May, 1916 
41 
Galathca, one of the many Well named Snowflake, this 
good cactus sorts, is an even, old-fashioned single dahlia is 
soft pink free flowering 
Another cactus type, Mrs. 
Alfred Dyer, is lemon yellow 
shading to pink 
Master Carle is a superb cac¬ 
tus sort of bright saffron-yel¬ 
low color 
MAKING UP THE DAHLIA BED 
J. K. ALEXANDER 
Photographs by courtesy of Henry A. Dreer 
T O paraphrase a certain utterance that 
has become a byword in American life, 
the dahlia is a flower of the people, for the 
people, by the people. Carrying the parallel 
a bit farther, there is little danger that dah¬ 
lias shall ever perish from the earth—they 
are too widely and deservedly popular for 
that. Great variety of color, adaptability 
to every soil and climate, simplicity and ease 
of culture, these are a few of the dahlia’s 
characteristics which stand out prominently. 
Good bulbs and proper planting are es¬ 
sential to the success of a summer dahlia 
garden. First of all, the root clump must 
be separated correctly, divided with a sharp 
knife so that a portion of the crown or stalk 
is left on each bulb from which the sprout 
can start. Many amateurs make the mis¬ 
take of planting the entire clump without 
dividing, with the result that the abundance 
of sprouts chokes off healthy growth and 
produces few flowers but many leaves. 
The plot for the prospective dahlia gar¬ 
den should be thoroughly cultivated, plowed 
or spaded 8" or 10" deep, and well worked 
over to afford opportunity for rapid expan¬ 
sion and making easy paths for the tiny 
rootlets. Fertilizing is one of the most im¬ 
portant factors in success with these plants, 
and in order to keep the soil properly pro¬ 
ductive it must be enriched with stable, cow, 
sheep or chicken manure, or with any of 
the standard commercial fertilizers. 
Your dahlias can be planted any time 
after danger from frost is over, though it 
is always best to wait until the ground is 
thoroughly warm. Under ordinary circum¬ 
stances they will bloom within six or eight 
weeks. Lay the bulbs flat in hills or drills 
6" deep with the sprout facing upward, 
cover with 1" or so of soil, add the dress¬ 
ing, and level off. Bulbs set in this way 
will receive sufficient moisture to keep them 
growing even in dry seasons. If, on the 
other hand, they were stood on end, with 
the sprout near the surface, all the new 
bulbs which form would be so close to the 
top that the plant would suffer in droughts. 
The distance apart for the plants varies 
from 18" to 4', according to the amount of 
available ground, the greater distance re¬ 
sulting generally in more robust growth. 
The stalks are rather brittle, so it is a good 
plan to stake each plant when it is set out. 
Good cultivation is essential to real suc¬ 
cess with dahlias, especially when they are 
first set out. Keep the soil well loosened 
then and free from weeds. It should never 
be allowed to form a crust; weekly cultiva¬ 
tion up to the blooming time should be the 
rule, and the soil should always be stirred 
after a rain in order to conserve the moist¬ 
ure and prevent baking under the ensuing 
sun. After the plants begin to blossom the 
working over of the ground should be dis¬ 
continued, else your activities will be apt 
to damage the new tubers which develop 
now. 
Injudicious watering does more harm 
than good, but there are times when the ap¬ 
plication of moisture other than the natural 
rainfall will benefit the dahlias considerably. 
A thorough soaking once or twice a week 
during a drought and a loosening up of the 
soil next day are the proper treatment. Mere 
surface sprinkling every day or so pro¬ 
motes undesirable surface roots and soft 
growth. 
In dahlia culture there are no hard and 
fast rules to follow. Each soil, location, 
climate or season may necessitate different 
treatment. Study your plants, watch them 
as they develop, and experiment along lines 
harmonious with Nature’s laws. 
The decorative varieties find 
a worthy leader in dark scar¬ 
let Minnie Burgle 
This new peony-flowered yel¬ 
low sort, Mondscheibe, is 
splendidly large 
A curious blending of salmon- Dreer’s Yellow Show is a good 
pink and amber marks Coun- grower, an early and profuse 
tess of Lonsdale bloomer 
