the soil at the bottom of the hole made 

 by the dibble. The cuttings must be 



Ob33rve the curiously formed inner series of rays 

 that close over the yellow disk florets (Mrs. A. 

 McKellar.) 



This flower was raised in a lot of mixed seedlings. 

 It is not necessary to grow named kinds to have 

 beautiful results 



inserted with as little delay as possible after 

 removal from the old root and before there 

 is any possibility of flagging. Water im- 

 mediately and shade from bright sun. 

 Almost any fresh garden soil will do, pro- 

 vided it contains a liberal quantity of sand, 

 though better results will be obtained by 

 using a compost of half sand and half leaf 

 mold, first passing the latter through a 

 small meshed sieve. The cuttings may 

 either be inserted singly into small pots 

 or half a dozen or so inserted around the 

 edges of four inch pots; or they can be 

 inserted in lines in shallow boxes filled with 

 the same compost as recommended for use 

 in the pots. As soon as these are rooted 

 they should be potted singly into 3 inch 

 pots, the soil for this shift being composed 

 of fairly rich moderately heavy soil. 



AFTER POTTING UP 



Give a thorough watering after potting 

 and shade for two or three days until the 

 roots begin to run again. Keep them near 

 the glass if grown in a greenhouse, while 

 if in a dwelling house window keep them 

 close to the light, and shade only while 

 the sun is directly on them. If a moder- 

 ately warm hotbed is available remove 

 the plants to it after the middle of April, 

 and give air on all favorable occasions, so 

 that the growth may be stout and the 

 whole plant sturdy. 



It will not be safe, to leave the frame un- 

 protected until well into May. Therefore 

 cover the sash at nights with burlap, sacks 

 or other material to keep out the night 

 frosts which are so prevalent at that season 

 of the year. Do not set the plants out of 

 doors until the end of May or early June, 

 when all danger of freezing weather be past, 

 and in sections where it is necessary, do 

 not omit to cut down the plants in early 

 July as previously described. To prolong 

 the flowering season cut out all spent 

 flowers before seed pods are formed, as this 



type seeds very freely and the formation 

 of seed pods shortens the flowering period. 



LIFTING AND KEEPING THE ROOTS 



We would not hear so many tales about 

 failures to keep dahlias over winter if a 

 little common sense were exercised in lifting 

 and housing them. When lifting the plants 

 in the fall be careful to avoid damaging the 

 roots, as, although the long fingers or bulbs 

 do not of themselves produce plants for the 

 following year they are necessary for the 

 future well-being of the plant. I have often 

 seen them so carelessly taken out of the 

 ground as to be almost beyond further 

 usefulness by being broken near the collar, 

 the tuber though attached, being held by 

 one or two fibres only. This is especially 

 the case where tubers have a thin or 

 narrow neck. Lift on a dry day, first 

 cutting off the tops of the plants to 

 within three inches of the ground level; 

 allow them to dry before bringing inside. 

 Store in a dry, cool frost-proof place, though 

 not so dry as to allow the roots to shrivel 

 up, this may be avoided by packing the 

 roots in boxes of dry sand or chaff, or in 

 fact anything that will tend to keep them 

 plump until planting out time in late spring. 



HINTS ON CUTTING FLOWERS 



When cutting dahlia flowers the stems 

 should be denuded of all foliage, otherwise 

 the flowers very quickly fade. This is 

 true of all the types. If it is desired to use 

 dahlia foliage it should be cut separately. 

 A plan I invariably employed when cutting 

 flowers which were intended to be used for 

 several days in succession, was to place the 

 stems for three minutes in water just off 

 the boiling point as soon as possible after 

 they were cut from the plant, afterward 

 placing them immediately in cold water. 



SOME FINE VARIETIES 



Really first-class varieties of this type are 

 easily raised from seed, which adds to the 

 amateur's interest. But there is also quite 

 a host of splendid named sorts offered by 

 most dahlia specialists, among the best 

 of which I select the following as fairly 

 representative: 



Queen Wilhelmina, pure white; King 

 Leopold, pale yellow and exceptionally 

 free flowering; The Geisha, the color 

 being orange scarlet, tipped yellow and 

 with yellow base, one of the brightest 

 and perhaps most bizarre of this family; 

 Mrs. A. McKellar, terra cotta with salmon 

 suffusion; Mrs. W. Kerr, pale pink, 

 suffused rose. W. H. Morter, scarlet 

 and gold, one of the most effective; Mrs. 

 W. E. Whineray, rosy lilac with yellow 

 base, perhaps the largest flowered of the 

 family, but inclined to be slightly pendent; 

 Mrs. Ralph Heaton, a lovely shade of light 

 rose. Glory of Baarn, soft pink, slightly 

 flushed yellow toward the base of the 

 petals; Countess of Lonsdale, deep crimson 

 maroon; Red Indian, rich blood-red; Lady 

 Saville, orange-scarlet, tipped buff; H. 

 Hornsveld, beautiful soft salmon. 



