46 
HO USE & GARDEN 
similarity of form found in both. 
Nine distinct types are listed 
in the scientific division of dah¬ 
lias: the single, the single cactus, 
the pompon, the pompon cactus, 
the show, the fancy, the cactus, 
and the cactus hybrids — and 
finally, last hut not least, the 
peony. Indeed, some of the 
loveliest flowers in the whole 
dahlia family are in this latest 
type or class. The name suggests 
the resemblance responsible for 
it, which is very marked in many 
of the varieties, especially the 
semi-double peony flower. 
Leading everything in popu¬ 
larity at the present time is the 
double cactus dahlia — a flower 
that is loose always and with 
twisted or pointed rays as dis¬ 
tinguished from the closer grow¬ 
ing compact mass of the fancy 
or decorative type and the very 
dense, exquisitely quilled formal 
flowers of the show type. Re¬ 
action from the latter is no doubt 
responsible for the high favor 
with which the cactus form is 
now regarded; but, for myself, 
there will always be a charm 
about these old-fashioned, stiff, 
prim and decorous flowers quite 
as potent as the appeal 
of an old print or the 
portrait of a lady in 
hoop skirts. They 
seem so exactly to ex¬ 
press the spirit of a 
courteous, for m a 1— 
yea, artificial—and fas¬ 
tidious age, and I like 
to see how even flowers 
may he made to con¬ 
form to an ideal. 
Colors to Every 
Taste 
Every year brings 
along a list of “new” 
cactus dahlias, quite 
impossible even to 
mention here. Selec¬ 
tion must be made ac¬ 
cording to one’s color 
preference ; b u t, in 
passing, there is Avia- 
teur Garros, supposed to bloom earlier than 
any other cactus hitherto developed—a sul¬ 
phur yellow giving place to white or nearly 
white at its broad and pointed ray tips; 
Rhein Nixe said to be the best white for 
garden decoration because it blooms con¬ 
stantly from early to late; then there are 
the well-known giant cactus Wodan and 
Wolfgang von Goethe, as lovely a combi¬ 
nation for cutting as any I know. Both 
are on the same tone of a bronzy yellow 
—or perhaps copper provides a better 
simile—but the second is darker than the 
first, so that when they are combined in a 
bowl or vase, the gradations of color are 
beyond description. The flowers of each 
are huge without being clumsy or coarse. 
The cactus dahlia Mauve Queen has an 
unusually dainty coloring. This is found 
lighter in the center, an effect that always 
makes a flower unusual. A lovely soft pink 
is Galathea; Mrs Henry R. Worth is fiery 
scarlet; and perhaps loveliest of all is Mar¬ 
guerite Bouchon, bright rose tipped with 
white and white at the center. 
In the decorative or fancy 
class, the one called Newport is 
interesting to grow, because it 
provides variety as the season 
advances. At first it is a dainty 
rose color, with flowers of the 
usual decorative form; then it 
pales in color until by late sum¬ 
mer it is quite a faint pink, and 
the flowers are less double and 
take on the characteristics of 
the peony-flowered type. 
Among the peony-flowered 
forms Geisha is probably the 
showiest, a scarlet and gold with 
rays that are somewhat twisted; 
Avalanche is pure white, and 
there are yellows and mauves 
and pinks to suit all tastes. Mrs. 
Violet Beamish is particularly 
lovely and unusual, being nearly 
the color of heliotrope with an 
effect of silvery luster. 
Pompons and Collerettes 
The little pompon dahlias are 
not grown as much as they ought 
to be, for there are few daintier 
little flowers. Exact miniatures 
of the formal show type, they 
come in the same wide range of 
colors, and they are remarkably 
cheap. As cut flowers, 
too, they are especially 
pleasing in effect. 
The collerette dahl¬ 
ias seem to be growing 
in popularity and some 
of them are well wor¬ 
thy the esteem of the 
dahlia fancier. But 
others are not a bit at¬ 
tractive, to my mind. 
Like all the others, 
these are being im- 
proved continually, 
however, and perhaps 
some day no homely 
ones will be 1 e f t. 
Choose the white or 
very light “collars” 
rather than the fancy. 
These latter are often 
not a bit pleasing to the 
eye in the color combi¬ 
nations they make, but 
almost any dahlia looks well in a white collar. 
In dahlia culture always remember that 
you are dealing with a tropical plant. All 
the improvements made since the days the 
first dahlias were sent to Europe by early 
collectors have not altered that fact; and 
though the period of bloom has been so ex¬ 
tended that even in the northern part of 
the United States we now get flowers as 
early as July, dahlias are distinctly hot cli¬ 
mate plants. So do not be tempted to plant 
them too early; there is no gain in that. 
Sprout them indoors if you wish, just as 
some growers sprout early potatoes; but do 
not put them into the ground until both 
ground and air are warm. They are rapid 
growers and what you seem to lose in time 
will usually be made up when the flowers 
find themselves in perfectly congenial at¬ 
mosphere and respond to it. 
Storing the tubers is of more interest 
at this season, however, than anything about 
planting. Dig them up as soon as the tops 
(Continued on page 58) 
In Ivanhoe we have the 
superlative cactus, an al¬ 
most tviry petaled floiver 
One would never suspect its 
kinship to that notoriously mean 
weed, the beggar's tick 
v.._ Jf 
A cactus sort 'which shows clear¬ 
ly the loose and tivisted rays, a 
reaction from the early forms 
