Cutting, Packing, Shipping 149 



Flowers for the hospitals, flowers for your 

 friends, flowers for the shows, all must be cut 

 and cared for with intelligence, so that they will 

 keep fresh as long as possible. This is particu- 

 larly so with dahlias. 



There are three things to know when gather- 

 ing dahlias: the right time to cut, the right way 

 to cut, and how to handle them immediately 

 afterward. Yet none of these things is of avail 

 if the dahlia plants have been forced and are 

 without constitution. Time and again have I 

 been asked why dahlias wilt almost immediately 

 after being cut, even though my directions 

 have been carefully followed. Examination of 

 the plants invariably shows improper cultiva- 

 tion. The soil is too rich in nitrates, perhaps. 

 Sometimes they have been too vigorously 

 watered, or possibly the soil has not been kept 

 loose and friable enough, and the plant has had 

 a hard struggle to grow. 



If dahlias have been planted and cultivated 

 as I have described, and grown slowly, yet 

 without check, the blooms, if cut and cared for 

 as I shall explain, will last at an average of a 

 week or ten days. 



The cool of the morning is the best time to cut 

 dahlias (this is not so very early by daylight- 

 saving time in September!). The dew should be 



