3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Being my first year with dahlias and all...I'm no expert. Sounds like Poochella knows what she's talking about. I've found that a 'frog' does nicely in holding up blooms to show. I'm talking about those flat round things that have little spikes sticking up to hold the stems. I also use a little bleach in my wash water for vases and bowls for flowers, then they are squeaky clean for the next time - no bacteria. I have a lot of short 15 - 24" bush varieties this year and the flower stems are very short - maybe maximum 4" and often just an inch or 2. I've been using small pretty bowls with a frog to hold 3 or 4 blossoms. They come out looking rather Asian in influence.
poochella has excellent ideas on preparing dahlias for "show" as i call it.....many friends cant stop looking at them....ive been gardening many years....but really got into dahlias bout 5 yrs ago...and love them.....they take up more of my space every year.....good luck..
We use green metal fence posts to tie up in the gardens where we grow dahlias for show. They are tied up about every foot or so. I don't think you'll ever find anything that doesn't show & will hold up the big dahlias well. I know some growers use tomato cages & some use rebar but we've found for the big ones that the fence posts work best- & they're green so sort of look OK. In the big garden for rows of seedlings & seed parents we use Christmas tree twine & string it through holes in crossbars-- see the pictures in our "Seedling" album. The picts. are towards the end around pages 5 - 6 -7 or so.
Here is a link that might be useful: Wynne's Picture Albums
plantlady2....we also like the green metal fence posts for the large tall dahlias.....for the shorter to medium ones we use concrete wire made into large cages...but i also put a stake by them when the tuber is planted.....and tie to it when small.....
I checked the Big List & couldn't find anyone selling the Zufall introductions but I did find them in the 20 year Composite Listing of dahlias so there might be a chance that someone out there still grows some of them but doesn't show or sell them. You should ask on a couple of the other dahlia message sites like the one below. Good luck & sorry I couldn't find much out for you.
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlias
Yes, Diane- the Green Thang is quite a character- every year we get a few of this kind of mutant- one more reason not to sell seeds. We usually take one of them to the shows & amongst all the perfection, guess who gets the most attention??? Of course it's the Green Thangs & EEEKK!!- probably one of the most asked for dahlias this year & with the worst form of any cactus!! The people have spoken & they like WEIRD >:)
Do not water them and do not put them in plastic at this point...if you do not have time to divide them, you may store them in peat moss and/or vermiculite and place them in a big brown sack or cardboard box..they need to breathe...there are some excellent web site with information on dividing and storing...everyone seems to have a different way to care for their tubers...don't water and store them in pastic though,they will rot...
www.dahlias.net
sfdahlia.org
Have fun!
I think the one of the pros is that the plant won't be subject to rot and is readily growing, unlike a tuber which will take time to sprout and grow. But they'll all catch up sooner or later :)
I think I've read that a plant grown from a cutting, which is what you're getting, will not produce as many tubers the following fall. Unless you value extra tubers, then you have nothing to lose buying a growing plant. Except money. Of course, you can easily lose tubers to rot early in the season as well (tons of experience there LOL) so I don't know if the pros outweigh the cons here or not.
Plantlady or others with cutting experience, what is your take on the tuber count from cuttings- started dahlias?
6 of one & 1/2 dozen of the other. You can get damp-off with cuttings as easily as you can rot a tuber! I did some cuttings last year but we didn't get as many tubers from those plants as we got from plants grown from tubers-- however- the plants were just as nice in the garden as the tuber-grown ones. I do know that I would be really careful & order from someone like Kevin Larkin at Corralitos who I hear does a good job- & not from someplace like Spring Hill for instance-- ordered some other kinds of plants from a couple of those places in my younger & not so well informed days & the plants were about 2" tall & all dried out- blah!
Mist them well with a spritz of water. A few times in a few days if needed. I haven't found anything to plump up the really spongy ones though. You might have better luck putting them in some medium and spritzing that periodically until spring, rather than just in a bag. I don't know. But I do know that feeling of getting tired handling tubers.
Congratulations Sharon on both your career path and on getting your tubers up and divided. Smokey is a big brute isn't it? I bet some of mine have weighed a pound easily, but that is the exception.
You have some beauties there- now to look forward to spring. So far, I've only lost 2 skinny Spartacus tubers and am checking others regularly.
Congratulations again!
Thanks for the encouragement.
Yes Smokey was big like a potato. I wish I had more than one. My other Smokey is in a pot that froze solid.
I look forward to seeing some of these bloom next year. I planted them too late this year so half of them only had a single bloom or didn't bloom at all. I didn't get to see Bella S, Moor Place or Bishop's Children. All those tubers from Bishop's Children were a shock since I planted it from seed. Gerrie Hoek produced the most blooms and tubers. The most tying up too. I think next time Gerrie Hoek should be planted in a large cage.
Sharon.
Here is Cherry orange I found at Betty's Amazing Dahlias
http://www.bettysamazingdahlias.com/cherry_orange.htm
and cherry drop from the same place
http://www.bettysamazingdahlias.com/cherry_drop.htm
Hope those links work, if not just go to her catalog, it's all alphabetized. As a matter of fact, just use the link below! LOL
Here is a link that might be useful: dahlia list here
Must not be anyone watching in your area. Yes I am bumping you down - sorry