Growing for probably six shoots, though you will find that three of these 
Exhibition shoots, one on each joint, will be much stronger than the one 
opposite. Select these three strong growths, rubbing off the 
weaker ones and when these three remaining shoots are about a 
foot in length, by pinching on the tips of each shoot, you are in 
a position to control your plant. Leave six, eight or ten shoots 
to develop into flowering branches, the number of shoots you 
leave to be according to the variety and strength of the plant. 
Growing Dahlias for exhibition and trying to have your best 
blooms ready for a certain date, is, owing to weather conditions, 
a very difficult and uncertain proposition, but a good guide in 
timing your plants as carried out in this part of Western 
Pennsylvania, is to stop pinching six or seven weeks before the 
Show time. With ordinary weather, buds appearing the end of 
August would be in full bloom by September 18th or 20th, but 
here again one has to know their varieties. 
Amateurs who grow a few dozen plants for Show purposes 
may have a very hard time obtaining flowers for exhibiting and 
may meet with more success if, in a collection of 36, they have 
four of a kind rather than 36 different varieties, thus giving a 
better selection of each variety. 
Growing for In growing Dahlias for garden or cut flower use, a great many 
Cut Flower more shoots may be left on a plant, smaller blooms being of 
or Garden course more useful for decorative work. Just as soon as the first 
use buds appear you should start giving the plants some liquid feed- 
ing — I recommend liquid as one gets quicker and better results. 
If fresh cow manure is to be had, put about six spadefuls into 
a burlap sack along with a spadeful of Scotch soot, tie your 
sack and put into a barrel of water, stirring for a few days before 
using. Should the solution look too thick, thin with water when 
you first begin to feed, later on increasing its strength. Try and 
have the ground around your plants a little clamp at feeding time 
and give your plants the liquid manure at least once a week 
until the blooms begin to open out. Do not use any feed after 
this as it may tend to put your tubers in a too soft condition for 
safe keeping over winter. 
When your buds begin to show, rub out the two side buds, 
leaving the center one — and side-shoots on these flowering 
branches must be rubbed off excepting a few you may leave as 
the base of the plants which will develop later and give you a 
succession of bloom. Look out for cinch bugs, caterpillars and 
grasshoppers. You will find them ready to eat or disfigure your 
blooms and one has to be ever on the watch to prevent these pests 
from undoing all of your seasons' work. 
Flowering T find it good practice when the buds begin to show to stop 
Season cultivating and instead cover the ground with a mulch of straw 
manure, leaves and grass clippings. If you have attended to the 
cultivating when the plants were in the making no harm will be 
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