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dahlias and rain

pdshop
16 years ago

I will think carefully next year about big dahlias and rain. I have just had to cut 8 large heads that have bent over the cages. Is there a solution to this?

Comments (12)

  • oxmyx
    16 years ago

    use bamboo stakes

  • dahliaboy
    16 years ago

    Use umbrellas

  • pdshop
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Dahlia boy, your of course were kidding.

  • dahliaboy
    16 years ago

    Not really.........if I know there's gonna be a heavy rain, I'll cut some of my large blooms....my wife loves to make arrangements, and/or I'll attach umbrellas to stakes and temporarily stick them in the ground where the large blooms are. Anyone who seriously shows dahlias uses umbrellas, especially to cover and protect the red ones from bleaching out and spotting from rain drops.
    DB

  • Poochella
    16 years ago

    Very sound advice DB. I also cut ahead of time if it's going to rain any length of time.

    The other thing that helps is to tie up the stems high up, corralling them closer together to better support the heavy flower. You can untie this when the rain is over. Helps to beat/shake the water out of those blooms too, to reduce the weight on the stems.

  • jroot
    16 years ago

    I think that I may give up on the dinner plate sizes for that very reason. Poochella has given great advice.

  • pdshop
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thank you all for the suggestions. Now, there is a dispute on putting dahlias into hot water first and than moving them to cold water. Mine don't last more than a day. Any suggestions?

  • misslucinda
    16 years ago

    You are sort of hijacking your own post===e.g. changing the subject.

    You want the hot water because it will promote water uptake and thusly set the blooms. Don't switch to cold. Just put the "hot water" dahlias in a cool, dark place and let 'em drink for a couple of hours. The water will cool naturally. Also check forum for other advice, including mine.

    If they are only lasting a day it makes me wonder if you are picking your blooms when they are on the decline. Find a few which have just "popped" try the tip above, along with cutting the stems under water and pricking (a la Pochella)the lower part of the stems with a pin, and see what happens.

    Oh and ps--oasis is a killer for any bulb. Clear water, please!

  • covella
    16 years ago

    If you have a metal frog, I think that prolongs the life of the bloom as they can't close up and stop taking up water with a metal prong inserted up the stem.

    I like warm water for dahlias. Harder stems like roses - I use very hot water. Also, if you can pick in the early morning or even at sundown I think that works better than mid-day.

  • Poochella
    16 years ago

    Miss Lucinda makes a good point about the age of the flower you're cutting. I cut them before they're fully open, early in the a.m. or late evening when they have the most moisture, as alyrics said.

    It also helps to hydrate the plants well at least 6 hours before cutting- makes a big difference in how long they last and how they look. I just had a vase last a full 6 days looking very well; never changed the water. Put the vase outside to keep cool at night, if you have such conditions. That helps too.

  • Noni Morrison
    16 years ago

    This evening I leave on vacation and am due back with the first frosts,(most likely). I am thinking about the beautiful dahlias I have had this year, what to get rid of, what to try for next year.

    I am thinking of moving my cut flower business more to a "Cut your own" with conditioned flowers for sale too, but putting fewer out at the roadside to die in the summer sun waiting for customers has been just too heart breaking! GReat a few days in the summer when they really sell, and sad on too many others when no one stops by.

    As I ponder changes in my garden for next year, I am wondering what other Northwest growers have particularly liked for cut flowers this year? Did you try any new ones that were terrific, or are you ready to toss any of the old ones because something better has come along?

    Poochella, of course I am mainly asking you this, but also welcome opinions from any others!

    Here are the changes I am thinking about...Move all those beautiful curvy cactus type ones to my personal garden...they are neither popular with my customers nor do they hold up well in the cutting business....However, they make wonderful mounds of summer long color in the garden! (These would include Star's Favorite, a peach and cream one, a coral and yellow, and a white with lavender brushing.)

    Increase the number of sturdy waterlily type flowers...Have particularly loved them this year. Need to add Bracken Ballerina and any other Bracken one's I can find that I do not have! I do have Wildwood Marie, Pam Howden, Bracken Loreli,September Morn, Angel Dust, Painted Desert , Chilson's Pride. Bracken Rose has yet to bloom for me this year so will probably miss it.

    Increase the Balls and Pom poms. Find some good B size Dahlias that will hold up well to picking.. I have some. I am also in love with. Get more of the Karma dahlias, though I find them harder to get going and growing into their potential. Wish I had a better source for small amounts of them! This year Bluebeard and Bergers Record (Red) were prolific cactus types for cutting.

    And then there are the old friends I greet every year....Brandon James, Ruby Red, Procyon, Cornell, James Albin, Gay Princess, Grandma June, Brookside Cooley, etc.

    Oh yes, My favorite "Trade" has been Tartan...Thanks to the nice guy who sent it to me!

    I would love any input on next years list!

    PS, POOCH, would you beleive I lost Mazama last year in moving plants? I miss her!

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