3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Check out all my pictures. The wife ordered lavenders and purples almost exclusivly this year. Hope to see many pictures from you next year. If you want I will post the web site to my photo bucket pictures and you can go nuts with all my shots this year. Most of the shots have been posted here and in the gallery so that may be easyer for you.
Thanks elp 92. The flower does better with a half day direct sun. I have another plant on the other side of the tent that gets a lot more sun. The color fades a lot. Now that the sun is going down early the pink is comming out in the other plant.
The better the tuber production, the more chance of not losing all of it in storage-- & the more tubers to trade or sell at tuber sales or markets in the spring. Also- if you're selling them as a business it's way easier to ship tubers than rooted cutings & all that entails with soil attached.
Thanks, Sturgeon Guy and Viking Craftsman. I actually had seen the website recommended before I wrote my starter query, but it must have been written by a botanist, or some sort of intellectual; I was confused and looking for a simpler recommendation, LOL, silly me. But I reread it and it makes SOME sense, so I went looking for the recommended rooting medium, "Sunshine Basic Mix 2" which had the 96% success rate (as opposed to the "Oasis" which had only a 62% success rate), and it isn't for sale anywhere around here. I threw the dahlias out because the stems looked like they were decaying, even tho I was changing the water in the vases. My DH didn't want to look at them anymore and I didn't think they'd have a good success rate. Should I have stripped the leaves? snipped of the wilting flower heads? I was afraid of injuring the growing nodes next to the leaves. Can you ask your neighbor how she does that VM, And/ or can you recommend another rooting medium SG? I am just about to run over to the farmers' market for another bouquet of Dahlias, gosh they're beautiful, This time I'll pick long stems with lots of nodes and won't trim off the ends. I didn't put the ends in hot water like they suggest because I was afraid it would make them difficult to take cuttings from.
I REALLY appreciate your help. Sorry so helpless but willing to learn. -Roze Gardener
We had friends over after church today and I took the female part of the couple up to the garden and cut her a bouquet. A Pennsgift with rather good form, and a few Honkas not to mention various other flowers and the obligatory earwig. I love giving people bouquets, especially the informal, mixed colors and forms of the home garden; whatever is in bloom goes in there.
Triple b that is our gift to the world. We make this a better place to live by growing dahlias and introducing them to others who have not grown them. I have a cancer survivor across the street who is having another incident. She is looking forward to growing my dahlias in her garden next year. Making it a better place one person at a time.
I agree Victoria Ann is extraordinary. Can I ask best way to overwinter? I have been using peat moss dampened a bit in Baggies that are twist tied and stored in the basement (or garage) and this has worked pretty well in the past (although I had some shrivel issues). Other times I have let them rot in the ground (good composting but somewhat expensive). Does anyone have a tried and true overwintering technique?
That lavender one is just lovely, Viking. Bolstering the stems of the tall ones, even without a stake, is a good idea. Sounds like Hannah is going to leave her mark on your area this weekend too, so I hope you cinch up the stems and I'll hope all passes without too much damage.
Henry,
We lost tubers to flooding in May this season. They just floated away never to be seen nor heard from again. Yes. Strange weather indeed.
In the hoophouse, we spread compost and till it in before planting the Karma dahlia plugs. We fertilize with a liquid fertilizer 10-20-20 through our drip irrigation line. This seems to work well.
We need to get manure spread on certain sections in our fields at some point this fall; and, if it continues to rain, this will prove to be quite the challenge since we are blessed with both clay and sandy soil. But, get the manure on those sections this fall is a number one priority. At this point we will just hope for an Indian Summer. But, I have to tell you digging dahlia tubers in November is not fun. We did that last season. Not looking forward to a repeat of that.
Karma dahlia do require support netting. We use Hortonova netting, 6" squares. We lay the netting directly on the ground when we plant so we know to plant in every other square. We then raise the netting up to around 18" from the ground for support. We use only one layer of support netting. The first cutting of dahlias is sometimes challenging. But, we are so happy to see color that we don't complain -- much.
The Karma dahlia cutting arrive pinched supposedly. If we see a bloom deep in the plant, we pinch it out which forces the two laterals to bloom at the same time. There are not a lot of side buds that require removal. These side buds will be long and bloom a few days after you have harvested some of the other blooms. The advantage of the Karma dahlia is they don't have the unsightly buds appearing above the flower such as many field grown dahlias. What we find annoying is that if we leave any buds in a bouquet, the market customer ALWAYS asks if these will bloom.
One other advantage to the Karma dahlia is they can be harvested before they are fully open -- unlike field grown dahlias.
Here is a photo of Corona showing the Hortonova support netting.
Trish
Trish,
Beautiful photo! I'm assuming the Hortonova netting is a plastic of sorts and you raise it using T-bars.
When watering, are you fertilizing each time or do you alternate between 'fresh' and 'fertilizer'?
Manure can be a beautiful thing! However, I've found that if it's too thick and not mixed well enough it holds the water too long but also can dry out very quickly. Also, its interesting what type of seeds sprout! It's all about the horse's menu I guess!
Hey Viking!
Yes, the height is good. I think Russ is asking you to prop your iris leaves up a little straighter so they don't look slightly intoxicated (lol). But no matter, now you've got the height, try a hosta leaf or two.
Congrats for your efforts.
My absolute best to you and the viking gal wife,
Lucinda
Thanks all, the wife's birthday is tomorrow so she will get a nice bouquet. The daughter (Viking Princess)is making her a nice ice cream cake. My neighbor is celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary so another bouquet will be made.