Just planted my dahlias

I have a friend in town that might take my dahlia tubers if I lifted them, they have had more rain than my little corner has gotten, and it would be cheaper than mailing them to someone. Wildflower seed is cheap, I can toss it now, it will germinate in meager fall rains or it takes very little water and puts out a fair amount of nectar, the blooms are short lived but beautiful. It is just a different world these days.

I don't have any fancy expensive dahlia varieties worth "preserving". Or I can just leave them where they are and wish them luck! Kinda like that option, much less work.

Gypsi, I've heard my grandfather and several co-workers talk about swarms. Why does the queen leave the hive? We once had a swarm on the side of a building at work. It looked as big as a basketball. One of our "idiots" didn't know they were honey bees and sprayed them. Killed every one. I though he was going to be tarred and feathered. No wonder they seem almost extinct around here. I've seen two this year. First ones in a long, long time.

A swarm is how a beehive reproduces, the colony is the organism. The queen is at the heart, in the spring she lays a queen egg (or several) one egg per queen cell. She builds up the population in the hive first, and lays a lot of eggs, then queen eggs then goes on a diet to slim down so she can fly with the swarm. When enough eggs are laid and hatched the queen takes about half the workers of all levels and drones and off they go in a swarm. They will hang on a building or on a branch, and scouts go out looking for a new place to nest.

If you see a swarm contact a local beekeeping organization and they will send a beekeeper out to pick up the swarm and take them to a new home. You can find a local beekeeper who removes bees via a forum like www.worldwidebeekeeping.com or www.beesource.com, or a local beekeeping club (I am a member of metro beekeepers in Dallas Fort Worth). Or your local agricultural college. Texas A&M maintains a list of beekeepers who are registered and have a permit to pick up bees for several counties. I am also on that list.

I had one hive this spring, after I sold off my surplus and lost one to a swarm, then a newly mated queen came back and started my 2nd one, I caught (and lost) a swarm, did a couple of cutouts, and with merges and requeening and lots of feeding I have 4 hives right now.

My bee club sponsors 2 young beekeepers each year, we give them equipment, a bee suit, bees and a mentor, because when I started keeping bees in 2011 the average age of a beekeeper was around 60, and we are dying off.

Long live the Queen!

Thanks, Gypsi. Honey bees are very interesting little creatures. I'm amazed at some of the almost human-like characteristics they display. I can still visualize my grandfather going out to work in his hives wearing a headnet and carrying a little smoke pot. He said the smoke calmed them down. A few years ago I mentioned this to an older friend who was a beekeeper. He laughed and said that headnets, gloves and smoke pots were for sissies. Claimed he never used any of those things. I asked if he ever got stung. He said he did but the stings were good for arthritis. lol He told me the worst time to work around bees was during wet days because they were angry that they couldn't get out and work. I guess being angry about not being able to work doesn't sound human-like. I've heard that beekeepers around here are registered with the local law enforcement departments.

I use smoke and a full suit, but we have African honeybees and their descendants in Texas. I also have other allergies and would prefer NOT to develop a honeybee allergy and have to give up my bees. I don't feel like going through years of shots.

And yes they are irritable on rainy days and not cheerful on cloudy days. I spent about 4.5 hours in 3 hives yesterday and the sun and clouds alternated. Only one sting, when I finally found the queen in a super and was returning her on her frame to the hive, they all went berserk on me.

We beekeepers try to keep our bees from leaving in swarms, as queens aren't cheap, actually nothing in beekeeping is cheap these days

Back to Dahlias - can I grow them in a pot instead of in the ground, so I can wrap them in screening, put a drip sprinkler on them and have good drainage too?

I've never grown the bigger dahlias in pots. I have had a little bit of luck with the smaller gallery or unwin types. Hopefully, someone with more experience can answer your question.

well I left my 2 survivors that came back this spring in the ground until about a week ago, when I just barely managed to find the tubers to lift them into a large pot. One had gone fully dormant, the other was on its way and has since dried out and appears dead on top

It is August 17th, should I pack them in slightly moist potting soil and bag in plastic, leave in pot and keep watering to see if they sprout, bag and refrigerate? Not sure what to do but they are dormant and not rotted, and while I hate their survival rate in the ground, I am thinking in a 5 gallon pot I could do them in summer and adequately protect them.

What do I do now, in August 2015? As I said they are potted and dormant at the moment.

Well they haven't sprouted yet in the pot. Not sure if I should bag them and put in garage, it is only august 3 months til first frost.

It can take a solid 2-3 weeks for them to sprout. Maybe the need longer?

well I watered again today. I just don't know if they know what season it is. Thank you

nothing ever sprouted, so I dug through the pot yesterday and yes indeed the dahlias rotted. Guess I should have packed for winter back in august. I kind of feel relieved. If I buy any dahlia bulbs next year I will simply have a really big pot for them and a screen room over the top. No sense reserving garden space. They are not surviving well in the ground here. and the big pot will not be a hassle in the winter (bringing in) because I will dig the bulbs out and bag them as I did in my one successful overwinter.

Bummer to hear. Better luck next year though. Don't get discouraged, it's totally worth it when they bloom.

I think starting fresh will be good and I learned a lot. and I don't have to find a perfect place to store them this winter. I am not spending over $3 apiece for tubers - just grocery store ones from now on.The ones that were ok when Iifted were those. Not big fancy or expensive.
And I did get one bloom from one and it was gorgeous before the grasshopper ate it.

I am going to be trying a spray of dilute kaopectate (dog & animal variety) to protect some grasshopper treats too.

Sounds like a plan, best of luck!