My earliest blooms ever

I use that for the dahlias but cut it at the 2' height. Works great for all sorts of shorter plants too. I buy rolls of it at Lowe's both 36" and 48"

Mary, what do you use for anchors to keep the hoops from tipping over? I bought some peony rings that were 30" tall, the tallest they had available. By the time you drive several inches in the ground there is still 2' of peony hanging over the top. With the rain and wind we normally get in the Spring, the peonies have a very short life. I like the flowers but mostly hang on to them because they are one of the things my dad planted that are still around. I'm guessing they are at least 25 years old and have never been divided. When they sprout in the Spring there are probably 40-50 stems coming from each clump. This past year some developed a milky mildew on the leaves. A friend said it was probably because of poor air circulation due to so much foliage especially when the weather is damp and humid. I don't know the first thing about peonies but think she may be right.

I guess you could always nip a few to thin them out and get circulation. I am no expert on them either.

The hoops I have are held up by 48" posts that must weight 3-4" all on their own. They didn't move an inch right or left. Peonies seemed to stay upright. Course I don't have many doubles so the blooms are not terribly heavy even in the rain. Part of why I like them. That and the simplicity of the forms.

Here is the url to Lee Valley
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=58904&cat=2,43319,33282,58904


I didn't use them this year as my largest peonies rotted in the spring. Hopefully next year they will revive. They did grow and have a few blossoms but no where near the bushes that were 36-45" tall and around 40" across.

Dan - I planted peonies from a very sweet DG person last fall in the revised former vegetable garden and didn't have enough peony hoops (having only one to spare for the many plants received) but I did have an old piece of wire fencing and formed it up and over the peonies and they did so well that now I want to buy more of it. The fencing held the peonies far better than the hoops do. You can spot it in the photo but it didn't detract from the beauty of Coral Charm.

Our Festiva Maxima is quite tall so I'm eager to try using the taller 48" fencing to see if it will help hold them upright through the spring rains.

So you draped the fencing over the plants rather than forming cages around. The opening look to be about 4"? Is that correct? Must be really skookum fencing to hold its shape like that.

Yes, from in front, over the top and back down again. I don't know what skookum means but it was/is old and I had no problem keeping it in place. I have old green fencing (plastic coated) that I'll cut up for more because trying to protect the cucumbers from the deer is keeping me from harvesting the cukes!

I didn't measure the size of the holes but will bring the ruler out later to check it for you.

I'm more tempted to do a tall round one for Festiva Maxima since it is so big. I'm guessing around 4' tall.

Indian term meaning very strong

Arlene,
Those are gorgeous.

Thanks for the translation, Mary. It's so old that I don't know how strong it is but I'm not challenging it! Of course, I forgot the ruler but remembered the camera so you can be the judge. They aren't square holes.

Today I'll look at various green plastic coated fencing. I'd like one with the wide holes. It should allow all of Festiva's stems and leaves to emerge without cramping their style. Photo #2 but with larger holes seems ideal. Funny to look back at when the cukes were babies as now they're more than 6' tall!

MajiA - thanks!

#3 Here's Jamaica (thanks, Dan) and more buds will open shortly.

#4 Shows one from Home Depot in 2012 and it's the one I want most to open!

#5 You can see the fiberglass stakes behind Peaches 'n Cream dahlia. Quite obvious that the dahlias will not be the short ones as listed as having 18" height in so many places. Glad I had my doubts and planted them at the rear!

Very nice Arlene.

Thanks! Now I have to go back outside to see if my Home Depot dahlia is in full bloom yet.

Did you recommend an F setting of 8 or 11?

That Jamaica is a beautiful little flower. I haven't grown one in a couple years but I remember it always had tons of blooms. I'm anxious to see the HD dahlia bloom and learn the name. Some of the big box stores apparently sell different flowers in different areas. Some people in my family in Virginia say Wal-mart and/or HD always sell Haley Jane tuners. I've never seen them at either place around here.

