3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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!)
Thanks for the information. I was leaning towards L'ancresse, but if it is hard to grow, I think I will choose something else. I will check out your other suggestions. I should have realized that when Swan Island says they are 4" inches that they wouldn't be quite that big because they never are.
Thanks again,
Linda
The first time I grew L'ancresse, it didn't do that well. This year, the plant itself is over 8 feet, and it's constantly blooming with multiples. So had this year been the only year for L'ancresse, I would have scratched my head at Ted's indication that it's not easy to grow. I do like my L'ancresse, but since I've never grown some of Ted's other suggestions, I can't say that they aren't better. Easier is always a draw for me!
Thanks Linda,
So are you in Utah? Thats the only place I can think of with UT. lol! This old brain doesn't think to hard nowadays.
I do like not having to dig them up because my lazy self probably wouldn't do it. I am the one that just plants something and then moves it around three times before it finally gets in a perfect spot. Not the best of practice for sure.
Thanks for giving me your feeding program. Obviously it works great from the looks of your pictures. They truely are gorgeous. I bet next year it will be even prettier with all the enlarging you are doing. Good luck with your trade.
Take care and thanks a bunch, Judy
Sorry, Tropic Lover. I have never grown either of those two whites. I really don't like the balls quite as much as some of the other types of dahlias. The only whites I am growing this year are Bowen and a very small white one I can't think of the name of right now. I used to have several of Connell's ball shaped dahlias, but they are long gone.
Dahlias submitted to trial garden must have names or they are rejected. The names are only known by the trial garden director. They are planted in the garden with only numbers to ensure anonymity. The results of the judging is reported to the American Dahlia Society and those varieties that pass with passing scores are published in the ADS Bulletin in December. In the past, some trial gardens have printed some lists after the judging has been completed. This has not been the case in recent years. The policy recently has been to keep the entries anonymous until they winners are published.
In England, all entries are listed on a sign at the trial gardens and the judges can see the list before or after they judge. Probably this is better for the public but worse for the quality of judging.
Beautiful, Beautiful! I only have Sandra and Pam Howden of those and poor Pammy is really having trouble with bugs eating her petals this summer for me also. But when she gets what she wants she can be so beautiful! Sandra is a real favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing your photos!
I've had that too with some of mine. Especially Taratahi Glo. It starts blood red, with a bit of yellow; then washes to more of an orange. This year, it started late; and started with the orange flowers.
I believe it is weather related. I think some dahlias thrive on warmer temps and more sunlight. When mid August, september roll around, my neighbors giant Maple starts to shade my yard for most of the day. That seems to dampen the color on some dahlias.
Just my theory anyway...
Sorry I didn't get a chance to see these beautiful pics of Fire and Ice sooner. I didn't have access to my computer for awhile. What a surprise I got when I saw your post. Just what I've been looking for. For me the flowers are delightful and the height of the plant is just right. Thanks for remembering me. Looking forward to the tuber. I'll get back to you with my address and other details soon. Thanks again.
I havent been on the forun for a long time, and ive just reread all the responses which i had been reading all along, mind you, but ive really enjoyed reading them again. The White dahlia that was the favorite amongst every living noxious insect, slug etc is named "Snow Country". it has thrown some tremendous, large, pristine white blooms. I will grow it again just because of that, but will be more vigilant as it starts to bloom..thanks again!
Linda, I got everything started late this year due to focusing on my expanded vegetable garden, so everything is blooming later than I usually get.
I dont have blooms yet from either of the ones you mentioned. And I have found it that at least 4 of the tubers I got in the trade last year were mis-labled, (I know I got some mixed up myself so I am not worried about it). I hope I get blooms from everything so that I can at least make sure the ID's are correct, and can send you an amended list. We are dipping down to a low of 39 tonight, but then the lows go back to the 50's for a while, so hopefully everything will have a chance to bloom.
I dont have a green house either, but I do start them in pots inside. I pull them out of storage mid April, and if they havnt developed any sprouts, I put them in baggies with a little damp peatmoss. Some take a few weeks to develop anything, After potting them into 6" pots (I chop down the tuber if it is to big) they take at least two weeks to develop anything above the soil, sometimes longer. They then get moved to a window , or outside and then back in if it gets to cold. I never plant them in the ground until June 1st here in WI, but getting a little jump on the weather helps. This year they stayed in pots to long, because I got behind, so my blooms are later than last year. I usually expect the early bloom mid-July, and late blooms by the end of August. This year I still have a few that havent bloomed yet.
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