I start my dahlias indoors and plant them out when danger of frost is done(ususally Mother's Day). By July, I will start to have blooms. They will bloom and get pretty leggy and a bit ragged by late August. The flowers also become smaller. Do you think it benenfits the dahlias if the old leggy growths are pruned off to encourage new growths to get better blooms? I had a few dahlias that got broken off during rainstorms and then regrew this summer. These are giving me really nice blooms now. Wonder if anyone else has the same experience.

Sometimes I cut off stems if plants become too crowded. They always seem to reward me with many more blooms and nice new stems. It certainly doesn't hurt the dahlias.