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  • General Dahlia Chat - 2025

BackyardBouquets_17 The method you describe is how most of the row crops are grown commercially, especially the melons and other heat-loving veggies. Drip tape is laid under the plastic for irrigation and holes are made in the plastic to plant the plugs.

When I grew from tubers (I now grow 95% from cuttings) I would always cover the rows with black plastic until the tubers sprouted and broke ground. Then I would peel the plastic back just enough to expose the sprouts but still provide some heat. With this method I would get blooms 3-4 weeks earlier than without using plastic to heat the soil.


    Cell phone camera lens dirty. Dr. Hammett's new purple seedling at nursery for $8.95. It got my attention and the dark center really enhances the purple color. And dark foliage too. Almost caused me to grow an open center dahlia but then reality set in.
    Later: washed cellphone. Should I buy a new cell phone for the next dahlia season? Margaret has a better one than mine. No hurry.

      Dr. Hammett from New Zealand used to visit the USA in most years . He has a PhD in plant something or other and grew dahlias when he was very young and is a famous professional plant breeder and not just dahlias. I attended (1) a seminar taught by him on dahlia breeding , (2) a presentation for a less sophisticated crowd on dahlias in general, and (3)was able to talk to him one on one for about 45 minutes on a bus ride to a garden tour. I learned the most from what encounter and what was the most important lesson that I learned from him?

      I will answer in the hybridizing thread later.

      Does anyone have advice on growing Blyton dahlias? Do they need cooler weather to thrive? I'm considering a lovely white, Blyton Everest, however there is little I can find on it's worthiness as a cut flower.

      "Do they need cooler weather to thrive?" Historically, UK varieties are cool weather flowers but some of them do well in warmer climates. They are not entered into USA trial gardens but rarely. For me, I have found some trends. Ryecroft varieties seem to do well in the heat.
      I grow Blyton Romance and it does well in the heat. Dikara Superb does well too. When I ordered from Halls of Heddon years ago, typically I would get 5 new ones and 4 of them would not either do well in the heat or not be something I liked. UK varieties are generally not cut flower candidates but some can do good.
      Blyton Everest? After writing all the above, I do not know.


      Has anyone ever seen a dark-foliage sport of Polventon Kristobel? I have several pot tuber clumps of it going for cuttings this year, and this one sent up a dark foliage shoot. I DID check to make sure that I didn't put another tuber in there on accident, but nope: all one clump. I've marked it in my rooting cells as a possible sport and will track its progress this year (curious to see how it blooms) but would also love to know if anyone has seen this before with this variety?

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