Question
Hi...I just purchased some beautiful Dahlia's from a plant stand they looked great at first but now the flowers are dying. How do I prune the dead heads?

Answer
Dahlias are really very easy plants, especially if you treat them as annuals and don't dig them up to overwinter.  Many people grow them this way.

As you know, the flowers don't last forever.  You can simply pinch them off as they fade with your thumbnail at the end of the stem.  As they reach one foot, cut the main stem tip once to trigger side stem growth -- unless you are growing show Dahlias, in which case you want the flowers to grow until they are gigantic and you can let them grow one to a stem.

The key to growing Dahlias is to (a) keep "deadheading" (picking off the dead flowers) and (b) don't let them dry out more than a day or so and (c) make sure they have FULL SUN all day long.  You don't even need to fertilize these, although if you are growing them in rich, humusy topsoil, you will get best results.

Got that?

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER