Hot off the press:
Dahlia Talk
10-28-25
Lots of Good Talk and No “Required Subject”
There were 27 people in this session. Although we had anticipated being able to talk about new dahlia introductions and especially trial garden results, the information was not available yet. Our discussion leader was able to open the meeting but a family matter took precedence over the meeting and he turned over the Zoom controls(sounds like a spaceship or something) to James Kassner in Chicago who is recovering from being the chairman of the National Dahlia show in Chicago. He and the members kept the conversion going and numerous subjects were discussed.
I will always be quoted as saying, when two or more people talk about dahlias, the subject of fertilizer will almost always come up. It seems to be a subject that interests everyone from the rank beginner to most experienced grower and this session was no exception. It came up in two discussions and the first was the use of alfalfa or other fertilizers in the hole when you plant tubers (or cuttings for that matter). I stated that Concentrates(our source of organic garden solutions here in the Portland area) was selling a “fermented alfalfa powder” and that I had bought a $13.00 small bale of the stuff to try. It is actually animal food and has molasses mixed in it. Since we have been talking about molasses on dahlias, this sounds like one of those “two for one” products to try. We had a good discussion about what or whether to put things into that dahlia hole. To summarize, the alfalfa is probably a good thing but adding too much of even good things into that hole may actually overwhelm the sprouting tuber and do more harm than good. One grower said it is really important to carefully feed very young dahlias after they are up and out of the ground. We discussed the fact that many people put different things into that dahlia hole and it is an interesting subject.
The second fertilizer discussion was related to the subject that is asked this time of the year: How is your tuber yield this year? Galena of Micro Dahlias said her yield was improved by the addition of more nitrogen than she used in the past. She said it was not so much the number of tubers but that the size of the tubers was better. We talked a bit about nitrogen but did not dwell on the subject and our fertilizer discussion was over.
Our Australian friend is back in action after an operation on his foot. We like to hear from him because he is in the opposite part of the growing season and for some reason we wanted to talk about planting dahlias instead of digging dahlias. He was able to “brag” about his success of germinating numerous seeds from giant dahlias (Hamari Gold was one) and went through some of the steps in doing so. He uses the paper towel method and his germination rates were very good(giants often have poor germination) . He discussed his cuttings in the green house and some cultural issues. He posted a picture of his latest problem hoping to get a diagnosis and solution. With 27 dahlia growers he was in luck and we believe his picture shows dahlia smut, a fungus disease that can be controlled. Another possible disease may be spider mites and it was said that there are two different “types” of spider mites in dahlias and they have different symptoms and both can infect plants a green house. I was familiar with the red spider mites but the broad mites are somewhat different. Anyway, the majority verdict was dahlia smut.
Although we did not discuss the new trial garden varieties we talked a lot about different dahlia varieties and one astute person said we ought to ask each of us what was our new favorite dahlia in our garden this year? I will mention a few that I remember but this is a subject that needs a better note taker than me and I encourage people to participate in Dahlia Talk rather than just reading my incomplete notes(and what I think is interesting may not be interesting to you too).
We briefly talked about some older varieties that would still do well in the shows but because of a decline in the stock, they are no longer commonly seen. An example was the flower Bonaventure a giant flower with good looks and no one seems to have good stock. Another giant that is problematical is Zorro and it was said that Steve Santose(if you do not know know who he is, you are not a dahlia person) somehow found good stock and for a few years “kicked butt” at the shows with it until it petered out. And that brought up the practice of a club or person finding good stock of one of these “all time great flowers” and disseminating them. Jennie is an example of this and good stock was found and many people are growing it again with good results.
Lula Patty, a giant white is still grown by Paul Howard. I told him to donate a tuber to our society to auction it. Sheval Megan was mentioned as being a hot show flower these days. Hapet Champagne is a dual purpose garden and show flower than many consider to to be prettiest of all dahlias. The list goes on and on but my memory does not.
We talked about dahlia auctions and how they help support dahlia clubs financially and give people an opportunity to experience “dahlia fever” and bid exorbitant amounts for a new or rare dahlia. We shared some secrets about dahlia sales that are economical with really good tubers. I will not share them however.
The next session will be November 25th at 7PM. Trial garden results may be on the menu and there may be a reminder email sent to potential participants that has more requests for subject material(having said that, even without an agenda, the “dahlia talk” is non stop).
