Honesty is our best policy 
disturbing the roots, place this plant so that the stem will be about 2 inches 
away from the stake and add enough soil in the hole to within 4 inches of 
the top and to hold the plant secure. Then water same liberally, about a 
quart to two quarts of water according to the condition and dryness of 
the soil. 
As the plants grow, gradually fill the holes until they are level with 
the surrounding ground, never hill up around the plants. When they show 
three sets of leaves, pinch off above the top set of leaves, this will make the 
plant grow stockier and branch out better. By July 1st they should be 
growing into good healthy plants and start making good growth. Some 
plants should start to show their blooms by about August 1st, and then 
the thrills will begin, and you will be thrilled daily from about this time 
on, as the buds begin to get larger and larger, and at last open and unfold 
slowly, one petal after another. The more it unfolds the more beautiful it 
looks, and right next to it is another plant with magnificent leathery 
foliage, and with a large bud ready to unfold its treasures. At the same 
time you are wondering will it be a white, a red, a gold, a lavender, a pink, 
or a combination of all of these colors, with the result that every few hours 
you will be running out into your seedling patch to see if this marvelous 
dahlia has exposed any more of its hidden beauty, so that you can call or 
telephone to some of your friends to come to see it, as well as some of the 
others that by this time are starting to unfold their petals, and so it is until 
the end of the season, nothing but one thrill after another. 
The single or open centered varieties should be pulled out of the 
ground, as well as any that have weak stems, as they are useless and un¬ 
worthy of giving them ground space. In weeding them out, the other 
plants get more room and will grow better. 
It is a good policy also for your benefit to tag and number each seed¬ 
ling you are going to keep. Mark down in a note book the exact date each 
plant that you have numbered came into bloom, so that the following year 
you will plant the late blooming varieties first and the early blooming 
varieties later so that they will all be in bloom about the same time. 
Do not throw away any clumps that have not bloomed, as these may 
be your best plants the following year, because it is the late blooming vari¬ 
eties that have the best possibilities of producing the outstanding varieties. 
In colder climates and where the growing season is not so long, is to 
start the seeds in boxes or flats, about 20 inches long, 12 inches wide and 
4 inches deep. Make 3 or 4 trenches about 2 inches deep and plant the seed 
about every 2 inches apart in these trenches, and cover with about a half 
inch of soil. These seeds should be planted about 2 months before it is 
reasonably safe to transplant the young plants out into the open. 
The box should be kept in a warm room and near a window that faces 
a sunny location. About 2 or 3 weeks later, they will be breaking out of 
the ground and when they are about 2 to 3 inches high, they should be re¬ 
moved from the box and transplanted into 2 inch flower pots, until they 
are about 4 or 5 inches high, when they should be transplanted into 3 inch 
pots, and on warm, sunny days, should be left out into the open to grad¬ 
ually harden, and when you believe that the time is right for their per¬ 
manent transplanting as described above, then plant them as directed, and 
they will grow into strong, healthy plants, as good if not better than 
plants grown from tubers. 
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