cmcramer We give away amazing bouquets to friends and also enjoy walking through / workiing in the dahlia garden, of course. After an intial pinch back in the April greenhouse, we just let 'em go with some disbudding as time allows. Here's Picasso and Lilac Time, both about 4.5 - 5 feet tall. Love those purple stems on Lilac Time!
JessieC cmcramer those look great! I also love your sturdy looking stakes. How do you get them into the ground?
cmcramer JessieC Poke a hole with a crowbar....pound in ash or cedar stakes using 8 pound maul. Garden looks a little 'stake heavy' until plants grow enough to hide, but those stakes hold up my baling twine trellis.... so they gotta be strong!
Teddahlia Wooden stakes are the 100 year + old method for dahlia staking. I was on a Zoom meeting and Steve Cox from Australia said he still uses wooden stakes and several others in Australia do also. Phil Mingus used to use wooden stakes but switched to rows later on. The stakes are more fun for visitors as you could walk in any direction among the flowers. We use steel t-posts and baling twine and plant in rows.
bloomhjelm More new-to-me varieties. The first is Rusty D. I think the reverse on the petals is gorgeous. Second is Bloomquist Dandelion. Fimbriated blooms are so fun. The last is Innocent Silence. Lemon meringue yellow is a very acceptable form of yellow.
Juliarugula bloomhjelm wow - Rusty D is beautiful! I’ve never seen it before. Hollyhill Toni is so fun and just about ready to explode in bloom. All those buds are one plant. Sandia Cancan - the waterlilies are really so much nicer here once it starts to cool down! Hollyhill Tangelo - love it! Hollyhill Cheers. Ted, do you think HH Cheers is correct for this one? I’ve seen a number of bright orange photos with no purple backs, which is closer to what I expected. I remember you posting photos of an unreleased waterlily with a purple back, and I’m wondering if you think this one might be that instead? Hollyhill Honeygold (sorry about the crispy back petals on a few of these). River’s Coal Mine - enjoying this one! Boy Hollyhill Lawrence really goes crazy with the birds nesting as it ages! (Sorry about the blown center, but the petals were just too fun) Hollyhill Mischief has been such a standout for me this year. My third year growing it, and I keep loving it more. It might have the tightest center of any dahlia in the garden. Hollyhill Zarina. It’s a little unusual that this bloom is slightly incurved. Usually the petals are impeccably straight. Alva’s Supreme - new to me this year. Really lovely - I’m surprised I don’t hear much talk about this variety. All the blooms of Bloomquist Wild are starting to blow, but it’s be really really fun all season. Bright and curly and floriforous.
Juliarugula Teddahlia Is this it? So, is this photo also HH Cheers or is it an unreleased seedling? (I’m not sure if you meant the 2022 photo of Cheers was the first one, or if all three are Cheers, just with some color changes…)
Juliarugula Here’s a photo of a bud opening where the contrast between the front and back is particularly striking.
Honnat Formby Crest (it's not quite as orange as this) Czarny Charakter (it IS this black but centers haven't been great so far)
Justafewdahlias Honnat wow that black color is shocking! I am imagining Halloween flowers with this bloom included
MissyWeitzel Teddahlia I was able to get one tuber of Formby Kaitlin this year but it's not doing great and I doubt I'll see a bloom before frost. I'm bummed.
Krista Teddahlia Formby Kaitlin hasn’t bloomed for me this year yet either, however, the plant is stout, stick-straight, the foliage is enormous and deep green in color, and I have three enormous buds that have formed. Not sure I’ll be in town when they bloom, but I’ll say It’s a very well behaved plant in the garden bed. So that I know what to prepare for, what are the biggest challenges growing this variety?
Krista I fell in love with Edna C at the ADS show this weekend! Was not expecting that at all, didn’t even take a photo — but she’s at the tip top of my wishlist for the fall. Upon our return, blooming through the smokey, golden light from the surrounding wildfires, I was happy to find 20th Ave For Mom making her debut. She’s such a perky, bright pink that’ll be a nice color pop in arrangements!
Teddahlia Formby Kaitlyn was the cats pajamas. Unfortunately, it is very hard to grow. Mine has not bloomed this year either.
Honnat Formby Alpine is the best white I've grown and it's not even close. Long stems and really consistent good form. Best of all - pure white with only rare sliiiight blush. This pic is from 2023 when it was outstanding. I saved all my tubers for a few years and got 90 in the ground this year. And....it flopped. Sick looking plants that I'm building up the courage to yank out. I'll be on the hunt for new stock this winter for sure. I'm as disappointed as my wholesale market that gobbles them up for a premium price compared to similarly sized dahlias.
Juliarugula Krista I’ve had a single bloom from my two Formby Kaitlin plants and it was stunning. I have a few more buds now. My plants seem to be in similarly good shape. Although I’ll confess that I tend to get impatient with dahlias that are so late and light blooming, so I’m not sure I’ll keep it around. Probably it will get at least one more year. Honnat Formby Alpine is my favorite white too. I’ve had similar problems with my stock pooping out and having to refresh. This year one of the two tubers I bought last year did well - I’m hoping tubers from it do well next year.
