Dahlias: My earliest blooms ever, 1 by pirl

pirl wrote:
Thanks for the moral support, Mary! Neither you nor I have nearly as many dahlias as Dan.

Some of the stems this year are more like mini tree limbs while others are more on the normal side. I've never cut up tubers. I have enough to do to just get them packaged for the winter. Shredded straw (pictured below) worked very well over last winter with each tuber in a bag of its own and then they all went in giant sturdy plastic bags, covered with a blanket and a tarp. A few I hoped would survive didn't but they didn't look great as I lifted them last fall.

Rats, Dan. We're always being discovered!

It isn't Bodacious though I do have that in a garden closer to the house because I love it. There probably is a legit name but I don't know what it is. It reminds me of some of the "bad hair" type dahlias but produced a lot of blooms last year so it had to be the centerpiece of that particular area. Bodacious from 2010 is the second photo.

What do you consider as planting late? June, July? Most of mine only got planted in June.

I've never had a problem growing clumps and it feels more motherly doing so, as if we're giving them a better start, though that's probably debatable.

As for the diameter of the fiberglass stakes, I'd say similar to a Sharpie or a tad more. I used one of my own dead blow hammers to drive the stakes into the ground. I'm the only female around here who even knows what a dead blow hammer is!

Yes, the garden wanted some rain (aside from the regular irrigation system) and I wanted it for a day off. It's rough to be retired and have perfect weather and no reason not to work so I gave myself the gift of being lazy today - pure bliss.

Where is Todgor and his dahlias this year?