3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Thanks on the pix. I enjoy others' photos too.
Lucky Number might be your number one above.
Here's one below from here for comparison.
And coincidentally, I found those very red spotches on a few petals on one plant this very afternoon. That's a first for me. I have no idea if it's genetics in the plant, or birds spitting berry juice indiscriminately, or what. Very odd, and by now I've forgot which plant it's on, but I'll find it and get a photo.
Beautiful...sure loooks like my 1st pic here. Thank you!
As for the splotches, it has to be genetics..when the buds are just starting to open on my plant, I can see the splotches already in there. Just that one plant though. I'd love to see pics of your 'splotchies' lol.
I check maybe once or twice to make sure they aren't rotting. But I think you should look up your local dahlia society and ask somebody down the road. I don't know how many below freezing days you have and how far down it goes. I think I was at a meeting once in ATL when it snowed about 4 inches and the city and I-75 shut down for days.
No, I dont think so..I thought it might be the 3rd pic I have here, until it opened..it's too pink..but when the bud was opening it was such a dark purple I thought it would be it for sure. So I'm still waiting for that one, if I even have it. It should be a law that things have to be labeled properly when sold, lol.
I will keep posting as I get new blooms though :)
This is my first year with the bigger dahlia plants, and I have leanred alot! Main 2 things being..get the stakes up early, like at planting.. before the get big..And label the stakes.
I don't put extra holes in the pots but I have experimented with soil mixtures. I used straight Pro-mix out of the bag and it was too moisture retentive and I didn't get good tuber growth. This year I mixed in aged compost and aged mulch in for more drainage. I fertilized with Mighty Plant which was good stuff. I also planted with bone meal. My pots range from prob 20 to 60 gallon. You have to leave some space for the tubers to grow. I used to fill the bottom of the 60 gallon pots with pop cans to make them lighter, but found the dahlia roots growing through them all the way to the bottom, so they wanted the extra space. I also plant shallow and add soil as the shoots come up.
What KIND of miracle grow did you use? If it had a high 1st number, then you are encouraging it to grow high. If it had a higher middle number, then you are encouraging flowers.
I pinch only in the early summer ( June ). I also strip only the bottom 4 inches of leaves to get them away from the soil, and thus discouraging mold on the leaves from the soil. Was it in lots of sun? They don't grow well if they don't get sun. Even partial sun is a problem for mine.
Bring the tubers in for the winter, and try them again next year.
Well I guess it could be a couple of things. I fertilized it with regular old MiracleGro All Purpose Plant Food, which does not give the concentrations. However, it is right next door to a miniature rose which I did fertilize with a high nitrogen formula. Maybe some did leak onto the dahlia area. I guess that could have done it.
The sun also does decline in this spot in about mid August as it goes lower in the sky. But the mini rose is still blooming so it more than likely was the nitrogen. Next year I will have to be careful to separate them.
No it won't effect the tubers. Probably a bit late for the plants to push out new leaves if they are totally brown. I just remove the worst looking leaves. PM is best controlled culturally or with a systemic fungicide. I had some pretty bad this year myself.
pdshop, Zoombrowser takes up approximately 90% of my current harddrive space! Yes, Photobucket is easy. Just sign up for free, or pay a small annual fee and store more photos. Then save photos from zoombrowser to your PC, then upload to Photobucket for permanent storage.
Good luck. We'll be waiting to see your dahlia even if we can't identify it.
Thanks for sharing Lizalily!
Many blessings in this endeavor as the ideas take shape and form. I found myself about a week or so ago, looking ahead to next season's Dahlia's.
I am enjoying so much, my first Dahlia(purchased last year) 'coccinea'. It has been in an area that probably receives just a few hours direct sun. I trimmed it back, for a reason that doesn't come to mind right now, a few months ago. As a result it has grown into a wonderfully organic, relaxed form with branches dipping over and down its pot, then reaching back upward. I just love the energy it is giving off. I am feeling such joy about it. And, since it is now receiving less sun, as we move into Autumn, its blooms are lasting about a week, with the first being about a week ago, ruby red, with a bit of purple.
Very Best,
GreenD
Miss Lucinda makes a good point about the age of the flower you're cutting. I cut them before they're fully open, early in the a.m. or late evening when they have the most moisture, as alyrics said.
It also helps to hydrate the plants well at least 6 hours before cutting- makes a big difference in how long they last and how they look. I just had a vase last a full 6 days looking very well; never changed the water. Put the vase outside to keep cool at night, if you have such conditions. That helps too.
This evening I leave on vacation and am due back with the first frosts,(most likely). I am thinking about the beautiful dahlias I have had this year, what to get rid of, what to try for next year.
I am thinking of moving my cut flower business more to a "Cut your own" with conditioned flowers for sale too, but putting fewer out at the roadside to die in the summer sun waiting for customers has been just too heart breaking! GReat a few days in the summer when they really sell, and sad on too many others when no one stops by.
As I ponder changes in my garden for next year, I am wondering what other Northwest growers have particularly liked for cut flowers this year? Did you try any new ones that were terrific, or are you ready to toss any of the old ones because something better has come along?
Poochella, of course I am mainly asking you this, but also welcome opinions from any others!
Here are the changes I am thinking about...Move all those beautiful curvy cactus type ones to my personal garden...they are neither popular with my customers nor do they hold up well in the cutting business....However, they make wonderful mounds of summer long color in the garden! (These would include Star's Favorite, a peach and cream one, a coral and yellow, and a white with lavender brushing.)
Increase the number of sturdy waterlily type flowers...Have particularly loved them this year. Need to add Bracken Ballerina and any other Bracken one's I can find that I do not have! I do have Wildwood Marie, Pam Howden, Bracken Loreli,September Morn, Angel Dust, Painted Desert , Chilson's Pride. Bracken Rose has yet to bloom for me this year so will probably miss it.
Increase the Balls and Pom poms. Find some good B size Dahlias that will hold up well to picking.. I have some. I am also in love with. Get more of the Karma dahlias, though I find them harder to get going and growing into their potential. Wish I had a better source for small amounts of them! This year Bluebeard and Bergers Record (Red) were prolific cactus types for cutting.
And then there are the old friends I greet every year....Brandon James, Ruby Red, Procyon, Cornell, James Albin, Gay Princess, Grandma June, Brookside Cooley, etc.
Oh yes, My favorite "Trade" has been Tartan...Thanks to the nice guy who sent it to me!
I would love any input on next years list!
PS, POOCH, would you beleive I lost Mazama last year in moving plants? I miss her!
I am happy to say that, while there was some damage to the extremities, "the good news" is that the plants have all pulled through. I trimmed off several pails full of blooms(5 gallon pails), and blackened leaves this morning, and things look a lot healthier. I also had to cut back several of my brugmansia which were under the sheets. The frost was so hard, it went right through the sheets. I don't think I've seen that before at this time of year.
Anyway, I thought I would pass on "the good news".
Nice flowers. Lemon Meringue is such a sunny yellow. I wonder if your white one with slightly split tips couldn't be Gitts Attention- a 4-6" informal decorative.
The pink/yellow laciniated one I wonder about Nenekazi, linked below, but not sure that fits. It could be a faded version, or an entirely different dahlia.
They're all pretty! If you dig your tubers up for winter, try a No Blot Ink in a Pencil to write right on the damp tubers. They work very well. Sharpies work on dry skinned tubers.
Here is a link that might be useful: Nenekazi
Yes, I use my potato fork to dig mine.