A few more blooms have opened in the past couple days. 1) Bonaventure. One of my all-time favorites. Seems more orange/bronze this year. 2) Caballero. 3) Gran Prix. I still think this is Seattle, especially if it doesn't get bigger than the 5" it is now. 4) Pablo. 5) Roque Starburst. A favorite of the Japanese Beetles. Arlene, didn't you mention something about JB's and lighter colored flowers? lol

A couple more. 1) Gloriosa. Haven't had this one in a few years. 2) Witteman's Best. My camera doesn't do red colors very well. This one is a very deep red, almost burgundy. It should become more "cactusy" in a few days. 3) A little bit better photo of Ferncliff Inspiration than the JB eaten one I posted before.

Gorgeous blossoms, Dan.

Grand Prix is so lovely with that hand painted look of gold coming out onto the petals.

Still no grand opening for my HD "Jumbo" that wasn't so jumbo last year but I loved the colors.

Earwigs, not JB's. Sprinkle some Ortho Bug Geta Plus around the dahlias. It kills earwigs and slugs. Now that I have many buds waiting to open I'll sprinkle again.

Lovely images Dan. Gorgeous.

All so beautiful. If I could choose any three I don't know how I would do it. I would still be going back and forth next spring... lol. I agree Bonaventure is really striking. Make me realize that I was heavy on reds and lavenders.

Thanks to all of you for the nice compliments. Mary, I thought I was a little heavy on yellows and lavenders this year. As the blooms open, I'm not exactly sure what to expect. I messed up my labeling when I was giving away tubers this Spring, even worse than I thought. I have two Akitas where I thought I had planted Kelvin Floodlights, a Dutch Explosion growing where KFL was supposed to be and Rebecca's World coming up everywhere they're not supposed to be. I bought six RW's and thought I gave four away. Wrong! The fifth one bloomed a couple days ago. I probably also have the sixth one somewhere. Nice plants but I may get tired of looking at them by the end of the season.

Labeling is a talent. Either my labels fade or I prepare them in advance and then can't find them when I need them. I already have bags and extra labels so when I dig each one will have a bag of its own.

Now, where did I put those bags?

lol. Know what you mean. I probably have five (at least) Sweet Dreams. That was just luck of the draw on who survived the winter. Good think I love the flower. Still looking through hundreds of pics for a good one of each that has bloomed thus far to post.

Mary, you mentioned last week that your DH was bringing some salmon home. Did you or he ever go fishing and meet one of these "friendly critters"? This is my cousin Allen who is in the Air Force and was stationed in Alaska. I'm not sure what area. I love fishing but if one of these big boys showed up, I would gladly relinquish my spot. Allen looks like he's keeps an eye on his competition. I don't think he mentioned what kind of bear it was. The other critter is my cousin Joe who flew up from Virginia to fish for a week.

What a nice catch and what a scary bear!

Those are wonderful pictures. I would guess from the hump on his neck that the bear is a grizzly. He (your brother) must be further north. And those salmon are great catches. In the third picture on the left you can see a salmon in the water. He is red so these are at the getting to the end of spawning. But the ones he/they caught aren't red. hmmm. And the last one I believe is a steelhead. My husband would kill for a steelhead but they were out of season by the time he went to Copper River (Chitna). Will try to attach the pics to an email to him and see what he says. Thanks for the pics. Rod fishing looks like much easier duty than dipnetting.

A few more pics. Didn't mean to highjack the thread but, hey, this is informal stuff, right? Besides it'll be a couple days before I have any more dahlia blooms anyway. lol The fish in the first photo is showing some of the red coloring you mentioned. I think the one in the fourth photo looks like a steelhead. I've caught a lot of both but it's sometimes hard to tell the difference in a photo. We normally have some good runs of steelies in late Fall. There are several strains of steelhead and some spawn in the Spring. I've caught literally several thousand of them. I used to catch at least 150-200 a year. A few years ago I was laid off in the Spring and caught almost 200 just during March. The trouble is, I can't find a way to eat them. Very fishy tasting to me. I now spend most of my fishing time chasing walleyes in open water or through the ice. The terrain in the last photo may give you a better idea where Allen was stationed in Alaska. He's stationed in California now.

I goofed. Daughter said the fish could have been a humpy (part of the salmon family). Googled it and sure enough. I guess the steelheads are part of the salmon family but are considered trout.

