3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I agree Linht! Pretty blooms and James Bond, all the way. Remote sprinkler control! It would take me half a lifetime to figure out how to use such an asset, and I don't have half a lifetime to spare. Those who are tech savvy are really in the catbird's seat nowdays. I just count the days since watering, or since rain and act accordingly....
Actually, the thing is pretty easy to use. If you got one, your sprinkler installer would set it up for you. All the updating is automatic (which IMO is the real purpose of the remote.)
The only time I think I'll ever use the remote is when friends are over and they refuse to believe I can turn my sprinklers on from inside the sunroom...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
I DO remember your Chimacum Topaz. You said it's always been a reliable grower for you. I'm starting to lean towards getting the "good growers" instead of the "ooh, that looks cool, I want that one even if it's $13 for one tuber". My Trelyn Rhiannon is about 1 foot tall. I've started it since late April. When it finally blooms, think I will wet my pants.
LOL! That is the funniest line I've read about dahlias in a long time, if not ever! Thanks for the chuckle, and I know how you feel: I have a couple 2 inch tall plants I fully expect to produce a dahlia yet this year. What a dreamer.
Chimacum Topaz IS one of the most reliable, hearty bloomers I've ever had. One year I had 15 plants of it, and plants begat more plants..... This year, I have Chimacum Troy and I'm hoping the hybridizers have created another Chimacum wonder in purple.
I'd love to say the vase was a "creation" but really it was simply a matter of trying to get one of each of my Dahlias that are well into blooming into the vase at the same time so you could see them...;-]
Remember, I'm the engineer, not an artist...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
Pull off the old leaves & see if the new ones do the same thing. If they do then turf it out before it spreads.
Look for spider mite webs on the back of the leaves- they turn the leaf edges crispy like that. To see them in person, put a piece of white paper under the leaf & give the leaf a tap. If little dots are now on the piece of paper you have spider mites.
Hi Pd. Cut below the leaves and above the next junction/leaf set. Strip off the leaves on your cutting flower and voila: longer stems. You can also pinch out the top set of new little laterals going down a particular branch (below the bud/s) and get a much longer stem that way. Or two sets for really long stems.
cut above next leaf set for new laterals
Even if you don't see laterals deep down into the plant, I bet they are there, waiting to emerge. On shorter plants, that might not be the case, I don't know.
thanks so much for the pictures. It is so much easier to tell me what I need to know. The top picture has me baffled on some of my dahlias. I want more flowers and I only have that top to work with which shows no laterals if I pinch that little area. I usually just let it go. I have some with very long stems, down into the main part of the plant. Leaves a big hole where I cut. I than take a little piece of a leaf branch and fill the hole. We have had tons of rain. Hopefully won't get root rot. The dahlias are great this year. I have found that some don't match the label which really annoys me. Anywhere there is a pink and yellow dahlia, it is an incorrect tuber.
Can you post a picture- that would tell us immediately if it was a tuber or a bulb. Some tubers can be really round & look almost like a bulb especially if it's a pot tuber.
If you can't post a picture then go to the Colorado Dahlia Society site & look at the tubers on a few of the pages where the digging instructions are & see if any look like what you purchased.
Since it's really late to be getting dahlias in the northern hemisphere I'd wonder if you weren't sold something else.
Here is a link that might be useful: page 4 digging dahlias
Its the first on this bush this year, so so far no...;-]
Last year, however, I was pleased with the volume. The only down-side is that if you don't dead head soon enough, you end up with quite a mess on the ground beneath it. The petals, because they're lacinated, really look ugly when dead.
Cheers,
Russ
Viking, that certainly is a nice white. But how is it you can post this in January? Making up for lack of posting time in summer? Just curious.
I lost my big white blooms over winter 1-2 yrs ago and miss them. Low and behold, amid my perennial arose a large white Fleur plant that made it through our cold soggy winter. Not unheard of, but it was the only dahlia I left in the ground to survive winter this year. We'll see if it's strong enough to bloom this year now.
Perhaps I should! That full, wavery form is growing on me, and I've just read about Lady Darlene elsewhere with positive reviews.
I'll eagerly await more from you linht... and soon will post some new ones here. Our season is in fits and starts: slow cold June, mostly decent July, and recent heat so I should have some new offerings in the next couple weeks.
Thanks, Viking! I was wondering what to do about the name, Ha! And I've now had three and a half blooms (the Rebecca Lynn is so tiny that I'm not really counting it), so now I guess I'm a journeyman? or maybe an apprentice? HaHa. Today I looked over a list of Dahlias that grow well in the South for next year. It's never too early, right?
That Hulin's carnival is still lovely. It really opened up almost all the way today. It's about 4" across, maybe just a little more. Thanks for being so supportive!
That's a lovely sight Russ. I've never had a plant with that many blooms except possibly a short little dahlia with tiny blooms. Nice!
Good advice from Huey. And keep in mind that some varieties just don't put out many flowers no matter what you do.
I disbud with a finger nail, no time to get a shears involved. Top, break off the initial growth tip as you read at dahlia.org, with a snap of thumb and forefinger when the plant has more moisture: early a.m. or evening. That really helps the plant send out more branches early on.
Good luck, and remember there's always next year to practice something new.
Thanks, everybody.
Russ-nice plant. I appreciate the advice...it's the patience thing again. Looked today when I cut two blooms, and there were a few more, but not many.
Huey, thanks so much for the link. I'd had trouble getting in touch with any organizations here in the South, so that helps a lot. I am in the Houston area, very humid these days, and quite hot. So I look forward to a long season of flowers.
Poochella! I was beginning to wonder where you were and if you were okay. Hadn't seen you in a while. Thanks again for the disbudding advice, that's what I did, so I was hoping I hadn't done anything wrong. I'm already combing your image gallery from last year to get some ideas, and I'm going to use Huey's list too since i'm so far south. I'm going to try some bigger ones next year. Can't wait.
Here's today's bouquet, the two flowers aren't very complimentary, but they are the only two I had, except for a tiny tiny pink Rebecca Lynn, I think.
That is a beautiful color- perfect for autumn or anytime, really.
What do you call the second bud? The little side buds, or the actual second bud to form on the plant?
The bud that dropped off was just to the side of this one.