My First Dahlia Bloom.............

Only one off topic: in Alaska you have to go to liquor stores. They even moved the cooking wines into the liquor store as it was getting stolen too often.

Going out side to see who new has bloomed since our recent horrible winds. Went out and bought 1/4" square stakes for any looking shaky.

OT - We are supposed to go to package stores too in the states of Pennsylvania - the New York State border is 5 minutes from me though, so it is just a matter of running over to the next town. When I was in my teens, the drinking age in NY was 18 and PA it was 21. We always went to NY and then crawled into PA and tried to act 'normal' in front of our parents.

Yesterday, we had a horrible hail storm - it dented up my car, it was so bad. Some of my dahlias were beaten down and the rest seemed to be ok. A couple of months ago, we had another tornado and it snapped off my taller lilies - this has not been a good year for the garden.

Yikes, Carolyn, apparently your weather is coming through my garden Sat. afternoon! Tornado warnings, too. I'm on a very steep hillside, so I hope all is OK. The NO ID big red dahlia I posted about has turned into 3 plants- the blossoms are so heavy they're knocking the whole plants over.

Hmm. Wonder if the horrible winds we have had here around Thursday is the tail end of your tornado. Would hate to have been in the real thing.

Mary

I have been through the real thing and tornadoes are terrifying. When I was 5-6 we lived in St. Paul Minn. I still have nightmares sometimes from the tornadoes coming through.

I can only imagine. I have been through one flood and even that was kind of slow approaching and leaving. Made a mess of stuff but I don't think there was much loss of life. And the earthquake in Anchorage occurred when I was in Fairbanks, so the effect was a little scary but not threatening. Living with the aftershocks for years was nerve racking. It still makes me stop and tense up when a heavy truck goes by and shakes the ground a little. I cannot imagine being in something so huge and powerful as a tornado. I would surely have one of those bolt holes I hear about with a steel plate door to bury myself in.

I was looking at Swan Island's red peonies list. It struck me as I looked at each of them that many look just like some I have but are named differently. I realize that size of plant, size of blooms, and subtle petal textures and colors make a difference. But still, it seems like there is a great redundancy in the selection. I love Dahlias better than I think any other flower for its variety of all the named attributes, but I wonder if somehow the wheel just keeps getting reinvented and renamed sometimes, in the push to maintain and expand a market. Surely the new gardeners who are growing and maturing would provide sufficient market for the blooms. Course with the boomers now starting to enter the wings, perhaps the market is shrinking. Hmmmm. Sorry if this is too heavy for this thread but was just thinking...'out loud'

Mary, I agree. Unless a DNA test is done, who really knows which plant is what? I went by Swan's 'Nick Sr.' description in determining my big red noid was 'Nick Sr.' b/c they are specific about plant height, color, petal curvature & blossom size. I love how detailed they are. Plus, they're a huge hybridizer, so I'm sure they sell to a lot of their tubers to commercial brokers like Michigan Bulb, etc. Hence my surprise. I did order 'Momentum' from Michigan bulb this year- I think they are the ones that sent me 'Nick Sr.' b/c they tend to only offer the biggest bloomers. Plus they're lousy at labeling!

Amen to that. The guy who owns it or manages it is a really nice guy, but they do need to work on their customer service, or shipping.

The only way they can offer such low prices is to not hire enough workers and probably work them @ low pay. I'd sabotage a few orders- or accidentally mess them up, too. No harm done! They're growing well!
Herbert Smith and Rawhide are in full bloom, but I keep getting error messages when I upload them :0(

Have you reduced the size of the pictures? I reduce the image to 300x800 or some such (the lowest resolution) and they go through fine.

I miss a few days and I missed a real good conversation about wine.....LOL.

We are trying to get the house painted......ha ha ha.....we have different colors painted in large swaths all over the house! Yikes.....praying for no company!

OK....back on topic.....

Here is my 4th bloom starting on Bitsy Dahlia. Notice I can count the number of blooms....how sad is that?

But this little beauty has been two years in the making. I know it's not a dahlia, but it is still gorgeous. I started this plant from a leaf cutting given to me from my neighbor. That is my hand so you can see the size.
Night Blooming Cereus

How gorgeous. The Night Blooming Cereus. I will have to look it up and see if it can survive up here. Probably not but worth checking.

Mary

Put it outside in the summer and bring it inside for the remainder of the year. I have a small one and that is what I do. Mine has not bloomed, but he is still a baby.