I just finished watering the garden for only (I think) the second time this year. The rains have been spaced perfectly so watering hasn't really been necessary. These are some blooms from the past couple days. 1) Bradley Aaron. This flower is much more purple than the photo shows. I love dahlias with frosted edges and thought this would be a nice companion for Canby Centennial. Unfortunately, both my CC's rotted in the heavy rains in July. 2) This Caballero is a pretty good replacement for the CC. 3) This is my second Bonaventure. The first was a lot more orange. 4) Haley Jane. 5) Hilltop Lost Treasure. Quite a few more are budding and some are about 1/3 open. I'm anxious to see what they look like since some are ones I've never grown before.

I enjoyed all the fishing photos and love salmon!

Such nice photos, again, Dan. Don't you find it odd when plants like Bonaventure change colors early in the season? Many change (for me) in October but having it happen this early seems strange.

My Vancouver had two big stems and I'm so glad I allowed them both to grow. Here's Vancouver Left #1 and Vancouver (the real thing) as #2.

#3 is orange that didn't look like this last year!

#4 is the one I've been waiting for and it did not disappoint! No name, Home Depot, one of their jumbos. If anyone knows the name I'd appreciate it if you would let me know.

#5 Paul Smith. Not what I expected but fine for that spot for this year.

Beautiful flowers, Arlene. I love the variations of the two Vancouvers. My aunt in Virginia called last night and was all excited about the dahlias I sent this Spring. She described her favorite one and I knew right away it was Vancouver. She said it was the prettiest flower she has ever grown. I told her the story of where it came from and she said to thank you the next time I was on this forum. I'm not sure what your HD dahlia is. The HD, Lowes and Kmarts around here had a very small selection of tubers this year. I don't know why they cut back so drastically. What is the plant to the right of Paul Smith? My two Bonaventures are planted in different areas with slightly different soil types. That may account for the difference in color but I'm not sure. Hope you post more photos soon.

Thank you, Dan, and thank your aunt for loving it.

Right now I love Vancouver Left more than the real thing. I will have to tag the base of the stem but having them in close proximity is fine with me since they don't clash.

The third photo also is nameless, also from HD's Jumbo package of 4 for $10.00. Once again, I'd love a name for it if anyone knows it.

There were very nice selections at all the stores you mentioned this year but HD had the most offerings.

Plain old, run of the mill Dusty Miller is next to Paul Smith, Dan.

I didn't know dahlias would or could be influenced so much by soil. Kasasagi is in a different spot this year and looks more golden than in previous years.

So far, Robert Too is the disappointment since it's been blooming so far down into the foliage that I can't get a good photo of it. I hope it gets with the program soon!

I doubt if the HD by me had more than a half dozen different types. I asked a clerk why so few and she didn't know but said maybe a lot of people don't like to dig them in the Fall. Actually, several people have made that comment to me. I also have a few plants whose first blooms are down in the foliage making it hard to get a decent photo. I also have several plants that are much shorter than normal. Some are barely 2 foot tall. I have an Alpen Pauline that was about 3 feet tall last year with flowers over 10" wide. This year a bud is starting to open and the plant is maybe 18" tall. It's going to look strange if the flowers are as big as last year. They may be dragging on the ground. That Kasasagi is definitely different this year although both are beautiful. I'd be happy with either one.

I'm curious to do a test and put down a few bags of mulch over a bed of dahlias to see how they'd survive the winter. Of course, I'd lift my favorites so it's the ones I really am not crazy about that would be tested.

I'm sure many people hate the digging/washing/cleaning/dividing/packing/checking but it's the price we pay for the beauty in summer and fall.

I agree Alpen Pauline will look a bit odd with 10" flowers on an 18" plant! You'll have to prop up the flowers.

Naturally, I was depending on last year's color for the spot where I put it but since others around it didn't grow it's all alone and looks fine.

I guess the likelihood of survival would be how deep your frost/freeze goes into the ground. Ours goes down at last a foot or so. I doubt anything would enable survival here. Surely with it would. I am going to let the plants suffer frost bite this year. It is supposed to be better for the tubers to let the plant die first before digging them up. I don't look forward to it as that means that the weather will be cold cold. Tough duty even when it is halfway warm digging and washing all those tubers. I am not going to cut them up this year. Means they have to be extra clean and extra dry going into storage.

