Care and Handling of Dahlia Roots 
This is a question about which nearly all dahlia 
growers seem to have little to say; yet it is just as im- 
portant as any element that enters into the production of 
good dahlia roots. After roots are harvested in the fall 
they are placed in storage where they remain for weeks 
or perhaps months. If the storage conditions are right 
the roots are apparently in just as good condition at time 
of shipment as they were at harvest time. The roots are 
plump and firm, eyes are dormant, necks are sound and 
there is no sign of deterioration in any way. 
During the period of storage the roots have been kept 
cool, damp, dark and away from moving air currents. 
Considering these facts, it almost seems that the roots 
could be stored indefinitely without loss, yet in actual 
experience the deterioration that takes place after the 
roots leave this storage leads us to believe that in some 
way the conditions prevailing during storage have been 
radically changed during the period between shipment 
and actual planting. In some cases the roots remain in 
tight warm shipping packages for weeks either through 
slow freight transit or after being received, causing them 
to mold and rot. In other cases the roots are stored in 
too warm a room or where light or moving air can reach 
them resulting in drying out and shriveling. In other 
cases the roots are exposed to cold air resulting in chill- 
ing, and often planting is done in wet soggy ground re- 
sulting in rot of both root and sprout. These conditions 
are absolutely beyond our control yet we feel that it is to 
our interest to have the root reach the ground in the best 
possible condition. 
In the first place nearly every locality has its normal 
planting time. If the dealer’s supply of roots are ordered 
shipped very much before the normal planting time it is 
to his interest to have storage facilities which will dupli- 
cate, so far as possible, those under which the roots have 
been held since harvest time. I know there are always 
a few customers who will buy their garden bulbs several 
weeks before time to plant but these few people nearly 
always take their stuff home, let it kick around in the 
warm rooms for two or three weeks, then the first warm 
day that comes they put it into the ground. Usually 
the results are unsatisfactory and both the dealer and 
grower are blamed. It seems that it would be much bet- 
ter for the dealer to impress these facts upon the cus- 
tomer before he buys than to have to make excuses and 
replacements later. 
Then in other cases we know of dealers who ordered 
their supply of boxed dahlias early and placed the entire 
shipment in their windows where we have seen the light 
so bright that the labels were actually faded out before 
the goods were all sold. Under such conditions there is 
bound to be a deterioration of the stock just as there 
would be if you placed rose bushes on the open counter 
exposed to air and light and heat for days or weeks be- 
fore they passed into the customer’s hands. 
Our best advice to all customers, especially those who 
sell dahlias over the counter, is to display only a small 
part of the stock, keeping the rest of it under proper 
storage conditions; and to put your heaviest selling effort 
back of the item right at planting time. We have hun- 
dreds of retail stores handling our dahlias and invariably 
the best results are obtained, and the greatest profits 
made, by those who push the sale of their dahlias during 
one or two weeks at the right planting time instead of 
catering to the few customers who always buy way 
ahead or way behind in the season. The stock is ordered 
or is brought in from storage just before wanted, is in 
perfect condition when it reaches the counter and also 
when it reaches the customer. This means that it is ready 
to start action just the minute it is placed in the ground 
and under such conditions is bound to be satisfactory. 
Our record of direct shipments for some of our largest 
customers, made under a guarantee providing replace- 
ments of all roots that fail to sprout show less than 1% 
failures. Here we used our judgment and shipped the 
goods at proper planting time and we have every reason 
to believe that they reached the ground within very few 
days or a couple of weeks at most after they left our 
cellars. There is absolutely no reason why these same 
results cannot be obtained when goods are shipped direct 
from your own place or sold over the counter. 

Get Your Reservation Order In Now 
Stock to Be Shipped When Needed 

Wayland Dahlia Gardens 
E. R. Ryno, Prop. 
WAYLAND 
MICHIGAN 
