DDT which may be used accord- 
ing to directions on the package. 
Your local feed store or hard- 
ware dealer will help you select 
whichever is indicated by your 
local conditions. 
The ground around the Dahlia 
plants should be kept in a loose 
condition by frequent cultivation, 
deep at first and then shallower 
as the plant grows and the feed 
roots spread out, and near the 
surface. If your summer is very 
hot, a mulch between the Dahlias 
of grass clippings, or other ma- 
terial, will help keep the ground 
cool and avoid overheating the 
roots. During extreme heat it is 
advisable to pick off the buds and 
not allow blossoms to form, thus 
saving any possible dangerous 
wilting of the plant. 
When watering, after the buds have started to open, and not until then, it is 
better to give the ground a thorough soaking once a week or every ten days, than 
to sprinkle the surface every day. The moisture should reach down about a foot 
to be of the most value. 
Dahlia blooms should be cut either early in the morning before the sun 
starts to dry them out, or late in the evening. The best method of cutting for long 
keeping blooms, is to carry a bucket of cold water into the garden and plunge the 
stem of the Dahlia into it as soon as it is cut from the bush. A knife should be 
used instead of scissors, as the object is not to press the stem shut, but rather 
leave it so that it will absorb water readily for the bloom. The cut flowers should 
then be placed in the cold water container, in a cool darkplace, and away from 
any drafts, for several hours, or if cut in the evening, over night. After that they 
are ready for placing in your vase or other containers for display, and will keep 
much longer than if any other method of preparation is used. Too much foliage 
left on the stem will greatly lessen the keeping quality of the bloom. 
After the first killing frost the Dahlia clumps should be dug and stored for 
the winter. In sections where there is no frost, or where it comes very late in the 
year, the plants may be cut down any time and after allowing a few days for 
the sap to go down into the roots, the clumps may be dug and cared for the 
same as if they had been killed by frost. It is well to dig the dirt away from the 
clump and cut down with the spade all around it rather deep before lifting it out. 
This will cut the feed roots which may extend out as far as two feet from the stalk, 
and which might break some of the roots from the stalk if not cut. Any roots which 
are broken at the neck will probably not be any good the following spring. 
The clump may be allowed to stand for a while to dry out the dirt, which 
may then be shaken off gently. Or a gentle stream of water may be used to 
wash the clumps. The stalks should then be cut off close to the clump, and it is 
then ready to be divided or stored. 
A cool, not too dry, cellar is the best place for root storage, being sure it is 
frost proof. It does not need much below freezing to ruin Dahlia roots. Also 
dry warm air will cause the roots to dry out and shrivel up, so that most of them 
will not grow in the spring. 
Sainte Therese—Straight Cactus 
