Excerpt from Cultivation of the Dahlia Cultivation of the dahlia is comparatively simple. The tuber, or green plant, whichever is chosen, is planted six inches deep in April, May, June or the first half of July, in soil deeply plowed or dug, moderately, but never excessively rich. A generous handful of bone meal for each tuber may be safely added. The surface of the soil is kept free of weeds, and by a four inch deep stirring with hoe or cultivator drying out is prevented until blooming time, when cultivation should never exceed two inches in depth, because feeding roots are now near the surface. A top dressing of fertilizers once a week for improvement of blooms, during flowering, and the results are as certain as anything can be in horticulture. Dahlias will grow anywhere. Vigorous and full of blooms they have been found rooted in a low mound of coal ashes. Of course, the best results follow when the soil and cultivation most nearly meet their needs. But they seem to be very satisfactory practically everywhere. In gravel, sand or exceptionally infertile soil the plants will grow slowly till fall, and perhaps only reach a height of three or four feet, yet producing many excellent flowers late in the autumn and a large and vigorous crop of tubers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.