Dahlias: Looking forward to spring - Part II

Yup. I like the 'penguin shuffle'. We call it something similar but it looks the same everywhere. lol

I just put 137 mixed daylily seeds in a flat, damp soil, plastic cover under lights about 2" away. Same lights that my other seeds germinated under. I can pick the ones out that germinate and put them in pots. The seeds are in about 1 square inch of soil each, about 2" of soil, 1/4" deep.

That will keep you busy when they all germinate!

I received a huge pile of literature, booklets, and the 2015 ADS classification book. Great stuff. Not for a fast read. Oh, I got it because I reupped membership with the Seattle Dahlia Society and also the American Dahlia Society.

A few pics of growing stuff. No dahlias yet although Wednesday I am picking up my order from our local dahlia grower. He brings them to the Wednesday market at Sears Mall starting March 1. Should be interesting to see how they look. And the frigid outdoors

My first blooms of the year! Oh wait .... that's not a dahlia. With the weather we've had the past few months, I'm happy to see anything growing. At this point I'd even settle for crabgrass or ragweed. Mary, you have a green thumb! My thumbs are just frozen. lol

Just when I thought I'd seen (or heard) it all, I've found the world is nuttier than I ever thought possible or maybe some people just have way too much money. I read a story in the newspaper that says a man in Massachusetts is selling snow to people in the warmer climates. The bargain price for six pounds is $89.00. He started off shipping 16 ounces bottles of snow for $19.99 but the snow melted before reaching it's destination. Then he started selling six pound at a time. Some melted but he says enough was left to make 10 or 15 snowballs. Now he's selling 10 pound packages for only $119. If anyone is interested (God! I hope not!) his web site is ShipSnowYo.com. I had to pinch myself about a dozen times while reading that to make sure I was awake. OMG!!!!!!!!! Never thought I'd ever hear of a snow salesman.

It's all looking good, Mary. I bless the plants that cheer up the house now because outside all we see is more snow coming down and adding to the foot that's there already. This is our sixth consecutive snowy Sundays. The guys who plow for Southold Town must not know of any Sunday night TV shows!

We saw it on TV last night, Dan. He's so busy he had to hire his brother to help his new business! He does ship overnight delivery.

I just checked out my bags of Walmart dahlias again and some have sprouted, sans light or heat.

I wonder if he needs a vendor. I just happen to have some I might be willing to part with if his stock should run low. This reminds me of people who are said to be such slick b.s. artists they could sell ice (or snow?) to an eskimo.

Could I interest you in some ice boating? Just on the news.

http://longisland.news12.com/multimedia/east-end-ice-boating-1.9992531

I've seen those ice boats on Presque Isle in Erie Pa. I couldn't believe how fast they travel. I was told the bigger ones used in racing competition can travel over 100 mph and cost $50-75,000. I don't think I want to go that fast with no braking system. I hope there's no open water in the area. I can't imagine what would make them so expensive.

I imagine that the materials have to be a mix of very lightweight and very strong so as not to fly apart. But still $50-75k?? That's a lotta skis.

A lot of dahlias!

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that spring is getting closer. I'd never know by looking outside. The clue is by looking in my mailbox. I received four garden catalogs yesterday and six the day before. I don't even want to think about all the e-mails I could add to the total.

I've ordered tubers from five vendors so far. I'm holding off on ordering more until I see what the big box stores have this year. Hopefully I won't have to toss many more of the shriveled ones I have in storage. C'mon Spring!!

Our local Kroger store brought in a display of asst. bulbs that had a LOT of Dahlias in it. Probably 15 or more varieties, mostly Dinnerplates, I bought 9 of them. I couldn't resist. All this snow and cold has gotten to me, I guess. lol
I made a list but have misplaced it.So I will go out and make another list. I know Thomas Edison was one, (a little insurance in case mine don't survive.)
Hawaii,Duet,Seattle,are a few that I remember. I will have to go look again. Anyway I was surprised by the selection that they had. I found them in the Floral Dept.
They also had Otto's Thrill and maybe 5 or 6 more that I didn't buy. I have to draw the line somewhere. lol

Spring can't get here soon enough. My soon to be 9 year old grandson agrees but he has an ulterior motive - it's his birthday. He will not get dahlias but his parents will.

You have shriveled tubers, Dan? I never did get to check mine yesterday but was busy cooking and cleaning. I understand it has to be done a few times a year.

Nanny - you and poor Kentucky really got hit hard in the last two weeks. I bought two packages of dahlias at Walmart. Home Depot had many but I managed to resist.

I was always impressed by all the dahlias sold in a local grocery store named Marc's. That may be a local chain. They don't have as many as they used to, but they're dirt cheap. They have always had Akita and they've always been 3 for $3.99. I hope they have them again this year because that's one that doesn't seem to store well.