We do not leave the Cereus out in the winter.....it goes in the greenhouse. They are kind of big and floppy things. But when it bloomed....OMG i was in heaven! The bud starts off really tiny and just keeps growing for about two weeks or so until it is very large.

In the first pic you can see two buds, but one fell off :-((

that is a magnificent flower. Makes me think of fairy princesses and weddings. I still doubt that we have enough warmth for it to grow, even if I brought it inside each fall. But, oh, I am tempted to try. Thanks for the progression of pics. I see what you mean.

Oberon - would you like me to send you a leaf cutting? It is how I started mine.

I would love to try. Any instructions would be greatly appreciated. I will dmail my address. Thanks so much.

A vase full of various Dahlias's. Myrtles folliy and three noids for now. I am just loving these Dahlia's this summer.

Bea

I put in Myrte's Folly this year- it is one of my new favorites.

Absolutely splendid, Bea! Each one is so gorgeous.

Thanks. Yeah that Myrtles folly is pretty crazy looking.
Sweet Dreams, Lucca Johanna again (great bloomer) , NOID, but such a intense purple, Park Princess & two lovely purple ones from the front yard. (cant get to the marker.)The yard is so full & crazy right now, I almost missed these! Will need to move some plants next month as many things were hiding behind & under plants that were super size this year. Must have been the truckloads of compost that were brought in during my landscaping project last summer. I have never seen any of my plants get as large as they have in the first year. Thanks goodness I bought a mulcher this summer. With all the trimmings and the coming drop of all the oak leaves ...I am going to be busy very soon. Free compost is a good thing.

All gorgeous. I love the purples. I think that is what is missing in my dahlia garden. Purple.

OMG............all of your blooms BeaHive are just stunning. I have already talked my DH in putting in a raised bed just for Dahlias next year. As long as we have a normal heated summer I can look forward to some blooms next fall.

I enjoyed looking at everyone's gorgeous dahlias posted above!!! Here are some of my favorites this year :)

Oh, Carol! They are all magnificent. What's the name of the last one? I think I've had it in the past. Love the center one, too.

Arlene, it is nice to be back here looking around at the beautiful dahlias! The last dahlia is 'Kogane Rubuki' and the middle one is "Contraste' ($2.50 at King Kullen!). I really like 'Pinot Noir' and 'Hy Lustre' which I think I received from you and Coleus 'Peter Wonder.' Are you still into Coleus? I am and have been taking cuttings for the last week. They are a chore as well as digging dahlias bulbs but are worth the effort! Hope all is well with you! ~Carol

Carol, thanks for the information. I did have Kogane Rubuki - no wonder I remembered it. Your deal at King Kullen was a real good deal. Oh yes, I'm still collecting coleus and enjoying them as always. I feel coleus are so much easier and...no digging!

Beautiful dahlias. The colors are so vivid. Love the varigation in them.

So do I, Marie. Somehow they seem more interesting to me when they have more than one color in the bloom.

Thanks for the compliments! I enjoy watching the two-tone dahlias open up and they look a little different over several days. They are interesting :)

You were born to grow dahlias, Carol. They're all wonderful and SO colorful.

Thanks Arlene!

Have a very happy dahlia/coleus birthday, Carol!

Daisy, what is the name of the second dahlia? I think I have one but didn't know the name.

The second dahlia above is Pooh (Collarette).

that's what I thought. That must be what I have. There are so many collarettes that look so similar. But I have to call it something so Pooh it shall be. I just won't offer it to friends as that. I will indicate in my notes that Pooh is my best guess for a name. Thanks. Your dahlias are all so different, varied in color and form. I have ordered more for spring in an attempt to expand my dahlias. I have to be careful though. If I just pick and choose, I tend to be attracted to the same colors and forms. I really love the water lily form. Guess it reminds me of some of my simpler peonies.

Mary, I am curious as to how long dahlias bloom in Alaska. When we visited Alaska I was amazed at how vibrant all of the flowers were. Must be from the extended hours of daylight in the summer.

Not sure. I think the cool weather helps. I have lots blooming along with lilies, monarda, daisies, and other stuff. But there is snow on the tops of the mountains nearby (Chugach) so we will get the heavy frosts and snow by mid late October.

Work sure does put a crimp in my gardenine. I love the flowers, they don't talk back and just give and give. I can feel like I can please them all the time and everyone enjoys my efforts. (can you tell that work was a little stressful today?)

Carol, they are making me want more, many more, but where to put them? I believe I must stop growing vegies and just grow flowers.