3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Hi dahlialove
That 'penelope' is a beauty. I don't see the orange you mention but the yellow/lavender combo is fantastic. And of course it is nothing like the catalogs says a real Penelope should be.
My "Penelope" has morphed into a dinner plate - mostly red with dirty yellow gold in the middle but the kicker is all leaves have white tips. It looks a lot like (and actually may be) a Nick Sr, though the pics of Nick are much more red than mine. It is a Semi cactus and I actually cannot make up my mind if I like it or not. I am NOT a fan of Bodacious either - too busy for my taste - which may explain why Nick Sr would not be a favorite. But I moved it away from where I sit in the yard to the back section and it is starting to 'grow' on me. (Maybe out of sight, out of mind?)
I may have taken a pic of it and am getting the photos developed now so I may have a picture soon, which I will post as a "Anybody know this dahlia?" thread later. For now, I know some of you have Nick Sr and I wonder if yours have white rolled tips and if some are more gold than red?
David
In the morning they are in the leaves of a lateral. I take the leaf in my hand and squeeze. I'm 2 for 2 today. Waiting for some Orthene to be mailed too me. Hope that helps. It is so hot here that the leaves droop over in the daytime. I was afraid of putting on an oil that would make them heavier.?
Thanks for compliments everyone! I started most of my dahlias in the house in March so they are much further ahead than they would have been.
I really like Akita too! That one was an impulse buy at Walmart and turned out really well. It has 3 more large buds and are all starting to open up.
I have a few others blooming too, I will try to get some pictures of them soon.
Linda
Well for the first time I saw the squirrel jump up on my dahlia and bent a branch down. Not sure if my idea will work but i will try and keep a dish of bread and sunflowers seed maybe if he eats the food he will leave my dahlia alone. He was eating the mullberries but now they are finished and the birdfeeder have safflower seed and the squirrels don't like that.
Lorna
No dahlias in there but I think the chipmunks or grey squirrels are chewing on the very bottom of the stems? Is that possible and what can be done before they eat them all down!? Also something really likes the taste of petunia leaves and some flowers... what could that be?
Are these beetles daytime or nighttime predators? The past two years my dahlias have been victimized by what I believe is called Brown Asiatic Beetles. They only come out of the ground at night to feed and mate. They are smaller than a Japanese Beetle and are copper colored. They leave a wet area where they suck on the leaves. I was going out several times at night with a flashlight and hand-picking (a thumb and forefinger are deadly weapons) but of course you can't stay out there all night. I finally lightly dusted the plants and the ground around them with diatomaceous earth and put a bug zapper light close by. After this I found very few on the plants but every morning there were dozens in the water tray of the zapper.They seem to be more attracted to the light than the plants. I no longer spray with any bug killers because in hot,humid weather the plants looked worse after spraying than they did after the beetles fed on them. Thank God they are only around for a few weeks.
Do you mean 'Bahama Mama?"
Whichever it is, it's beautiful.
Yes it is called 'Bahama Mama..Thanks for looking and commenting. I hope I get a lot of tubers from this one. Next year I will put them all together and make a big splash.