jAHLIAbEL NURSERIES 
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>DAHUAS. 
POT ROOTS, as described on Page 1, should be 
planted as you would roots, at a depth of about four 
inches in heavy soil and six inches in light soil. Do 
not divide the small clump and preferably allow only 
one stalk to grow, never more than two. Pot roots 
and plants are especially desirable and may be potted 
in 3" or 4" pots to be welhstarted for planting 
where dahlias are to be used in beds following early 
flowering bulbs. 
ROOTED CUTTINGS, should be ordered for 
delivery 15 to 20 days earlier than plants, and you. 
should have a cold frame, sufficient to 3" pots 
and suitable potting soil along with some knowledge 
of their care. We follow through the behavior of 
Dahliadel root divisions, pot roots, and green plants 
but on rooted cuttings we can only guarantee deliv' 
ery in good condition and to be true to name be¬ 
cause the care and attention given a plant from pot¬ 
ting to hardening off for planting out is the making 
or breaking of the vitality of your stock, and this 
responsibility of necessity is yours. 
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 
J /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 
‘■and 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 es¬ 
tablished themselves you can top back with safety. 
Where dahlia plants are grown with only a rea¬ 
sonable 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 bal¬ 
anced 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 the ^ast 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 
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 Drawing X and 
Y at P and P2, first and second pinching out, re¬ 
spectively. We recommend this system for most va¬ 
rieties. 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 lo¬ 
cated 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 va¬ 
rieties 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 de¬ 
veloped 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 
before disbudding. 
When the terminal bud on each of the stems is 
about the size of a small acorn, or as soon as the 
side shoots are large enough to pull out, disbud by 
taking out all the side buds and shoots except the 
Drawing X is recommended for most large flow¬ 
ering varieties under normal growing conditions. 
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