3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Oh you smooth talker..... I take full credit for pushing the camera button and that's all I do, believe me. I think the ability to post multiple photos per post is limited/allowed by the particular forum itself. Here, you can post many in a row. (I don't know the limit.) Elsewhere, it's one and one only, per post. Photobucket is very easy and useful online, in case you want to look at that as a photo storage provider.
When I am limited to one photo per post, I find it easiest to then go on in the same post to include links to more photos for people to view i.e. photobucket URLs. like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/poochella/New%20Dahlias%202005/aerialviewbigbed.jpg
That's the easiest way around the one photo limit I've found. What I want to look at is your and others' photos! So please promise to post some when able.
Hope that helps.
Nikki-- My all time fav. is Moonlight Sonata - you can see it in our "Dahlias from all over album" on page 2 or in the "Dahlia Shows" album. But then there's Wyn's King Salmon & Wyn's Farmer John & Spike & Zorro & ... how can you pick a favorite when there's over 10,000 varieties???
(Have you ever grown Nikki K?? Bright red, lacinated & called Nikki- what more could you ask for??
Here is a link that might be useful: Wynne's Dahlia Albums
Ohhhh My! Very nice collection you have there! I could have WAY too much fun there! lol LOVE the Aztec Gold. That one in particular I'm anxious to grow...and Papageno as well.....the rest are gorgeous too....but...oh how to pic a fav!?! I'll have to see at the end of this season and see what mother nature helps to produce lol
Nikki~
(oh and if I could get my hands on a Nikki K would be too sweet! lol)
A lot of the AA's are later to bloom but we get around that by starting them indoors to give them a boost.
If you want the truely BIG blooms, you have to keep the AA plant down to 4-6 blooms so you won't get as long a show as you get with the little ones that you can just keep on cutting & they put out more & more. Some of the AA & A's will put out more blooms if you let them but they won't be as big- on the other hand, we won Best AA & Best Triple AA in 4 shows in a row with some Zorro's - all off of only 2 plants!
Just when you think you've got them figured out they do something to show you who's boss!!
I can't wait to get my Zorro! I'm soo pumped! Then again I'm pretty pumped about ALL my new arrivals in spring lol. I know I want to have all my larger ones in the back row, and really most of my new ones are amongst the B and BB class! So it should be really interesting this year :) I'll for sure be posting pics ;)
Nikki~
Pink Princess is a BB semi-cactus pink. It was originated in 1978 so it's an oldie- quite pretty, too if I remember back to when the husband allowed small dahlias in the gardens! I think it might be lacinated but that might be Park Princess- my brain is failing me - it's late!
Does it always have the large center w/ pollen? If so it's not a waterlily & therefore not Bliss. I think you've probable gotten hold of a mass produced dahlia from somewhere like Home Depot that while pretty in the garden wasn't named other than "Dahlia". It doesn't comform to any of the regular dahlia forms if this is how it looks all the time.
Thanks for the advice guys.
DJeff: Thanks for the heads up on the tuber sales and the growing info. Might try that next year if these bargain basement things can grow in my selected site.
Poochella, thanks for the sun advice. Right now, that's the best place I have. The others are already taken by daffs, iris and tulips, and as well all know, a wet summer does not a happy bulb make. However, my east-side exposure does get almost a full half day of sun, so it would at least be 4-5 hours. My azalea and hydrangea are very happy there, so I am at least hopeful. Also, I look forward to more pix. Wow, but you sure know how to grow 'em. Every time I see one of your shots, it makes me want to dig up the front lawn and make it a Dahlia farm.
Thanks again, and I will keep y'all posted on my success.
My first 2 dahlias I ever grew were from our local hardware store (and I didn't even really know what a Dahlia was! lol) Also, I planted them in the front of our home that gets the morning sun not the full 5-6 hrs straight. I must be doing something right! Last year with the amounts of rain and lack of sun we had I still had a 13" bloom on my Kelvin Floodlight (yellow dinner plate purchaced 3 yrs ago) .....So long as they look healthy when you put them in the ground....I'm sure things will be good :)
Redd~
Anne, here(link)is the closest thing going on Garden Web, only two pages of posts though, so capacity is limitied and posts would be bounced off fairly quickly if there was any volume.
