Let's see some blooms!

I'm so excited that my dahlias are finally blooming in numbers, after 3 years of planting, moving, losing some, drought, etc. Here's Lavender Perfection, my first ever dahlia, still going strong.

Kelvin Floodlight, started with one and now there are three!

Garden Wonder, the first year it finally bloomed! Thought I lost it last year, but it made it through the drought and looks lovely.

Hayley Jane, probably a little too close to Kelvin, but hey, they don't seem to mind.

Those are all beautiful!!! They compliment each other nicely, since they are all such varying colors.
Eh-I have a few of mine snuggling up closer than I'd like but they manage okay. I'm jealous!!! I had a big bloom spurt, now most of mine are regrouping...

You know-the more I look at your Lavender Perfection, the more I wonder if it isn't the answer to my mystery dahlia question. My original post photo http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1002417/, it was much more pink. This last round of blooms is closer to your pic and much more lavender in color (though you can't tell in photo)Hmmm...

I think we have a winner! That little curly que around the center sure is a unique characteristic. Still one of my favorites.

Here's one I have no idea what it is. The orange blooms are about 2", the plant is over 5' and very prolific. Before I became a gardener, I was never a big fan of orange. But since "Frans Hals" daylily, "Tresor" Asiatic Lily, and this little dahlia, I am a big orange fan.

Here's another one unknown. The blooms are a orangish red, with the outside petals a softer faded red. Blooms about 3.5" and the plant is about 30" tall.

I think this one is called Red Barbarosa, bought at a big box store. lost alot of my tubers this winter.

Not sure of name.

Nice growin' there guardians! I love the velvety red of Garden Wonder and the stems on your 30" tall red one look like rebar- strong enough to hold up a small elephant (or large dahlia.) Barbarossa is another good red one, but they're all pretty. Enjoy!

I don't even know if mine's a dahlia :) but I just had to show it! Is it larger than normal?

Bishop of Landaff von B. wholesale.

Karma Dahlia Corona:

Chezca, that is indeed a dahlia and they come from teeny little one inchers to gigantic 12+" mammoths in many different forms or styles. That's why we love them so. Variety is the spice of life!

Nice Karma Corona Steve. I love those colors. Do you have to do anything special dahlias to grow in AZ?

Yes, beautiful Steve. I want to see the Corona when it's fully open. I love Bishop, though I don't have it. Just love the dark foliage. It's next on my "to buy" list. Nice butterfly shot!

queequeg,

Thanks. I have failed with a lot of dahlias, but Bishop is pretty reliable for me. And I just love the way the foliage and flowers work together. It's not gimungous, but it's really a great garden plant that works with all kinds of planting schemes. The tiger butterflies claim bunches of plants and hover for hours. And the hummingbirds come by early in the morning.

Poochella,

I have been trying to establish a new garden, so I'm out there almost every day with a garden hose. I've lost a few dahlias to dry conditions (or to voles nibbling on the roots.) Other than watering, no special care. In NJ Bishop reached knee-high and I was happy with it. Here, I have been surprised to see it reach head-high by mid June. I think it likes the sunlight.

I'm now in love with dahlias! :)

Steve Great shot with butterfly. Bishop is one dhalia been wanting ,but have not bought yet. Does it bloom well for you?

Good show everyone. I lost my one with dark foliage. Darn.

Iowa dahlias are budding and color beginning to show in the buds. Won't be long now!! First it will be my 140 daylily varieties to perform___then the dahlias!!

Taj,

When I grew Bishop in NJ ( on terrible, thin, impoverished soil) it grew to just above knee-high and bloomed pretty late in the season; September, maybe. Still, I always loved it for the foliage and for the exact way the scarlet flowers were set off by the foliage. I don't suppose I got more than a dozen blooms on a bush before it got hit by frost in October. I wouldn't be surprised if a better gardener could get much better performance from it.

Here in Prescott, the plants needed a lot of supplemental water. And when they did not get enough, they would droop and die. I guess I lost half of them. But the ones that remain are now head high and the best have been making perhaps two blooms a day, with blooms lasting three or four days. So a plant will have six or eight blooms on it at a time. They started blooming about a week ago. And if they bloom through the summer, it will be the most colorful blooming plant I have ever grown.

I don't know the name of this one but I sure do like it - it's a gorgeous red. I got some dahlias on clearance at Walmart last year. Only two of them did anything and I left them in the ground all winter. This one and the other one came back up.

Steve thanks for info. i definetley think I will be putting them on my to get list for spring. I have always loved the looks of them with the dark stems and foliage and red flowers. i have always liked dark flowers, I even prefer alot of the dark daylilies and seem to buy and stop and look at them more when walking friends daylily farm..

taj

Steve, to have dahlias in your hot area is a real testament to good care. Enjoy them all.

Hart, I like your bright red- especially against the lush green. It looks like Christmas in July.

Taj if you like dark bloomsand dark foliage and don't mind purple, you should check out "Purple Haze." 3 footer with lots of flowers. I gave my last tubers of it away by mistake, like a fool! Hopefully, I can get some back next year.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5532390

Pooch Love purple and like that pic of Purple Haze. Thanks

Luvly blooms all. You GO Steve812!!! It's tough to grow dahlias in AZ.

Thanks for the encouragement. Queequeg wanted to see Corona after it was open. So here it is just as the sun dipped over the western mountains...

"Omega"...supposed to be a dinnerplate version, but this is a smaller bud at about 6"..I didn't want to take any chances and didn't prune like I should have. It is my very first dahlia!

Steve-It is beee-utiful I am beyond jealous!!! And you had to rub it in with the comment about mountains too-lol!

4elements, your is also gorgeous! The way those colors blend-it looks digitally enhanced, though I know it isn't. Yay for having a first time winner and a buddy in the heat zone with me!

Todays bloom

Dahlias are showing off in Kentucky too!

I believe this is from the Melody series, called Dora.

This message was edited Jul 8, 2009 4:26 PM

This one and the one above are border types, I think from the Melody series. I picked them up from a co op this spring.

This message was edited Jul 8, 2009 4:27 PM

This dark beauty is a tall decorative I picked up last year from a co op, and successfully stored over winter. Love that deep color!

This is another big one from this year's co op. It looks a little peachy in the pic, but it's the color of orange juice, so sunny and bright! I love the way it happened to match the center of the Lily behind it :-)

These yellow border Dahlias have been blooming for about a month now.

I'm loving those yellow border Dahlias with the red hardy Glads, Poppies, and the Lilies.

Wow your not just whistling Dixie!!!!

Wow, gemini, you have a wonderful garden! Can I ask, what is that tall, stalky plant in the background of pics 4 and 6?

LOL, Tropicman!

Thanks queequeg! That tall plant is Verbascum thapsii, or Mullien. It's a wildling around here, and I let 1 or 2 remain in that bed each year. That's my butterfly-hummingbird garden, where I let everything sort of do its own thing, resulting in this chaos. There are a few reddish, ball shaped, border Dahlias in the front.

What a wonderful wildflower. That makes me want to put on some wings and flap around your garden, too!