Successful Dahlia Growing 
By E. Henry White 
The Dahlia of to-day is one of the easiest 
of all flowers to grow and will produce more 
flowers, size considered, than any other plant 
grown, if these simple cultural directions are 
followed. Prepare the soil in your beds tho- 
roughly by spading the ground 12 to 18 inches 
deep in the Fall, if possible, and again in the 
Spring, pulverizing and packing it down with 
the spading tool as much as youcan. Soil left 
too loose or lumpy will soon dry out. I find 
the English or trench method of spading the 
best way if a real good job is desired. If your 
soil is quite sandy or gravely, some well rot- 
ted manure, leaves or peat moss thoroughly 
mixed in, will help greatly to hold the moisture. 
Very heavy or clay soil is greatly benefited 
by adding some coarse sand, coal ashes or peat 
moss. One of the best times to cultivate, dah- 
lias, etc., is before you plant them by prepar- 
ing your soil deeply and thoroly. 
If your soil is really poor, work in a little 
bone meal or other good fertilizer not too high 
in nitrogen, and very well rotted cow manure. 
Select an open, sunny situation, although 
they do quite well in partial shade if given a 
little more space or keep well thinned out. Get- 
ting full benefit of all the morning sun only is 
ideal. If possible, give your dahlias a ‘home’ 
of their own. Large sorts should be about 3ft. 
apart in a bed 3 feet wide, or better yet, plant 
two rows in a bed 5 to 6 feet wide. 
From early May to early June is the plant- 
ing time we recommend for Portland and sim- 
ilar climates. This will give you flowers from 
the middle of August to heavy frost. They 
are really an Autumn flower and should not 
start to bloom till the heat of summer is just 
about over. However, those living near the 
ocean, or where the summers are cooler, can 
plant in April. 
When planting, never stand the tuber on 
end; lay it flat in a hole 6 inches deep. Put 
some sand or fine soil under and around it and 
then fill in with 2 to 3 inches of top soil. The 
balance can be filled in level after it grows up. 
If the soil is quite moist it‘s better not to wa- 
ter in when planted. The size of the tuber 
makes no difference as long as it has one good 
strong eye or sprout. 
Allow only one sprout to grow from each 
tuber. When they have made their second or 
third set of leaves, pinch the top out. This 
causes it to grow a stout branch at the base 
of each of the four or six leaves left. This 
means lower plants, more and better flowers. 
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