I always allow them to be blackened by frost before I dig and I let them stay in place for a few days while still in the ground. It's almost always the worst, most dismal, dank, day when I get to digging. I don't cut them up but may try it this year out of curiosity. DG's Todgor used to split each one in four parts with the idea one of them will prove to show an eye for the following year.

Then I wash them, turn them upside down for a day or two, then package them. I think last year it was good weather on digging day so I may dig my favorites first and leave the others for a good day or at least a sunny day.

Ours can survive a warmer than normal winter in the ground but I'd never take that chance with the ones I love best.

A quick look on my photo program showed dahlias, left in the ground all winter, were about a foot high by May 15th, 2012 in a spot that is full sun.

Good. Thanks for the confirm. Depending on the size of the tubers (Sweet Dream is always huge and I have five or six of them) I may at least cut them in half. This year they are going into the crawl space where it is cooler and dark all the time. I follow the same process you do once they are dug up.

This afternoon I delayed going to visit the dahlias thinking there couldn't be much new since yesterday. It really feels like Christmas. There are buds galore that weren't as prominent yesterday! This is the joy we have to remember on the days we dig.

Several new blooms. They keep popping open but I haven't been able to get photos of some because of the Japanese Beetle damage. I don't recall those devils being around this long in the past. I didn't want to spray again but I may have to. 1) Otto's Thrill. Started opening a few days ago and is already 8"-9" wide. 2) John Bramlett. It's 6" but is supposed to be an "A" size bloom. My camera doesn't capture the pretty purple color. 3) Hollyhill 6-in-1 yellow. Great tuber maker. Last year two of these produced 25 tubers at digging time. 4) Cambridge. I was told that this is the yellow version of Akita, but I don't know. 5) Alpen Bill just opening. I have several more but the beetles are killing me.

We had a near catastrophe with the stored tubers this Winter. My friends who dig the tubers every year dug, divided and stored 3/4 of the tubers. I did the rest and kept those at my house. They always use vermiculite and I like the potting soil/ peat moss mixture. When we checked the ones they stored in late winter, to our horror, the majority were shriveled or starting to shrivel. We hardly had any rain during the growing season last year and the tubers were much smaller than normal. During digging time it rained several times a week. The tubers seemed a little spongy. We dried them an extra day or so. This may account for the poor condition this spring. They insisted that I take at least half of them home to try and revive them. I put them into bags with the soil/peat ( a little damper than usual ) and in a week or so they had plumped back up and really looked good. I sent at least 5 dozen to a uncle and two aunts in Virginia and he recently told me not a single one has failed to bloom or are budding. I don't question my friends' methods since they have probably forgotten more about dahlias than I will ever know. They travel a lot and probably didn't check or spritz them enough. There are no two areas with the exact storing conditions. Too much warmth and/or light will make the tubers sprout. Too much dampness causes rot. That's why I may overdo the checking, but I look at my stored tubers about once a week. If you find a method that works for you, stick with it.

This morning I went out to check for beetles and found a few blooms that have escaped "most" of the wrath of the JB's..... just don't look too closely. LOL 1) Alpen Parfait?? Doesn't really look like the photo from the on-line catalog in form or color. 2) Mingus Westley 3) A very short Alpen Pauline with my hand in the way to block the ugly rebar. 4) Inland Dynasty 5) Bradley Aaron. I don't normally take photos when the sun is out because it washes out some colors but I tried to get the true color on this one and it's a little closer but still not purple.

The JB's usually hang around for six weeks here, Dan. Do they arrive around July 3rd for you as they do here?

Online photos for dahlias are either being enhanced, as they've done with daylilies for years, or the climate and other conditions gives them colors we want but don't get. It's annoying for me since I do garden by the theory of color harmony.

Purples are always a pain to get the way we perceive them to be so I was fortunate when I took "Vancouver Left" that the plant was in partial shadows.

Your photos are still a joy to see and I really didn't see (or look for) any JB damage. Have you seen the JB's in action on the dahlias? This year they attacked the few roses I hadn't removed and then went to just one white clematis. I guess they moved on to other gardens but their orgy vacations are over for this year anyhow, for us.

I'm not sure when the JB's first arrived, Arlene. They just seemed to show up one day. I've read that the adult stage lasts six to eight weeks. Hopefully, they are about done. They are still having their orgies and on two occasions I've seen three "together". Perverted little creatures, aren't they? lol