March, 1920 
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Slower (Brower 
The Dahlia 
Planting Dahlias. 
The time for planting Dahlias varies 
according to the locality; whether the 
spot is sheltered or open, early or late- 
ness of the season, and the time when 
the general crop of flowers are desired. 
Dahlias can be planted any time after 
danger of frost is over, and under or- 
dinary conditions, will blossom in from 
six to eight weeks after planting. It is 
always best to wait until the ground 
becomes thoroughly warmed. 
Plant the bulbs in hills or drills, 
laying them flat down six inches deep. 
I find many amateurs make the mistake 
of standing the bulb on its end, so that 
the sprout will be near the top of the 
ground, thinking they will help it. 
Instead, the new bulbs which form, 
will grow near the top of the ground, 
and when a dry spell comes the plant 
becomes stunted; the plant produces 
principally foliage and few flowers in 
the blossoming season. Planting the 
tubers flat down six inches deep, no 
matter how dry the season, the plants 
will receive sufficient moisture to keep 
them growing. 
If planting with manure, cover an 
inch or so, before planting bulbs; fer- 
tilizer should be thoroughly worked 
into the soil. Either fertilizer or man- 
ure will burn the sprout, so be sure 
the sprout does not come in contact 
with it. 
J. K. Alexander. 
Success With Dahlias. 
The blooming period of Dahlias is short- 
ened by early frost, as the blooms and 
growth are tender. Where only a limited 
number are grown in a garden, they can be 
protected from a light frost by covering 
with a sheet, table cloth, paper or anything 
convenient. 
A smudge smoke made by burning trash 
of any kind is a big help in keeping the 
frost from falling. Where a spray system is 
in use, by keeping the sprayer going, will 
also help. Anything that will keep the first 
September frost away will often lengthen 
the blooming period of Dahlias for two or 
three weeks. 
A man having a garden of beautiful well 
grown Dahlia flowers, no matter how humble 
his position in life, feels rich in being the 
owner of so much that makes the garden 
and home beautiful. 
There is likely to be failures with Dahlias 
as with other flowers. Even the large 
growers have their troubles to contend with, 
but taking one year with another, the Dahlia 
cannot be beaten for producing a good crop 
of blooms. Insect pests which gather on 
other plants growing near Dahlias, when 
short of other food, will attack the Dahlia. 
Separate plantings should be made at in- 
tervals of two to three weeks between. The 
late planting very often doing the best, as 
the plants mature during the cooler weather 
and longer nights and make a more sturdy 
and insect resisting growth and generally 
produce the finest flowers. Those planted 
early very often get woody, but cutting the 
flowers with long stems or cutting the plants 
back, if done early in the season, will renew 
the growth and produce nearly as good 
flowers as those planted later. 
The main thing is not to be afraid to use 
the knife on them. This is often required 
in thinning out, some varieties growing too 
thickly to produce fine flowers. If extra 
large flowers are wanted, they are obtained 
by disbudding. As soon as the buds can be 
seen, pick out all but the main bud, thus the 
entire strength goes in the one flower. This 
can only be done in the large flowering type. 
The smaller flowered varieties do not justify 
the trouble. 
One point in which many fail, is in the win- 
tering over of the roots. The varieties that 
form large clumps with big tubers are not so 
hard to keep, as they will keep where 
potatoes can be kept. Some of the finer 
varieties do not make much more than a 
mass of fine rootlets which are very hard to 
keep; in this case they want bedding in dry 
sand, earth or some material that will keep 
them from drying up. 
My own experience with the Dahlia goes 
back a goodly number of years, when as a 
boy my father had a dozen or so of double 
ones in the garden. I was so struck with 
them that I thought nothing could equal 
them, and I offered a sixpence that I had 
saved up for the privilege of calling one 
Dahlia plant mine. - ' “^* 0 , ^ 
My next experience was in Maryland 
during the civil war. As a young man, I 
had charge of the Dahlia patch on the place 
my father was managing, and I had the 
honor of putting a lot of them on exhibition 
at one of the horticultural shows, held in the 
Maryland Institute, in Baltimore, Md. This 
apparently was the first exhibition of Dahlias 
given in Baltimore. It attracted much at- 
tention, many spectators hardly believing 
they were natural flowers. 
If I remember rightly, this collection was 
purchased from the late Peter Henderson, 
and I believe that if the American history of 
the Dahlia could be traced out, he was the 
first to introduce the Dahlia in variety and 
quantity to this country. 
