JessieC Has anyone ever experienced this? My much anticipated Mystique just started to bloom and the petals just seem to fall off. None of the others are doing that. Any ideas?
The cause of"shattering" or "premature petal drop" on dahlias doesn't seem to be well understood (from the literature I have read). There are varieties that seem to always shatter, varieties that shatter under some conditions, and varieties that never drop their back florets. It sounds like Mystique must belong to the group that shatters under certain conditions. I have a few varieties that shatter under certain conditions but I have never been able to pin down exactly what those conditions are. I once thought it might be high day temps,or high night temps, or high humidity, or low humidity, or dry plants, or mite infestation, or fungicide sprays, or etc. etc. There might be more than one cause. If you figure it out, let me know!☺
