3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
What sturgeonguy says about dahlias being bred for certain zones is very true. Any dahlia will grow anywhere if given the right conditions of lots of sunlight, good soil conditions & the right care. We send dahlias to trial gardens all over the country & they do well everywhere. Dahlias that we have bred here in the Pacific NW are growing all over the world-- even Capetown South Africa- talk about different conditions, different zones, different hemisphere & seasons & if that doesn't confuse a dahlia, nothing will!
When I was out at the greenhouse the other day I saw a couple of dahlias growing in the garbage pail- Walt had tossed them in May & they're about 3' tall & have buds on. No water all summer, no fertilizer, no care-- just trying to survive. There's also one that was dropped in bare ground by the driveway- ground as hard as blacktop- & it's growing, too. Dahlias LOVE to grow anywhere!
A lack of buds indicates a lack of phospherous. If the ph in your soil isn't right for dahlias you won't get blooms.
So start your dahlias indoors earlier, make sure they have good soil & lots of light, feed them a well balanced fertilizer (10-20-20 is what we use) a couple of times a season & stand back-- they'll bloom their heads off for you-- & speaking of that- be sure to dead head because you won't get as many blooms if you don't keep the dead heads off.
Hi Ellie- Thanks!
viking- I don't think there's a even a slim chance that Walt would ever move to the other coast so we'll have to take our chances under the mountain. That bulge in Mt Baker'll just have to go the other way & hit E WA & leave us alone!
It isn't far to lug depending on which bed I'm working in. Again, gallon milk jugs save the day. Put a big towel over/around the jug and it stays quite hot for a long time. If I'm working in the lower yard, they go in the cart behind the tractor.
Well, you've got me stumped. Only thing I can think of is that they're not Dahlias. I've never heard of any that stopped blooming in August in your zone.
Also, you say you trimmed them back to within a foot of the ground. Did you notice hollow main stems when you did this? Stems on my 4+ footers are typically 1.5" in diameter or larger, and always hollow. Just another reason to think they aren't Dahlias.
Cheers,
Russ
I knew you were going to ask Russ and I almost broke the plant trying to read the marker. I could not read it at this time, to many plants to close together. The first photo is of cornel. The second two are the same bloom at different angles. I wanted you to see how the flower bends back on the stem.
That bend is what PlantLady was praising the other day, a nice 45 degree posture is considered ideal. Looks like yours would be if the stem itself was stand up straight...;-] Bet the look nice in a vase.
They're not that dissimilar to my Raspberry Punch.
Raspberry Punch - BID: 7" diameter flower on a 60" bush.
Cheers,
Russ
Well, I just got back from making my entries. Honestly, the largest Dahlia there was a small B, mostly M's!! There was a very nice purple Pompon that was entered into 3 classes (open single, open triple, and pompon,) but if you ask me it was way too flat on the bottom. There was a Lemon Tart there in the open class, mine is in the Cactus and there's too was flat on the bottom (whereas mine is fully rounded.)
Between the pot I put the Gladiators in (~15" tall) and the Gladiators themselves (also ~15" tall) my triple entry towered over everything on the stand...;-]
That said, there was still 2.5hrs remaining for entries to be delivered, so the best may have arrived after me.
Sigh, now I have to wait until noon tomorrow to find out how I did...
I am so tempted to go back down at 7:30pm tonight to watch the stand close at 7:45pm and take pictures. Hmm, maybe I will...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
Well, I have to tell my funny story.
So I did go back down to the fair grounds last night, arriving right at 7:45pm which was entry closing time. I felt kinda silly going there with only camera in hand, kinda like a kid shaking his presents under the christmas tree trying to figure out what they were.
Not having been to one of these things before, I didn't know what to expect. I even wondered if I'd be allowed to photograph the stands...;-] Too many computer trade shows I guess.
Anyway, I looked at the entries and pressed the power button on my camera and...dud...nada...no power! I got so flustered that I simply left...without even taking a good look at the competition! Lol
I do know that the most competition is in the 3 bloom open class, which I thought was kinda surprising. I also noticed that there were a lot of the same variety in both the 3 bloom and 1 bloom categories, which made me feel good about entering two different varieties. That said, the names of the people making the entries are hidden, so the judges wouldn't know that I put two varieties in.
I was also surprised that they didn't want the variety name on the entries.
Finally, I definitely could've entered my Crichton Honey BA in the Pompon class...I really don't think they'd have known the difference.
Now patiently waiting for noon to arrive...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
viking- I've tried that bloom at every time of day you can name & also fast shutter speed & slow, umbrella & no umbrella inside & out- I just can't get the deep purple to come out- it always comes out pinker or redder than in person. I have a friend who has a camera with a bunch of different filters she can use with it & I'm going to try & see if she still has it & if so if she will take some pictures for us.
Plantlady, Thanks very much for filling me in. I love Primadonna!