Talked to some of my family in Virginia after the snow storm a few days ago. It's the first time I can remember that they got blasted while we got nothing. I guess turn about is fair play. lol

The weatherman said we had almost 32 in. of snow total in a 17 day period. Almost unheard of for us! We set some records for both snowfall and low temps. Not the kind of records you want to brag about, lol. But a lot of places in the country were hit hard, so we are not alone. We should be getting back to more normal averages next week. I can't wait! Spring can't get here fast enough.

I have 3 birthdays to celebrate next weekend. We are having all of my grandchildren's parties rolled into one. Because their birthdays are pretty close, and we decided to take the "bandaid" approach. get it all over at once They are 6,4,and 3. So we are having a "Frozen" party for the girls(Isn't that ironic?) And the boy will have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a theme. Boy! say that 3 times fast! One big birthday bash.
It will be kind of like Christmas!

Akita is pitiful for storing, Dan. I'll visit more stores next week to check on what they have. Too many is better than not enough. I totally agree about fair play!

Nanny - having one big celebration is more fun and even better for the adults than Christmas. I love the idea of the Frozen party! How neat! The boys will enjoy their MNT party as well!

I went into the attic this morning and decided to saran wrap a few of several of my favorites that were slightly shriveled. I don't expect them to plump back up but status quo will be fine with me. Last year, I planted a few that looked like they needed to be ironed because of shriveling. They grew and produced a lot of blooms. I've never heard of wrapping them this late in storage but it may be worth the effort in the name of science. lol I have quite a few tubers but regardless of how they look, there's no guarantee how many will eye up in the spring.

Mine are in holding pattern. Checked day before yesterday. Some shriveled, but no more rot. I had to exert the greatest resistance to Walmart's dahlias. So many really good ones. Perhaps I should have gotten Otto's thrill as a backup. I have several Sweet Dreams that are eyeing up. Hope the plants are better than last year. Since these are new tubers that might help. Well, new from the plant last year.

I figure the first of April I will bring them out of storage and lay them in soil filled flats and see who salutes. lol

45F and rain expected today. Pond is almost clear of ice. My newest tree peony has lots of red pips.

After I check mine, I'll report back on the status.

Like your line about seeing which ones salute, Mary!!!

Good luck with the Saran Wrap, Dan. I did read something that said to cut them in half to see if there's any good solid interior flesh but I

...as I was saying before the computer decided to send...

I'm reluctant to try it in March. April would be better so they could go into growth right away.

Mary, you just lay them on top of the soil? Explain the process, please. ie; do you water, keep in the dark, put them in the light. I have never tried this and am curious to know how it works. And what is the expected result? I hate to sound like such a newbie, but that's what I am! lol

Not to fret. We are all in a state of "becoming" -- gardeners that is. :)

I moisten soil slightly then press a tuber horizontally into the soil. Oh, the soil is in a regular flat. You shouldn't water unless it is absolutely bone dry. The tubers can still rot and they furnish their own moisture from themselves. If all goes well, they should start sending out growth, little green sprouts. As they do, I gently remove them (make sure they have several inches between as the roots can be surprisingly extensive) and put them in their own pot. Dahlias can be a bit problematic at least to me. The small guys can be planted in a quart or so container laying horizontally which is the recommended position. But if you have a long tuber you could need a 12" pot just to get the sucker to lay down flat. I quite often just put them in a deep pot vertically until I can plant outside. If they simply refuse to sprout, you could just plant them out with the others when the time comes and hope that inspires them to grow. If they don't, they contribute to the richness of the soil. lol.

Arlene and Dan, please feel free (which of course you will) to chime in if I have missed something or not given good advice.

Oh, and yes, they need light.

Thank you Mary for that detailed explanation. While I am not actually "new" to gardening persay , I am new to the finer points of raising Dahlias. It is a good idea to gather information from people who actually know what they are doing. lol I know what you mean about the large pots, I think flats would be easier to work with, and use less soil, too. Besides I have used most of my larger pots for Iris and Day lilies that need to be planted in the Spring as soon as I can get the ground worked.

Perfect, Mary!

Amen, to all Mary said. I start mine in a tray with potting mix. I don't cover them completely until they start growing the hair roots at the end. I still leave the end exposed a little where the eye will be. When the sprouts are several inches high I move them to a 24" planter with five or six tubers in each. I barely cover them with soil but continue to add as they get taller. I'd prefer to have 8"-10" tall plants when I set them out. The last couple years I've started them a little too early and at planting time I've had leggy 15"-18" plants. They've done okay though.

