DAHLIADEL NURSERIES 
-Potwh Fed3 
DAHLIAS 3 
Page 27 
close up top of plant after borer is out so water will 
not get in and rot the plant. 
Should a plant be too large to cut back when borer 
is discovered, use pyrethrum soap at strength of 2Vi 
ounces to gallon and inject with ear syringe. This will 
kill the borer or drive it out. Drain stalk out by 
slitting at the bottom to prevent stem rot. 
STUNT. In our twenty-five years with dahlias, we 
have dug and destroyed all unhealthy stock, and the 
results are most gratifying. This is properly called 
rogueing. As there are a number of reasons why a 
plant should stunt, it is hard to tell the exact cause. 
However, we do know that rogueing is the only prac¬ 
tical way of eradication, and believe some of the causes 
of stunt may be attributed to one or more of the 
following conditions: 
First: From lowered vitality as a result of poor 
culture, lack of cultivation, etc., or forcing the stock 
with manure and water the previous season. 
Second: The ravages of attacking insects, thrips, 
leaf-hoppers, stem borers, etc. 
Third: The rotting of the feed roots caused by too 
much water where drainage is poor, or water in the 
hollow part of the stem. 
Regardless of cause, all stunt should be dug out and 
destroyed. Our many years of this practice leaves us 
less than 1 per cent to dig annually on most varieties. 
MILDEW. Gray spots on the leaves sometimes cov¬ 
ering the entire leaf are the result of the growth of 
fungus spores known as Mildew. This is a result of a 
condition—lowered vitality—caused by lack of or an 
oversupply of water, planting too close v/ithout proper 
air circulation, or extremes. These adverse growing 
conditions are conducive to Mildew. 
Spray with plain Bordeaux Mixture as prescribed on 
package once a week, preferably before the spots 
appear. 
CUT FLOWERS 
Dahlias should be cut in the evening or early morning, 
removing the lower leaves and all of the buds of the 
large varieties, if not disbudded. Immediately put in 
water in a cool dark place to freshen for a few hours. 
Hot Water Treatment—Cut and freshen as above, 
then put stems in 1 inch of water, almost boiling, for 
1 to 2 minutes. Then place in deep cold water to 
cool. Flowers are then ready to ship by packing in a 
strong corrugated box lined with tissue paper. Fasten 
stems down by nailing a wooden strip in the centre 
of the box or by tying down through the bottom. 
Flowers packed snugly will carry better than when 
packed loose and allowed to batter. 
Flowers when wilted can be freshened by cutting 
end of stem and placing in hot water as above. Repeat 
until flower is freshened. 
The hot water treatment will do wonders in making 
your exhibition blooms keep fresh after staging, but 
do not cut off the discolored end of stem unless you 
are again going to treat it. 
The physical action of a cut flower is to take water 
up into the stem which evaporates through the flower 
and foliage The slower this action of evaporation or 
transpiration takes place, the longer the life of the 
flower. From this you will see that buds and foliage 
will shorten the life of your flower. Also avoid placing 
cut flowers in a draft. 
DIGGING AND STORING 
After the first killing frost, cut off the tops at the 
ground and allow a few days for the stalks to bleed 
out before digging. Where roots are planted deep, 
some of the top soil can be removed before digging. 
Care should be exercised so that the necks of the 
tuberous roots will not be broken. Loosen the roots 
by prying with a garden fork thrust in the ground 
about a foot from the crown, preferably all the way 
around, before attempting to remove clump. Two 
forks, if available, are even better. Cut the stalk 
back again to about 2 inches above the crown. Then 
by tapping on the cut stalk endwise with a light 
instrument, most of the dirt will free without injury 
to the necks of the roots. Dry in the sun a few hours, 
and your clumps are ready to store. 
A root or white potato cellar is preferable with a 
temperature of 40 to 45 degrees. In this they need 
no protection or covering. The average house cellar 
is too dry and hot, and in such conditions the clumps 
should be placed in the coolest part and packed up¬ 
side down in a box in practically dry sand, ashes, or 
peat moss. 
When packing in dry material, care should be exer¬ 
cised, first, not to allow clumps to sit around and 
shrivel before packing away, but pack away the same 
day as dug if you are using dry peat moss as it comes 
from the bale. Second, do not use more peat moss 
than necessary to just barely cover each layer of clumps 
before putting in the next layer. The reason for this 
precaution is that all root crops sweat when taken into 
storage. The purpose of the peat moss is to absorb 
this sweat and conserve it for later on when the roots 
need it. Therefore, too much peat moss will cause 
your roots to dry out. 
After the roots are stored a month, it is well to 
look them over, trim out any portion showing rot and 
dip all the fresh cuts in equal parts hydrated lime and 
dry Bordeaux Mixture, and pack them back again as 
before. Should the roots show signs of shriveling, place 
dampened peat moss over the top of the box to prevent 
further drying. 
Dahlia roots air dried and so packed should keep well 
until spring with no further handling, providing they 
were grown properly, well ripened, and not frosted 
DIVIDING CLUMPS 
Dahlia clumps can best be divided with the aid of 
medium-sized pruning shears and a pruning knife 
Broken necks and fibrous roots should first be removed 
as the eyes are on the crown and never on the root 
proper. Then proceed to divide with shears or knife. 
Care should be exercised to have a piece of crown 
with an eye on each one or two roots. Clumps should 
never be planted without dividing. 
