3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
just a little advice about the earwigs (i had this same problem too) if you spray the flowers with soapy water every couple of days once the but starts to open a bit (i mean a very tiny bit, petals showing even a little) about every 2 or 3 days, then the earwigs will not eat them. Soapy water, there isn't much in the way of garden pests that it doesn't work to repel.
Every Dahlia vendor's website I visit has pictures of their flowers planted in rows. Seems like a great way to grow them especially if you'll be using them for cutting. Wish I had the space to have a nice, well-organized place to plant mine in easy-to-weed rows!
Dahlia seeds go through stages of development that can be seen in their color. They go from green, to white to gray to dark gray and finally black. The fatter seeds that have a "baby bump" in them are the most likely to sprout. However, if you get some seeds from some varieties that do not make very many seeds, keep them all as even some of least likely candidates will sprout. Dahlia breeders go through great effort to get seeds from some varieties and would never throw away a seed because that may be the only one to sprout. If a variety makes a bazillion seeds for you, certainly you can sort them into the darkest black, fat seeds and toss the rest.
Beautiful!, My favorite is the Trelyn Rhiannon, I may have to hunt that one down.
And I too am loving the extended season we are having up north. I'm not sure if I have ever had this many Dahlias this late before. As I sit here writing, I can see 13 vases of Dahlias in my house. Looks like we are going to get a real frost next week though. Oh well spring is only 7 months away (isn't that depressing?)
Hi, Your flowers are beautiful, I especially love Otto's Thrill. I would be interested in trading with you this fall. I have already arranged a trade with another GW member for this fall. If your interested, send me an email (email is on my member page) and your list of dahlias and I will send you mine and you can decide which ones you would like to trade, assuming they make plenty of tubers. I have 27 varieties and most all of them have done really well this year and the plants are huge so I expect I should have a lot of tubers to trade.
Thanks,
Linda
My goodness you have some great looking dahlias. Those first two are so happy looking!! Seattle and the unknown are beautiful but I absolutely love the color of Otto. Gorgeous!! Mine are starting to put on a show too, at least the ones that are still standing. Ordered a few more for next spring so we shall see how they do. Take care, Judy
Hi, I asked this same question about a month ago. My post is on the 2nd page of this forum. I open a separate browser and go to photobucket and upload your pictures on there. You can also resize them there if you don't want them to be really big. Under each picture you will see a small box and if you click on the HTML code that will copy your picture, then go back to your post on the garden web and hit the ctrl V and that should paste the html code in your post. Make sure you paste it at the beginning of a new line. I also like to hit enter a few time between pictures so there is space between them.
When you preview your message, you should see the pictures then. I hope this is not too confusing, If you have any teenagers around, they can probably show you how to do it. I had to have my son help me the first time.
Goodluck
Linda
Favorite AA?? Not sure about that - I do like Spartacus and Vassio Meggos; but those are technically A dahlias (although I've seen Vassio Meggos win largest in show).
Linda, I love hot tamale too. Such a great color and form - it really does glow. I haven't found a photo that does it justice. It is best seen in person. I posted mine last year here:
Here is a link that might be useful: my 2010 bloom photos
Honnat, I agree with you about Hot Tamale, the color just doesn't come out right in pictures. It is just so pretty in person. I just picked 5 of them and brought them in the house.
I ordered a few more big ones from Swan Island today since I won a gift certificate in the photo contest they have. I am getting Vassio Meggos, Mango Madness, Snowbound and Shockwave. Can't wait to see them next year!
I love the pictures on your post from last year, do you have any new ones for this year?
Linda
Hi Nemo2009, I desire to learn how to grow dahlias hydroponically. I would love what ever information you care to share on how you are doing that, what equipment you are using, time frames for planting, how to fertilize, outdoors, etc.? Thanx, dahlianut
Hello Dahlianut.Glad to hear from you. It would help me if you could give me some idea of your hydroponic background. I'm going to assume that you know nothing about hydroponics, but you may know a great deal.
Hydroponics involves growing plants in an inert medium, with the grower supplying all of the plant's nutritional needs through the nutrient solution which the grower administers to his plants in one of several ways. The system I use is called "ebb-and-flow". Some people call it "fill-and-drain". In my set-up I supply nutrient solution from a reservoir. The solution is pumped up from the reservoir (actually, a 32-gallon garbage can sunk 2 feet below ground level) to supply all of the pots serviced by that one reservoir. The tank (reservoir) is controlled by a timer and runs 25 minutes, sufficiently long to fill the twelve 14-inch plastic pots in that set-up. (I have three such set-ups). After 25 minutes the pump is switched off and the pots drain, by gravity, for 15 minutes back into the tank. This fill-and drain cycle is repeated throughout the daylight hours. Depending on the size and stage of growth of the plants and especially on the weather, the amount and nutrient content of the solution will be altered (sometimes dramatically) in the course of 24 hours and must be checked and corrected daily (a pain in the neck, but absolutely necessary). Throughout the growing season the plants require all the usual dahlia-fussing (disbudding, disbranching, bloom-removal, etc.).
The medium I use in the pots is a commercial product called Turface, obtainable from John Deere Landscaping (a branch of the tractor company). It is a calcined (baked) clay, with excellent drainage and an ideal fluid-to-air ratio. Its primary use is as a soil-conditioner, but it works very well in my set-up. Its good drainage means that it is almost impossible to overwater the plants or the tubers. I have had no trace of rot or mold. But, by the same token, it does require very frequent watering (which the pumps handle very well).
Obviously, there is a great deal more you want/need to know, but I'll stop here until I get some feedback from you.
nemo2009
For that you need more than what I know!!!
On the link, scroll down to "Leaving dahlias in the ground over winter".
Here is a link that might be useful: info for dahlias
Dear ladybugsmon192: I raise dahlias in Marin county, Ca. Dig
them up in early Jan. That way you can see how many more
tubers you have of each variety and the joy of the "free" expansion of your tubers is exhilarating. Be sure to label them as quickly as possible as an unlabeled tuber is a "weed". How to divide tubers is shown in pics on the internet and you have to see how its done once and then you are off.
Join a local dahlia society and you will have all the expertise you need at your fingertips. They probably have a
local "dahlia" dell that they maintain and you can volunteer
as much or as little as you want to gain experience.
yes, it is the mystic illusion, my GF wanted one so we picked one up and in 2 months id has doubled in size and we have 5 flowers with another 12 ready to open up! they are beautiful. we also have the hypnotic pink one that has about 10 flowers on it!
Eric
Seems a little silly to respond to a 4 year old thread but I couldn't resist. I saw a Mystic Illusion last summer at a very pricy nursery in a display, no idea what it was, brand new gardener. After I made the nice young man track one down for me I took it home and spent the next 6 weeks killing it. So this year I learned a ton about dahlias, searched everywhere and finally found two plants, put them in a big half barrel and they have been doing GREAT all summer. They did stop blooming during the hottest part of the season but have totally bounced back, I think there are 10 blooms on them right now (Oct 1). I am going to try storing the tubers this year, wish me luck (and get some of these yourself, they are amazing!)
I like to use x-acto knife. Cindy
I love the Gardenman Scissors too, which I bought form Lobaughs.
The handles are a flexible vinyl that is easier on the hands, and the long pointed blades get into the tight spaces. Also, you can sharpen the blades when they get dull. I use mine for everything and have multiple pairs.