A couple important things when starting them in trays. As Mary mentioned, don't over water. They do rot easily. I barely spritz mine every few days when the soil seems dry. I always stagger mine in the tray head to toe so the hair roots of each are on opposite ends of it's neighbor. The roots of a couple of tubers can get tangled together and I've had to cut in the middle with scissors to get them apart. It can create quite a mess.

Good to know! Thanks Dan for the additional information. There's a lot to keep up with!

Dan, Arlene said I was perfect!!!! Oh, no that's not right. What I said was perfect. lol Big difference. Thanks for the reminder about staggering the tubers to try to keep the roots apart. I have had the silly things trailing 6" following down the side of the flat. Is that 24" pot a rectangle? I have three but they are rather deep. I guess I could just fill it with 4" or so of soil.

My friends are always perfect, right or wrong.

Some of mine, in trays with almost damp soil-less mix last year, had big roots while others had a nice set of little roots that made them so much easier to plant. I ended up cutting off excessive roots or I'd have either lost tags or dropped one and that's deadly because then it's a guessing game of who is whom.

It's good to have friends that think you are perfect! lol Pirl I love your patio, it makes me want to come sit out there and enjoy the view. and your patio table reminds me of mine...covered with plants and various potting media.

Thanks, Annette. I love the outside areas, too, but this is how it looked last week. The sun we had yesterday did melt the snow but there is no sign of bricks yet.

I also loved the picture of your patio. I am soooooo thirsty for the sight of green growing things. Trays and pots out in the sun. Sigh.

Your comment about friends reminded me of a remark my step-mother made to me many years ago. "I would fight a buzz saw for you even if you were wrong." She really saved me from a less than functional family.

I will cover the raised beds today with the hoops and poly then put the iris flats out there. That is all I can think of to do to get them to germinate.

The sight of brick will be a thrill. Seeing grass will be even better and even a single crocus will have me with camera in hand.

That was one very wise step-mother. We all need that kind of support to bolster our young self-esteem issues. Bless that woman!

Good luck with the iris flats. I'm glad I never tried it - no disappointments, or joys. Space and energy are at a premium.

Mary, those 24" planters are about 5" wide and 5" or 6" deep. I like to start as deep as I can (bottom 2"or 3") so I can add soil as the sprout grows. I like to support the stems as much as possible. I also start some tubers in 2 and 3 gallon pots. I don't have enough south facing windows for all of these, so I carry them out every sunny day I possibly can. It gets to be a bit of a hassle after a couple weeks, but I love the fact that I get earlier blooms than I would by just planting tubers.

And yes, those little hair roots can get quite long in the starting trays. lol I've had some that were about the same length as the smaller tubers they were growing from.

One day last week I found six garden catalogs in the mailbox. Two were from Breck's. One was a wholesale catalog that had dahlias I've never seen them offer before. One was Holiday Festival (orange/white tips) and another was named Yarra Falls. The picture looks like what I imagine England's Glory might look like, since I've never actually seen one. There are several I wouldn't mind having. I think all of them were 5 for $14.00. It's the first time I recall seeing Breck's offer Firepot. That would probably make a nice border in front of some taller ones. Hmmmm ....

I should have spare Firepot if you want one or two if I can manage. I am just recalling from my last visit to the crawl space. I was pleased to see eyes on at least one of the tubers. Love Firepot. American Dawn is another but even though the tubers look good I don't see any eyes. I will haul in my three rectangular pots and give your method a try. I bought my first bale of soil a day or so, so I am off an well, not running, but sort of skipping along. lol

I appreciate the offer, Mary, but I have 2 or 3 in storage. Since I never count on all having eyes, I think I also ordered two from Alan Lowe. Firepot is one that people never fail to comment on and many will ask if I might have an extra tuber. A border of Firepot would be nice, but I just noticed that Breck's has a gallery dahlia named Pablo. I had those for several years. I think I might go in that direction. They are also 5 for $14.00. Thanks again for the offer!

Pablo, huh?? May have to have a look. :)

These photos are all Pablo. I have no idea why some colors look different. It may be the time of year or amount of light. I like any of them.

Looking at the thumbnails they look kind of different, but when you look at the enlargement you can really see the similarity. Very nice dahlia.

I just looked at Breck's and they don't show Pablo. hmmmm

This message was edited Mar 8, 2015 11:27 AM

The only places I've seen that they offer Pablo are Breck's Wholesale on-line site and in their wholesale catalog. They are not shown on the regular Breck's site or catalog. They only sell in quantities of 5, 25 and 50. I like the way some of these importers slightly alter the name of some packaged tubers. They have one called Christmas. I'm almost certain it's Santa Claus. At least it's the right season. lol