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| I missed out on ordering for this year, so to ease my sadness, I am planning my dahlia order for next year. I really want to do a small bed with bicolor dahlias -- the types that all have the color in the middle and white on the tips. After combing through vendor websites, here's what I've found in the different colors.
RED: Bert Pitt, Duet, Idaho Red
I will only choose one of each color though, so I need some help. I am only going based on catalog pictures and descriptions and many of them, especially the purple ones, seem to have the same descriptions. Here's what I really want:
What do you think of the varieties I've found so far? Do any choices seem better than others? Other choices I should consider? Thanks for any input you can offer! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Look at "Seattle" for a larger, early, short bi-color in bright yellow. A La Mode is prolific in more of a medium orange with white tips. Skipley Spot was nice in rich red with small white tips. Rothsay Reveller, Edinburgh, and Ryan C are all good and have been roughly equivalent in numbers of blooms, but they have been less than 6" size here where I fight for sun. Aitara Diadem is gorgeous! |
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| Thanks so much for the input Poochella! I will add those beauties to my list! Oh, and I noticed I mistakenly typed "Olson's Pride" for the one orange bicolor I found -- it should be "Olson's Folly". Not sure where my brain was at there! :-) |
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| I have had a bad time with insects chewing off the white tips on bi-color dahlias. Poochella and other PNW gardeners, do you know who the culpret is and how to stop this from happening? I see ear wigs among them when it happens but not sure if they are the ones doing it. It is higher up then slug damage on leaves. I had Olsen's folly and it was cute but no two quite the same. Sometimes stipes on petals, sometimes white tips, sometimes solid orange and even red. |
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| Hi Liza, Any time I've had petal damage it's earwigs or the occasional caterpillar, usually the former though. Haven't seen many of either at all this dry year, and I hope it stays way. Hope you're having a good year there on the island. |
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| I grew Seattle last year and liked it very much. For me, though, some of the blooms were bright yellow while others ranged towards peachy, even getting hints of rose once in a while. I have no idea what factors contribute to color variations (I'd expect weather.) |
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| Yes, Poochella, I am having an excellent year over here on the Island! I had both knees replaced last year so I am really enjoying gardening again! Planted 130 tubers this year, and have divisions still sprouting in the pile of excesses that i think I will go throw into the ground just in case one of them is a replacement for something I love that did not come up. I also bought one of those "Dinnerplate" mixes at Costco, and am enjoying seeing what blooms from it. So far I have a very pretty soft lavender, and a bright yellow. I have cut about a dozen dahlias all ready and look forward to the full spread of them! My older son is getting married at the end of August and guess who is doing the flowers? Yup! So I have planted a number in the peach/pink or deep purple range for that. Of course nothing is more beautiful then Hillcrest Kismet, but one needs the color in other sizes and shapes too. What do you do specifically for earwigs? I wish they would leave my Bert Pitt alone! I do garden organically but these little monsters are defeating me because you never see them, only the damage. |
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| Glad you got new knees. Congratulations on the upcoming wedding! You are ahead of me in bloom time but the dahlias are growing by leaps and bounds now. I don't have that many earwigs but if I find one I cut them in half with the ever present shears. None of the clever little traps discussed online have ever worked for me: the stinky cat food in a bottle, inverted cans, hose sections etc.- all caught zero, except a couple of flies in the catfood trap. Our neighbor had free range chickens and ducks for a year and they might have really helped curb the population. The worst year was when I lined pathways with wood chips- huge mistake. That did nothing but give the 'wigs a thousand places to hide. I'm knocking on wood the population stays scant again. I don't use any chemicals other than fertilizer and Sluggo Plus. Maybe that's what's keeping the earwigs down. Few slugs this year too. |
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- Posted by plantlady2008 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 7, 09 at 19:34
| Sluggo Plus is really good at getting rid of both earwigs & slugs/snails....and it's organic, too. You can get it at Steubers in Snohomish. It's a bit pricy but you don't have to use a lot of it & it lasts through rain. |
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| RED: Bert Pitt Very nice but a maroon purple red Duet, The easiest to grow and very nice Idaho Red. nice cut flower Rejman's Polish Kid easily the best red and white bi color. Santa Claus wonderful and easy to grow Camano Rascal needs cool weather but excellent then ORANGE: Olson's Pride Not very consistent but impressive none the less. YELLOW: Lemon Meringue very nice grows tall PURPLE: Sharky, excellent and probably best purple and white |
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- Posted by sturgeonguy 5a ON (My Page) on Sat, Jul 18, 09 at 14:20
| FWIW, I had terrible luck with my tipped bi-colors last year and have dropped them from my varieties. A La Mode, in particular, was a significant disappointment with only one bloom being properly colored. Most were as if the color had been in a plastic bag and wasn't squished in the center (but instead, to one side or another.) Some interesting mixes, but not what I expected. YYMV (your mileage may vary...) Good Luck Cheers, |
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- Posted by superpony123 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 20, 09 at 13:37
| I LOVE Duet's ! they are a VERY strong, deep, blood-red in the middle with bright white tips :) |
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