DAHLIAbEL KUHSCRIES 
' Grow 
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5>DAHLfA5 J 
planted near large trees or dense shrubbery which 
would shade the plants and use moisture and plant- 
food. 
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 system* 
atically. 
Dahlias should be planted in Southern New Eng* 
land, Southern New York State, Pennsylvania and 
North Jersey between May 15th and June 15th, 
while in South Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Viigin* 
ia and interior States of the same latitude the plant* 
ing period extends from May 1st to July 1st; North 
Carolina from April 15th on. South Carolina and 
Georgia from April 1st on, advancing through Flor* 
ida to January in the citrus fruit belt. Farther north, 
where hot Summers are less harmful and early frosts 
are prevalent, planting may commence as soon as 
danger of frost is over. In the northern parts of 
the United States and Canada we recommend start* 
ing 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, leaving pre* 
ferably two nodes above the ground, see P on Draw* 
ing X. When green plants are grown in 2 to 2 Vz* 
inch pots, as soon as a good root growth is develop* 
ed they should be repotted in 3 to 4*inch pots and 
pinched out at time of re*potting. - 
HOW TO PLANT. When planting large flower* 
ing 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 at 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.Var* 
ieties will not mix by growing them together and 
should one plant fail, there will be no blank spaces. 
However, care should be exercised in not planting a 
strong rapid grower at the same stake with a slow 
or dwarf growing variety. Bush heights should be 
about equal. 
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 keep a fur* 
row open between rows to facilitate drainage in wet 
wheather. 
GREEN PLANTS. After removing moss and pa¬ 
per pots from plants that have been shipped, moisten 
ball of dirt if partially dried, then plant them with 
the top of the ball of dirt about 3 inches below the 
ground level and cover the top of the ball of dirt 
V 2 to 1 inch. In locations where there is danger of 
flooding or poor drainage, do not plant quite 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 protection from the sun and 
wind, covering only when protection is needed. 
Then start cultivating. Fill in gradually as the plant 
develops. For cut worms, 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 medium coarse part of coal ashes into 
the ground where the plants are to be set. The dirt 
can be washed off the roots and the roots straight* 
ened out, which will, however, check the growth of 
the plant a week or more and we do not recommend 
this practice. Plants will make better bushes and 
clumps in heavy soil if hills are prepared, but it is 
not at all necessary in light soil. 
It is best to set plants without pinching back to get 
feed roots started especially when they have been 
shipped a distance. After the plants have establish* 
ed themselves you can top back with safety. 
Where dahlia plants are grown with only a reason* 
able 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 pro* 
duce 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 the fast growing varieties 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, giving you more mature 
roots in the fall. 
In growing Dahliadel green plants, only the strong* 
est 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 Drawing X and 
Y at P and P2, first and second pinching out, respec¬ 
tively. We recommend this system for most variet* 
ies. 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 themselves 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 indiciated 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. 
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