4 
Miniature Dahlias 
The ‘all purpose’ type of the dahlia family 
The past few years many people have been 
delighted with the advent of the smaller types. 
True we have had the pompons for some time 
and probably nothing will detract from their 
present popularity. But this type was not 
universal in its appeal because of its stiffness 
and lack of change in its form. 
It seems that in the new “Miniatures’’ are 
imbued all the characteristics which have 
hitherto been lacking. In the first place they 
include all the variations of form found in the 
larger types, from the full centered decorative 
to the artistically curled and twisted peony. 
Secondly, their miniature size and airy graceful¬ 
ness makes them ideal for artistic arrangement. 
Thirdly, besides keeping as long as pompons 
when cut at proper age, they bloom so freely 
that one can cut mercilessly only to see a new 
wealth of color in a day or so. Last, but not 
least, the neater, more compact, lower-grow¬ 
ing bushes, with such a liberal amount of 
color, is entirely suited for garden decoration 
where space is so limited that the giant blos¬ 
soms and rank growth of the larger types would 
be out of the question. 
KEEPING CUT DAHLIA BLOOMS 
Cut the flowers as late as possible in the 
evening or very early in the morning, while 
the dew is still on them. Cut with long stems 
and dip the ends of the stems (2 to 3 inches) 
in almost boiling water for 20 seconds to one 
minute, depending on length and texture of 
the stem Then immediately submerge them 
two-thirds of their length in cold water and 
put them in a cool place, away from all draft 
for a couple of hours, or till wanted for your 
vases. The more of the stem you can have in 
the water in your vases, the longer the blooms 
will keep fresh. When cutting large dahlia 
blooms try and select those that are in their 
prime, or developed to their fullest extent. Just 
a day too soon will often make quite a differ¬ 
ence in some of the quicker maturing varieties. 
The long, hollow stems, or stalks, are an advantage if 
they are under the cool water. Change the water often. 
If a bouquet of dahlias is wrapped in moist newspap¬ 
er, so as to hold moisture and exclude all the air possible, 
they will keep in perfect cond.tion for hours. 
