Cultural Hints 
Although dahlias may be grown in almost any ordinary garden soil, to produce a 
beautiful effect in massed color with but little attention, they respond very readily to 
a little extra care. 
Fine dahlias are the result of a number of factors, most important of which are: 
(1) good vigorous disease-free stock; (2) choice of varieties which naturally produce 
high quality blooms; (3) location of the garden; (4) proper planting; (5) cultivation; 
(6) intelligent fertilization and spraying; (7) pruning and dis-budding; and (8) the 
successful winter storage of the clumps. 
Factors (1) and (2) need no comment other than that varieties which we offer in 
this catalogue are the result of several years of careful selection from the finest novel- 
ties placed on the market from all parts of the world. Each year we try many new sorts, 
then discard those which have no definite place in the better class gardens, and offer 
only the best to our customers. Our fields are carefully and frequently inspected. All 
inferior plants and those showing any symptoms of disease are destroyed. Our cultural 
methods are productive of the very finest quality roots and plants obtainable. 
Selection of the location for the garden is usually quite restricted, but fortunately 
dahlias will do well in any type of soil and in a wide variety of climate. A good site is 
one that receives several hours of sunlight each day and has good drainage, so that 
water does not stand on the ground very long after rains. More important than the 
type of soil, or the location of the garden, is the condition of the soil at planting time, 
and during the growing season. We believe that more failures with dahlias are due to 
the lack of proper conditioning of the soil than to any other single factor. This is 
especially regrettable since it is a factor which may be easily controlled. 
The soil of the garden should be kept loose while the plants are growing, especially 
in the early part of the season. Light, sandy soils need the least preparation, providing 
they contain enough humus to hold a sufficient amount of moisture. Humus may be 
supplied by planting a cover crop of rye in the fall to spade under in the spring, peat 
moss mixed into the soil, barnyard manures, and by vegetative refuse such as lawn 
grass clippings, leaves, etc. 
Heavy clay soils may be made lighter by the generous use of furnace ashes or 
cinders mixed with the soil of the garden, or just in the hills. Lime also tends to loosen 
the soil but should not be used oftener than every four or five years and never in con- 
nection with barnyard manures. A cover crop of rye also aids in the loosening or 
lightening of the soil. Stirring the soil frequently to a depth of five or six inches helps 
to maintain the soil in proper condition. It must be remembered that the tender roots 
of the dahla will not reach out as readily in search of food, in hard ground, as they 
will in looser soil. The dahlia is a very heavy ‘feeder’ and needs a large, efficient, root 
system. Also, air and water penetrate more easily into loose soil to aid in the 
chemical transformation of soil elements into plant food. 
Spade the garden two or three weeks before planting time. Leave the surface 
rough until actual setting of the roots or plants. Never try to "fit'' the soil when it is 
so wet that it sticks to the tools. Planting should not be started until the soil has started 
to warm up in the spring, which in the latitude of northern Ohio is about May I5th to 
May 20th. Planting may be continued until June [5th or later. 
We suggest planting in furrows or trenches about five inches deep, running the 
length of the row. Place the root flat in the bottom of the trench and cover with two 
or three inches of soil. Fill in the rest of the trench as the plant grows. Rows should be 
at least three, or preferably, four feet apart. Plants in the rows should be thirty-six inches 
apart when planting large sorts. (Small type dahlias sixteen to twenty-four inches apart.) 
Stakes to support the plant later, may be driven at planting time, five or six inches from 
the eye or sprout. In planting green plants, we suggest soaking the ball of soil on 
the roots in a bucket of water for several minutes before planting. This eliminates 
watering after planting, thereby preventing “puddling’ of the soil surrounding the 
plants. Our plants require no shading as they are well hardened. Plants which have 
65 
