Dahlia Support
Stout dahlia branches loop may be prevented by driving in additional supports in a triangle round each plant, some little way from the stem to avoid damaging roots, pointing outwards at the top. These supports need not be as stout as the central stake, and even quite light canes may be used.
It follows that it is advisable to take plants struck at different times if a wide variation in blooming period is required, and to pinch the tops out at varying times. This will ensure, not so much that a bloom on a particular plant will be ready at a certain date, but that blooms will be available at that date, rather than a big flush of blooms all within a few days of each other, which might he at a period when there is not a suitable show.
It is also possible by careful timing to ensure that the majority of plants can be induced to flower around a given date, by stopping plants of one variety at intervals of a few days, but to apply this system effectively it is essential to build up a considerable knowledge of the potential of all varieties grown.
To prevent branches from being forced out of the socket by their own weight (this is particularly prevalent in branches developing low on the main stem), it is an excellent plan to insert short lengths of cane exactly parallel with each branch and to tie the branch to this support. This will give ample support until such time as the branch becomes long enough to be secured in the normal fashion to the main stake or wires.
Although this may seem a great deal of trouble, it is better to take such precautions than to have the heartbreaking sight of a strong healthy branch broken off later in the season, particularly on a plant well thinned out for giant blooms of exhibition quality. For the same reason it is essential to tie in the branches as these develop, and this is a task that must never be neglected.
If, however, the strict application of this principle would mean that a stout shoot would be removed and a very weak or damaged shoot retained, it is good sense to vary a little from the automatic selection in such instances and retain the better of the pair. It might even be necessary to remove both shoots and retain growth lower down the plant, or even to retain two shoots developing at the same level. This procedure is only a guide.
