around the tuber and greatly retards root development 
in the early stage of the plant’s growth. 
. Cultivation — To have the greatest success with your 
Dahlias, the trick is to keep your plants growing. Good 
cultivation is most essential for best results. Start culti¬ 
vating soon after planting (be careful not to disturb the 
root). Hoe deeply or cultivate with a garden hook about 
once a week to form a good deep soil mulch which will 
conserve the moisture and check the weeds. As the plants 
grow and when about 18 to 20 inches high, deep cultiva¬ 
tion should cease and only rake lightly the surface of the 
soil after each rain or watering. Also, at this stage of the 
Dahlia plants growth, the feed roots come toward the sur¬ 
face of the soil. This is a good time to apply your fer¬ 
tilizer—broadcast and work it into the top soil. Also give 
the ground a heavy watering, after working in the fer¬ 
tilizer, to disolve and keep it in solution so it will be 
available for the feeding roots. If the weather is very 
hot and dry, apply a good loose mulch previously directed. 
Watering — Good cultivation is more important than 
water in the early stage of a Dahlia plant’s growth. But in 
very hot and dry weather, water is quite necessary to keep 
up a strong, continuous growth. However, it is not advis¬ 
able to begin watering until the plants really need it. 
Then water every ten days or two weeks, cultivating the 
top soil after each watering as soon as the soil is work¬ 
able. To make your plants healthier and to hold the in¬ 
sects in check, give your plants a good shower bath 
every evening during dry weather. When the plants start 
to show flower buds, water should be applied freely and 
in large quantities once a week. This will force a greater 
quantity of flowers with long stems and the largest size 
blooms. When you water, soak the ground thoroughly. 
Best to set your sprinkler in the evening among your 
Dahlias and let the water run until the soil is saturated 
but not puddled and turn the sprinkler on again the next 
morning. This last sprinkling will drive the moisture 
down to a lower level—consequently, you hold moisture 
longer then when you just wet the surface. 
Fertilizer — Dahlias don’t require very rich soil to pro¬ 
duce fine flowers. But to get good exhibition blooms, a 
liberal amount of a well balanced fertilizer should be ap¬ 
plied broadcast around your plants (be careful not to 
apply too close to base of plants) and thoroughly worked 
into the soil about a month or six weeks after planting. 
The fertilizer formula previously mentioned would be 
good, supplemented by a good sprinkling of tankage with 
a little lime and crude sulphur added and applied about 
every two or three weeks while the Dahlias are in bloom. 
Vigoro is another good fertilizer for Dahlias. 
Disbudding — When your plants have made their second 
or third set of leaves, pinch out the tops—this causes your 
plants to branch and not grow so tall. If you do this, 
stakes will not be so necessary unless you have heavy fall 
rains and strong winds that will break them down. A 
strong stake 5 or 6 feet long driven firmly into the ground 
with the plant loosely tied to it, will prevent breakage. 
For choice cut flowers or exhibition blooms, pinch off 
the two side buds and disbud the branches to the last two 
sets of leaves near the stalk letting only one bloom 
develop on a stem. For garden decoration it is not neces¬ 
sary to disbud the branches as a large number of good 
sized flowers are of more value for a fine garden display 
than only a few highly developed blooms. Keep old with¬ 
ered flowers picked off and your plants will bloom better. 
Cut Flowers — The blooms should be well developed 
and cut late in the evening. Put in deep, cold water in a 
cool place overnight The blooms that have wilted by 
15 
