3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I had something very similar happen with my A La Mode. It is a bronze flower with white tips, but the first few were fairly wierd, like this:
It was supposed to look like this:
It has something to do with the genes of the plant and it trying to revert to its dominant original flower...I think.
Cheers,
Russ
Russ, I have had it for three years and it makes a huge plant. Swan is the only place I have found it. This Spring I got my tuber and it rotted so they sent me a plant. It was by far the most prolific. I will see the tubers of these soon when I dig. You are welcome to one if you tell me how to wrap and send it.
I can't remember, are you in Ontario PDShop?
If you are, I'd send it in a bag of peat. I'd doubt much could happen to it in the short transit within the province. Not sure what the Post Office will make of it...;-]
Drop me a note at russ.cooper@rc.on.ca
Cheers,
Russ
LOL, I am about 2 1/2 hours north east of Brrrrrmidji! I think I am going to do the first option, maybe. I have a really busy week ahead of me. BUT if it looks like we have some nice days I might do the second option. Oh I don't know, it is going to depend on how much I have going on.
I hate to cut them while they are still blooming!! (whine)
Thanks
Jenny P
FWIW, there is a 3rd option if you have a cold room (or cool reasonably dry place.) Dig a largish area of soil around the tubers (keeping the tubers in the soil as best you can) and place those clumps of soil in garbage bags. Tie or tape the bag with a long piece of stem still sticking out.
This makes the removal processs relatively simple now (no worrying about cleaning the clump), will keep them reasonably moist until you get back, and totally avoids the possiblity of the ground being too hard to dig when you return.
I wouldn't be recommending this except that you've only 3 clumps to do.
Cheers,
Russ
Kellymack,
What you really want to know is not when a variety flowers, but how long a variety takes to bloom. Then, with that knowledge in hand, you start varieties that take longer to bloom earlier than the others, and they all end up blooming more or less the same time (its impossible to get it exact, but once they start blooming they aren't going to stop.)
I have numbers on my 40+ varieties I grew this year, and have worked out rough starting times for each variety to get them to all be blooming the last week of May 2009. For my varieties, the earliest date is November 24, 2008 and the latest is March 20, 2009.
I've never found a lit of bloom times. Swan indicates some as "early bloomers" and others as "late bloomers," and presumably everything else is average. 2 years ago when I first planted dahlias, my "early bloomers" came into bloom in mid June, and the "late bloomers" in September.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Russ
Well I sent the cat but it went off in cyber world somewhere. I will try again. Maybe he wasn't approved or something. At least this made it. I am looking at my dahlia covers at the moment. My friend called and said she went ouot to the garden to pick some and they were frozen like live dahlias. She is going to let them thaw???
Oooh...I definitely cannot handle your temps! I have never shoveled snow, and the last time I saw a blizzard, I got pneumonia after getting locked out of my aunt's house for three hours! It's worth considering though, since the dahlias do so well there! Here is my "bouquet" for the week...A single bloom does not a bouquet make, but it's all I have! And sadly, the weather's perfect for Dahlias right now - warm days, cool nights. Hoping that some of the survivors will bloom again before Thanksgiving.
How embarrasing. I don't even know the name.
Quebec has the dahlia Queen! Gorgeous! What are the white ones with the lacinated lavender tips? Those two yellow ones behind on the left hand vase in the last picture are nice too. But picture #3 really needs to be identified--it is very unique and beautiful. Good job, Queen Anna!
Thanks so much! I have difficulty arranging flowers - I hate to have any hidden in the back etc, so sometimes I simply resort to having several vases. Also, some dahlias have such tiny stems (but a big bloom) that they need special accommodation. The white and lavender is Angela Dodi - it had come as an unwanted substitution, but now I am happy to have it. The orange/yellow are Ace Summer Sunset, while the large picture in the middle is Caribbean Fantasy, with collarette Fantastico on the left. So many buds are left on the plants, and killing frost is coming this weekend :(
Well, let's not confuse "root base" with tubers. The plant had tons of roots, which extended way beyond the 4" pots perimeter. Those roots are what sustained the plant, and IÂm going to struggle to keep this bush growing after cutting them. We took a knife to the sides of the 4" pot and simply cutÂalready the bush is wilting inside because of the root trauma.
Tubers are the storage of "excess" for next year. We canÂt totally judge whatÂs happened until we see the growth from these tubers next year. I can say that right now, the tubers look great, definitely viable. But!! I havenÂt cut the stalk off the plant (and will not, for this one.) So I have no idea about eyes. After all, a clump is nothing without eyes, right? When I say itÂs definitely viable I mean thereÂs nothing visible that suggests it wouldnÂt eye up.
I re-potted the clump into an 8" pot and put that pot into a dish. I have replenished the water twice already, yet the bush is still wilting. No surprise, really, as IÂve likely removed 80% of its water roots. I will keep trying to revive it. It is not under any lights at this point.
The bush doesnÂt like to sit flat, it wants to fall over. Tomorrow I plan on pruning it somewhat, like an arborist might a treeÂtrying to achieve a balance.
Cheers,
Russ
I don't know if this information will help you or not. I live on the CA Central Coast. I leave my tubers in the ground all year long. They are still blooming quite heavily right now and will through December. I cut them to the ground when we have a light frost or they start dying back. We have all of our rain from Dec. to April. They seem to do fine in the ground and don't rot. They come up again around March. I let Nature take over and they do their own thing. I think they are hardier then people give them credit and can put up with a lot of conditions. I have been growing them for over 30 years here that way.
Adrienne,
Even with your good description, it's almost impossible to name a dahlia from a photo unless it's a very obvious variety. I was going to guess Golden Scepter, but only because I've grown it, but your dahlia's petal tips are too pointy. You may end up calling it 3" Yellow NOID, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as you enjoy it.
I can't imagine the heartache of hurricane clean up. One relatively minor windstorm here can wreak absolute havoc on gardens/trees etc. Enjoy your little survivor!
I sure am enjoying this one. It still looks lovely in it's little wine goblet...it opened all the way up. I am going to try to contact the farm where I got my dahlias last year and see if they can tell me what it is...I think it was the only yellow one in the bunch. I think there was also an orange and a white that didn't survive (DH + weedeater + plant with no buds = certain death)...Thanks for the tips. I'll try to take a look at some more images online - I think if I hear the name I'll know it.
THANKS!