Dahlias and Their Culture 
SIMPLE in cultural demands, adapted to a wide range 
of soils and conditions, with plants so diverse in 
size and habit that one can readily be found 
appropriate tor any situation, affording a wealth of 
bloom over a long season, suitable, in some of the 
many varieties, for every floral purpose — for garden 
decoration, for bouquets and florists' work, and for 
wonderfully attractive display on the exhibitors' tables 
— the dahlia now holds high rank as a late summer 
flower, for the dahlia is as beautiful and as useful 
outdoors before frost as is the chrysanthemum inside 
a little later. 
What a surprise it is to many a flower lover to 
see for the first time a modern collection of dahlias! 
Its English sin- 
gles, its pompons 
and its miniature 
cactus types are 
so bright and yet 
so dainty : its 
"Century" singles 
so large and strik- 
ing but, withal, so 
graceful: its 
"decora tives," 
ranging from tiny 
to huge, are so 
perfect in form 
yet loosely built 
and pleasing ; its 
"cactus" dahlias 
so refined and del- 
icate of petal, like 
masses of inter- 
laced, slender, 
curved tubes of 
Single Dahlia. 
gust when first ready to bloom. The flowering period 
is one of special demand for moisture, and this extra 
demand at a time of scanty supply acts very injuri- 
ously upon the plants. 
Meanwhile, plants starting about the middle of June 
care for themselves much better during the heat and 
drouth, grow without a check, and when late summer 
showers stimulate them a little they put forth a full 
supply of buds and blossoms, which are constantly 
renewed until the plants are killed by frost. On such 
plants the foliage may be blackened considerably and 
the open flowers be ruined by frost, yet many buds 
pass through without harm and later give good blos- 
soms from the sap and plant food held in the juicy 
stems. If the area 
devoted to dah- 
lias can be of con- 
siderable size, it 
is well to make a 
succession of 
plantings ; for oc- 
casionally the 
early plants meet 
with no check and 
do magnificently : 
but "flower them- 
selves out" before 
the end of the 
season : when the 
later set plants 
serve to extend 
the period of 
bloom. 
On the lighter 
soils, manure or 
other humus-pro- 
Collarette Dahlia. 
Double Dalilia. 
Cactus Dahlia. 
Decorative Dahlia. 
ribbon with tints almost as varied and delicate as those 
of changeable silk; and its peony-flowered tvpes so artis- 
tic in the informal, open arrangement of their long, 
curled, twisted petals and so gracefully held on long- 
stems that raise them far above the bright green foliage. 
It is, ordinarily, of little advantage to start dahlias 
very earl}- ; for, under our usual summer conditions, 
plants well started in the field before the end of May 
will encounter dry and hot weather in July and Au- 
ducing materials should be introduced to improve the 
moisture-holding capacity, while on the heaviest types, 
coal ashes, sand, or bulky, strawy manure should be 
used to loosen the texture. 
Watering should be avoided if possible, since any 
cessation of the practice after the plants have become 
accustomed to constant moistening will lead to check- 
ing of growth and scanty flowering. If it becomes 
really necessary to water, in order to carry the plants 
190 