My sincere hope is that this American 
Dahlia Society may continue its good work 
so nobly begun so that every home, no 
matter how humble, wherever there is a 
garden spot, Dahlias may be planted and the 
country beautified. 
(Address by President Vincent at the meeting of 
the American Dahlia Society.) 
Bud Variation in Dahlias. ~ f" 
Now that the season for Dahlias is again 
with us, the growers will not only be con- 
cerned with the number and quality of 
blooms produced but will, in addition, en- 
deavor in many cases to bring forth new 
varieties. In this connection it might be 
well to call to the attention of Dahlia 
growers in general the fact that, in the past, 
not all of the new creations have originated 
from seedlings, even though a great many 
people seem to assume that this has been 
the case. In looking back carefully over the 
history of Dahlia varieties, it is very clearly 
brought out that bud variation has been 
responsible for the origin of many of the 
valuable varieties of Dahlias. In this con- 
nection, the method of propagation, together 
with variation in soil, climatic conditions 
and culture have probably been the most 
important factors concerned in bud vari- 
ation. Of course, it is generally recognized 
that the most common method of propagating 
the Dahlia is by the division of the tubers. 
Propagation by cuttings is also a most com- 
mon method employed by the majority of 
the larger growers in all sections of the 
country, and it is by this method that certain 
35 
bud variations whenever they occur can be 
perpetuated. 
Numerous cases might be cited to show 
that bud variation in the Dahlia is no new 
or recent phenomenon and that while growers 
may continue to produce new and good 
seedlings they should, nevertheless, be on 
the lookout during the growing season for 
bud variations, which are sure to be found in 
any sizeable collection and which may prove, 
if selected and perpetuated, most desirable 
acquisitions. 
(Prof. J. W. Gregg in Bulletin of the Dahlia Society 
of California.) 
American Dahlia Society. 
The American Dahlia Society for years has 
been considering the establishment of large 
“trial grounds” at some place easy of access 
in the eastern part of the country. With the 
coming of the end of the war the project 
was renewed. After considerable negotia- 
tion the society has decided to accept the 
offer of the New Jersey State Agriculture 
Experiment Station at New Brunswick, and 
work will be started at once to make the 
grounds ready for the planting of bulbs late 
next May. 
Owing to the growing popularity of the 
Dahlia during the last fifteen years, the 
American Dahlia Society has become one of 
the largest horticulture organizations in the 
United States, numbering several thousand 
members. The Dahlia is one of the few 
flowers which is grown successfully in almost 
any part of the country. One of the great 
difficulties has been in classifying the dif- 
ferent varieties, the number of which no one 
knows. For instance, several people in as 
many places will introduce the same variety, 
and it has been impossible to prevent dupli- 
cates or flowers similar to those already in 
existence being placed on the market. 
CONFUSION IN VARIETIES. 
This confusion in a rapidly growing pro- 
fession and hobby is one of the reasons for 
establishing the new trial grounds. Smaller 
trial grounds are located at Ithaca and 
Storrs, Conn., but these two places have not 
been popular, as they are not on the main 
lines of trans-continental railroad systems. 
Many members of the society come to New 
York occasionally and it would be easy to 
stop off at New Brunswick. 
Members of the society will send in the 
bulbs and they will be planted during the 
latter part of May and the first of June. 
They will be classified under the supervision 
of Dr, J. G. Lipman, director of the station. 
The display in the autumn, it is expected, 
will be the greatest ever exhibited in the 
country. After the classification has been 
made it will be known how many varieties 
there are and it will be easy to inform any 
grower in the future if his production is a 
new one. Dahlia growers in sending their 
bulbs to the trial grounds will be protected, 
because no bulbs or seedlings will be given 
away or sold. Surplus bulbs will be re- 
turned to the grower so that the producer 
of a new variety will control that variety. 
CONDITIONS ARE IDEAL. 
Establishment of the Dahlia trial grounds 
will be a great boom to the profession. The 
soil and climate around New Brunswick are 
said to be ideal, and the trial grounds will 
be a permanent institution, growing in im- 
portance each year. New Jersey is now a 
great Dahlia state, and there are large 
growers of the flower near here, notably in 
South Orange, Short Hills and Madison. 
Only one difficulty remains to be met in 
establishing the trial grounds. The experi- 
ment station is conducted by the state, and 
the annual budget is prepared a year in ad- 
vance. There will be an expense of not 
more than $400 in preparing the grounds. 
(Concluded on page 42.) 