Why don't you just start an official trading post here? That would give people over 100 posts to go back and forth, or email each other.
Here is a link that might be useful: bulb exchange
I'll vote for a Chocolate Dahlia any day! The reason we named it King Salmon was because we couldn't think of a name for it & it was being sent to Whales, UK to a trial garden in 2004. We were at a Federation of NW Dahlia growers workshop & after asking for ideas for names we weren't any closer to naming it. Then Dick Ambrose who is the originator of the "Camano" dahlias (& who knows Walt goes fishing for Kings up in Canada) said "Why not just call it King Salmon?? ...& a name was born!
Now we have to think up 6 new names for 2006 introductions!! Yikes!
Hi this betty, It's hard to tell how many eyes a tuber will have, but aim for one. Rub out or cut off more than one eye that sprouts from the tuber for the healthiest plant. Or cut off extra shoots that emerge from the ground as mentioned.
I'm not sure what you mean by pruning dahlias. You can "top" them, by pinching out the center growth stalk, and you can disbranch them by several methods, but I like laterals: laterals = flowers and if you don't care about size of bloom, then the more the merrier. They definitely call for support, or your flowers will end up on the ground.
The link below might help you. And it might help me too, so I am going to read it thoroughly LOL.
There's another website I've read that addresses contolling the laterals. If I find it, I will post it.
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia care
Thank you. Poochella, I should have said 'pinching back' instead of pruning. Perhaps I do this too early in the season & end up with too many stems - and then I pinch those, etc...
I always stake or use the inverted tom. cages or both. Someone had a comment about the cause for huge hollow stems, - often happens for me on the larger varieties.
All help is truly appreciated.
Oooohhhh very pretty! I just looked it up and here's what it says about Garden Wonder:
-Plants are a tidy 2 feet tall, perfect for border use. Plant in full and enjoy lots of color from summer through fall. We ship plump premium tubers primed for growth in your garden. Order soon, especially for quantities.
And for Duet:
-An extravagantly colorful bi-color. Duet is a very choice garden dahlia. Plants grow strongly to just under 3 feet tall, and produce loads of red-purple and pure white 4-inch flowers. The base of the petals are red, the tips white. It is a showy specimen for cutting, and an eye-catcher in the garden.
Hope that helps! I started Dahlias about 3 yrs ago, and this year I'm making a HUGE order (for my little yard lol) They are a very VERY addicting flower specimen. I know I'm hooked! I'll be getting ones that are 13" accross (the flower that is)
Enjoy!
Redd~
I have successfully grown dahlias in containers. The nice thing about them is that you can move them where you want them. However, you should use as large a container as you can muster. Mine were about 20 inches across and at least a foot deep. That way, there was room for the tubers to develop, they did not dry out as readily, and I could add lots of nice nutritious soil to them. I will use them again this year near my patio. You do have to water more frequently I found ( daily ), and staking is more difficult, thus the deep pot. Mind you, I had the 4 foot varieties in these large pots. If you are only going with the short ones, then staking won't be such a necessity, but you still have to be aware of watering needs.
Actually, I do not find it difficult at all to get the tubers up if planted in the ground. Just remember to use a large gardener's fork, and gently work the soil loose by digging and lifting about a foot away from the plant. Then get your hands into the soil and gently lift the plant, tubers and all. When up, then you can trim the stem back.
Take some photos and post for us all to enjoy once you have them in bloom.
A good place to find out about container gardening is Steve Nowotarski's site- lots of good container dahlias, how to grow them, care for them & some pretty mixed containers to give you lots of ideas & some cool dahlias to look at in the middle of winter!
Here is a link that might be useful: container gardening
I don't blame you for wanting it. It looks awesome. Maybe someone will know a good source, not only in the US, but also in Canada.