DAHLIADEl NURSERIES 
WHEN TO PLANT. Should you desire a mass of 
color for landscape effect or a number of smaller 
blooms to cut, early planting is recommended. For 
exhibition blooms later planting is advisable, unless you 
intend to cut back, prune and disbud systematically. 
Dahlias should be planted in Southern New England, 
Southern New York State, Pennsylvania and North 
Jersey between May 15th and June 15th, while in 
South Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and interior 
States of the same latitude the planting period extends 
from May 1st to July 1st; North Carolina from April 
15th on, South Carolina and Georgia from April 1st on, 
advancing through Florida to January in the citrus fruit 
belt. Farther north, where hot Summers are less harm¬ 
ful and early frosts are prevalent, planting may com¬ 
mence as soon as danger of frost is over. In the 
northern parts of the United States and Canada we 
recommend starting dahlia roots or plants in a cold 
frame in pots or in squares of inverted sod, so they 
can be planted in your garden without disturbing the 
feed roots. Should the top growth be over 6 inches at 
time of planting out it would be well to top out, leav¬ 
ing preferably two nodes above the ground, see P on 
Drawing X. When green plants are grown in 2 to 21 / 2 - 
inch pots, as soon as a good root growth is developed 
they should be repotted in 3 to 4-inch pots and pinched 
out at time of re-potting. 
HOW TO PLANT. When planting large flowering 
dahlias, the rows should be from 4 to 5 feet apart, 
or from 6 to 10 square feet should be allowed for each 
plant. A novel way to plant is to place your stakes 
4x5 feet apart, and plant a root or plant on each 
side of the stake so that stalk will be about 2 inches 
from the stake. This will allow better air circulation 
and more room for cultivation. Varieties will not mix 
by growing them together and should one plant fail, 
there will be no blank spaces. 
Do not plant roots or plants in or over hot manure 
or any quantity of compost. Although practiced by 
some, we do not recommend the use of any potato, 
dahlia fertilizer or bone meal in the hole directly under 
the dahlia root or plant, as there is too much danger 
of injuring the tender feed roots, but rather suggest a 
broadcast application, as recommended above after 
spading. The stunt in dahlia plants can often be traced 
to the burning of the feed roots caused by excessive 
chemical feeding. 
ROOTS should be planted in trenches or holes, 4 
inches deep in heavy soil and 6 inches deep in sandy 
soil, laid flat down (not on end) and covered with 
earth not over 2 inches in depth, filling in as the plant 
develops. Where drainage is poor, do not plant so 
deep and keep a furrow open between rows to facili¬ 
tate drainage in wet weather. 
GREEN PLANTS. After removing moss and paper 
pots from plants that have been shipped, soak ball 
of dirt in water a few minutes, then plant them with 
the top of the ball of dirt about 3 inches below the 
ground level and cover the ball of dirt about I inch. 
In locations where there is danger of flooding, or poor 
drainage, do not plant this deep. Water thoroughly 
once if ground Is dry and then protect with open 
basket or open crate for a few days as a partial pro¬ 
tection from the sun and wind, covering only when 
protection is needed. Then start cultivating. Fill in 
gradually as the plant develops. For cutworms, scatter 
poison bait the evening of planting. See "Cutworms." 
Where dahlia plants are to be set in heavy soil it is 
advisable to at least prepare the hill by mixing sand 
or the coarser part of coal ashes into the ground where 
the plants are to be set. The dirt can also be washed 
off the roots and the roots straightened out, which 
will, however, check the growth of the plant about a 
week. Plants will make better clumps in heavy soil if 
this recommendation is followed, but it is not at all 
necessary in light soil. 
Cut all plants back to two or three pairs of leaves 
above the ground, or at least pinch out the top to 
cause the plant to branch, unless plants have been 
shipped a distance and lower leaves are somewhat 
yellowed. It is then best to set the plants without 
cutting back to get feed roots started. After the plant 
has started to grow you can cut back with safety. 
Where dahlia plants are grown with only a reasonable 
amount of fertilizer and water they are apt to make 
more roots than when grown in the midst of plenty. 
To produce roots on plants use a balanced plant food, 
as recommended under Fertilizer, but not to excess, 
and water only when necessary to produce a good, 
healthy, but not soft growth. When setting plants the 
last of June for September blooms, we recommend 
disbudding, according to Drawings X, Y and Z. When 
planting a month earlier it will be necessary to cut 
bushes back severely about six weeks before you want 
blooms, leaving about one-half the growth and not 
more than six laterals for the first blooms. Then disbud 
these, as shown on Drawings X or Y, as soon as 
branches develop sufficiently. This cutting back will 
give the plant an oversupply of feed roots, which will 
start root production at once. On digging in the Fall 
you will find mature roots, where on plants not cut 
back you will find more fibrous or feed roots. 
In growing Dahliadel green plants, only the strongest 
cuttings are potted, and again the best plants are 
selected for filling orders. This assures you of the 
best stock procurable. 
PINCHING OUT and DISBUDDING 
PINCHING OUT is indicated on Drawings X and Y 
at P and P2, first and second pinching out, respec¬ 
tively. We recommend this system for most varieties. 
The smaller a plant is when pinched out, the quicker 
it will heal and branches develop. 
Allow only one main stalk to grow (never more than 
two). Pinch out the crown or center above the second 
pair of leaves. The principle of taking out the center 
is to develop the eyes, which are located at the base 
of the leaves. The top pair of eyes will make them¬ 
selves evident in surprisingly short time, and these 
shoots or branches on most varieties should be pinched 
back again, P2 unless they are short stemmed varieties. 
In that case, they should be side pruned as indicated 
at F in Drawing Y, leaving not more than one pair of 
eyes on each branch. By the time these get a start, 
the second or lower set of eyes on the main stalk will 
have developed along with those above. These stems 
should bear the first four to six flowers. 
DISBUDDING, as indicated by T in drawings, is the 
pinching or rolling out of the small bud growing at the 
base of each leaf. These can be cut out with a 
pointed knife if they have developed considerably be¬ 
fore disbudding. 
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