[clkeiper]

disbudding is taking off all the side buds and leaving the first and central bud to form the largest and spectacular of flowers on each and every stem. this is a lot of work but well worth the effort. you might want to do both as there is a market for disbudded flowers and a market for pinched or "spray" stems of flowers. I worked in a greenhouse that grows the nicest roses grown locally ... as in not south of the border in central america... they were not cheap to buy... they were absolutely beautiful... I worked in the rose house ONE day and said I would never do it again. I had a new appreciation for those who did dsibudding. arms raised above your head all day long with thorns scratching your armpit sides as you straddled the isles on the edges of each bed and reached across the bed for each and every stem . or you worked in the mum house hunched over disbudding the mums to make football mums for the flowershops or pinching out the top bud on the potted mums to make flowershop pots of mums in 6" pots... Dahlias are the same way. you can either disbud all the side buds for one stem with one flower or pinch out the center bud for sprays or leave some with the center bud and the side buds too. depends on the florists needs or wants.