IONIA, MICHIGAN 
8 
Suggestions On Growing Prize 
Winning Dahlias 
CARE OF GREEN PLANTS UPON ARRIVAL 
Green plants should be immediately unpacked upon arrival 
and should be watered and then removed from paper pot and 
then carefully planted, setting plant so that the top of the ball 
of soil is about 3 inches below the ground level. Plants should 
then be watered thoroughly and covered with a basket or 
crate for a few days as a partial protection from the sun and 
wind. The hard crust that forms around plant after water¬ 
ing should be carefully broken up as soon as soil is dry enough 
to work. If cut worms are around, plants should be protected 
by placing a collar made of heavy paper about three inches 
wide around them, setting collar about one inch deep in the 
soil. 
CARE OF TUBERS UPON ARRIVAL—Upon arrival tubers 
should be planted at once if ground has been prepared for them, 
providing soil is not too wet to work. If soil is not ready, they 
should be very carefully taken out of the box in which they 
arrived, taking great care in handling so that the eyes or 
sprouts on tubers will not be broken off. They should then be 
put into a larger box of some kind, laying them flat in the bot¬ 
tom, and then entirely covering them with 2 or 3 inches of 
moist sand, sawdust, or soil, in order to keep them from shriv¬ 
eling or drying out. They should then be removed to a cool 
place in the cellar and left there until ready to plant. We 
cheerfully replace tubers that do not grow, due to natural 
causes. 
PREPARATION—The soil should be thoroughly spaded and 
well pulverized before planting and if poor, some well-rotted 
barn yard manure or common fertilizer should be well worked 
in. Dahlias do not need very rich soil, therefore, if fertilizer 
is added, care must be taken not to overdo, as very rich 
soil will produce tubers of poor keeping qualities that are like¬ 
ly to rot in storage during the winter. 
TIME OF PLANTING—Dahlias should not be planted be¬ 
fore the ground becomes well warmed by the sun in the Spring. 
May 15 to 30 is about the right time for most locations, al¬ 
though they can be planted as late as June 20 with good suc¬ 
cess. Good sized stakes about 6 feet long should be secured 
and driven into the ground about 3 feet apart each way. Holes 
should be dug about. 6 inches deep at the base of each stake 
and a bulb planted in each hole with the eye end next to the 
stake, laying them perfectly flat. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANC¬ 
ES SHOULD THEY BE STOOD ON END. Then place about 
2 inches of well pulverized soil over each bulb but do not 
iill hole clear up. Wait until the plant makes some growth and 
then fill hole up as the plant grows up. 
GROWING—Allow only one sprout to grow from each tuber. 
If more than one comes up, save the best one and pinch the 
others off. As the sprout grows, it should be tied to the stake 
to keep it from being broken off by heavy rains or wind. 
WATERING—Dahlias like plenty of water and should be 
soaked once every week, and oftener while in bloom. Al¬ 
ways cultivate well after watering as soon as the ground 
is dry enough to work in order to loosen up the crust that 
has formed. You can easily overwater when plants are young, 
but you cannot over-cultivate them. It is better not to water 
than to allow a crust to form after watering. As buds form 
on the plants, they should be removed as soon as they appear, 
up to August 1st. The idea is to grow your plant first, and 
then let it bloom. 
PINCHING BACK, OR TOPPING OFF PLANT—When the 
plant shows three or four sets of leaves, we advise pinching the 
top off, just above the top pair of leaves; this will hold the 
plant back a week or two, but it will make the plant grow 
more robust and vigorous, and give many more heavier and 
better branches than would of been had, had the plant been 
allowed to grow natural. While this is not necessary on low 
growing plants, Ave urgently advise it on all tall growing plants. 
DISBUDDING FOR LARGE OR EXHIBITION FLOWERS— 
There is no trick or secret in disbudding to get the large 
blooms one sees at the shows, or in the gardens of the Profes¬ 
sional grower, it is all so very simple, if directions will be fol¬ 
lowed. When the buds begin to appear at the tip of the branch, 
they usually appear in clusters of three, when these are about 
