DAHLIADEL NURSERIES 
When the terminal bud on each of these stems is 
about the size of a small acorn, or as soon as the side 
shoots are large enough to pull out, disbud by taking 
out all the side buds and shoots except the lower pair 
on each of the branches which should be allowed to 
grow to form later flowers. Leave only one side shoot 
as shown in Drawing X or one to two shoots on Draw¬ 
ing Y, should you desire very large flowers. These new 
branches should be handled as the previous set as 
soon as they have developed sufficiently. All of the 
disbudded stem should be cut with the flower, when 
following X or Y. This early disbudding and pruning 
is not solely for the benefit of the first six flowers, but 
mainly to keep the bush low and properly branched 
for the future crop, also aiding in root development. 
Should you fail to pinch out when plants are small, 
it will be necessary to use system shown on Drawing Z 
or exercise care with late topping or cutting back not 
to open hollow stems so that water can get in and 
start stem rot. These openings can be stopped up with 
wax or plaster paris. Should water get into the stalk, 
slit the stalk just above the nodes with the point of a 
sharp knife, and by twisting the knife let the water out. 
Certain varieties branch to excess. These should be 
thinned out at intervals of two weeks, and not more 
than six shoots allowed to come into bloom for the 
first flowers. This affords the plant better air circu¬ 
lation and sunlight. Without plenty of air and sunlight 
your blooms cannot be fully developed and your 
foilage will be easy prey to mildew. 
These drawings are made with the hope of making 
disbudding easier. The left side of each drawing 
shows half of the plant disbudded, while the right side 
shows the normal development of branches and buds 
on the same plant when not disbudded. 
Key Letters to Drawing 
B Terminal Flower Bud 
C Secondary Terminal Bud 
D Lateral Bud 
E Branch 
F Side pruning, removing B and D 
I Internode 
L Lateral Branch 
N Node 
P Pinched out once 
P 2 Pinched out twice 
R Stalk 
S Stem 
T Where shoot or bud has been removed 
U Stem Stalk 
PINCHED BACK TWICE 
Drawing X is recommended for most large flowering 
varieties under normal growing conditions. Pinching 
out once is best for varieties that branch readily, while 
pinching out twice will prove advisable on varieties 
that grow main branches rapidly and develop lower 
branches slowly. 
TWICE 
PINCHED BACK 
Drawing Y differs from X in that it is for a variety 
that is known as a crotch bloomer, or for a variety 
with short stems where the flowers are often down in 
the foliage. This is easily handled by side pruning, as 
indicated at F, using the secondary terminal bud in¬ 
stead of the first terminal bud finally for your bloom. 
The right side of the drawing shows natural growth 
after pinching out twice, which is not desirable except 
for mass color in landscape effects. 
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