Dahlias: Looking forward to spring - Part II

"Bitterness, party of one?" lol I have seen that one but always sold out. I will have to look at their wholesale outlet. Thanks.

Easy To Grow Bulbs has Pablo, 3 for $9.95. Longfield Gardens has them, 3 for $10.95.

Yes. Breck doesn't ship to Alaska. But Easy to Grow Bulbs does. I have a friend here who lives down south and has kindly offered to order and transship to me. My expense of course. You guys down south are so very cool and kind.

Pablo is interesting, all the different pictures of the same bloom. Dahlias seem to evolve with a personality of their own. I wonder if it could be the differences in the type soil or fertilizer that is used?

I think the soil type and fertilizer has a great deal to do with it. I also think the temperature and time of year factors in. I've always thought colors were more vivid with the cooler weather of October. I send a lot of tubers to family in Virginia. When they send photos, there are usually a couple that I have a hard time identifying. Just enough of a change to make it confusing. It may be a little of everything mentioned. That's part of the joy of dahlias. You can never be sure of what you're getting.

Lynchcreek is having an overstock sale up to 50% on some dahlias

http://www.lynchcreekdahlias.com/overstock-sale/?utm_campaign=Dahlia+Sale+2+%28fcN8nY%29&utm_medium=email&_ke=bXN0ZWxsYUBnY2kubmV0&utm_source=No+Order+2+Days

I stopped at Lowes this morning long enough to run in and see what dahlias they may have had. The spring bulbs were on a rack just inside the foyer between the outer door and the main entrance. At most, there were 10 varieties of dahlias. Nearly every bag had heavy condensation inside. Most of the tubers were soft and some had mold. I saw a few that had a white "hairy" fungus-like growth. It didn't take me very long to find the exit. It reminded me of the hundreds of rotten tubers I saw at a Walmart last spring. I can't believe they don't take better care of the bulbs. There was one I probably would have bought. It was a big pink/yellow one called Fubuki Kogane. I'll look at another store. None of the area Walmarts or the local Home Depot have put any spring bulb on display yet.

I saw many new arrivals at Walmart on Monday. After I upload the photos I'll have all the names but Ferncliff Illusion was one of them.

Lowe's put them in the same place here - between the front door and the entry set of doors. It didn't give shoppers a warm place to look and dream.

I ordered Fabuki Kagone from another source. Beautiful flower.

I was out and about this morning so I stopped at a Super Wal Mart a few miles from here. This was the store that had hundreds of rotten dahlia tubers last spring. They had several varieties of lilies, glads and a few other bulbs, but only two different kinds of assorted dahlias. I wonder if they were a little gun shy about the mess last spring and maybe decided not to bother with dahlias this year. I drove a few miles from there to another Wal Mart with the same results. There was a Home Depot next door that had a few different dahlias, (maybe six in all) and several of the mixed assortments. I'm not buying tubers that are not labeled. It looks like any more I buy will have to be by mail order. So ..... I came home and ordered (3) Vancouvers and (3) Otto's Thrills from Easy-To -Grow- Bulbs. I'm planning a trip to Virginia about mid-April. I will check out the local WM while I'm there. Last spring they had a lot of different dahlias. Northeast Ohio is apparently not dahlia country.

Our Walmart had tons of different dahlias, and so did Lowe's. But I am done buying. Now it's time to bring them up from the basement (well in another week or so) and start the arduous process of growing the durn things.

Our Lowe's got in two more varieties and I was tempted but resisted. Keep checking. Maybe yours arrive in April. The only ones not labeled here were "mixed". I don't buy them either - no idea of colors since you can't rely on the packaging.

I'm doing the opposite, Mary. Now they're downstairs waiting for me to put them on the tables where they can begin to grow.

I potted 10 dahlias in shallow pen, most of them had shoots on them. Bought some at Lowes very nice bulbs, kelvin, Thomas Addison, most had 2 bulbs in them. The nicest was a burgundy collored Fubuki Moroon, got 4 of them ,also Tahiti sunrise, shorter but it is nice. Waiting for my ordered bulbs, I will pot them first and when the shoots show, plant them in garden. The ones that I left in ground survivde the coldest winter I know here. We had few days below 20, which is not usual. right now pansies are nice, just waiting for Easter, then I am safe from frost. This is for you all in NE, just to remind you, Spring is near. Etelka

It's so good to hear from you again, Etelka. Sounds like you're enjoying the dahlia experience.

You must be happy for the dahlias that survived the cold winter. It only happened to me once after the warm winter of 2012.

Thank you for the cheerful pansies. We're looking forward to warm weather.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Smitty wishes a Happy St. Pattty's Day to all.

He is adorable Arlene. Happy St. Pat's to you all also. I found a recipe for an Irish Lamb stew that I think I will try. Had CB&C yesterday.

Hi Etelka. Looks like you are well underway with dahlias and spring. Hope we follow soon.

Smitty is a cutie! Keep him away from the green beer. lol My brother has a Jack Russell. It's the most hyper dog I've ever seen. As soon as you walk in the house you are "required" to play an unending game of tug of war with a chewy toy.

Those are really pretty flowers, Etelka. I wonder if they are deer proof. Almost impossible to say since they never bothered my begonias and mums until two years ago. I didn't know until last spring that they would eat the crocus. One of these days, no plant will be safe.

I had chicken for St. Paddy's Day. Nothing new since I've had chicken in one form or another almost every day for the past few weeks. lol The pounds are coming off but I think I'm beginning to weaken. Too many tempting pizza and burger commercials on tv. If this darn cold weather ever ends I can get back to some jogging. I need to re-open my gym membership.

We had corned beef for dinner, as sandwiches...easier than me cooking it.

Smitty isn't into games. If he can't be sitting on Jack's lap there's no point in not sleeping.

Our forecast for this Friday (first day of spring), and for Sunday is...snow.

Today I went to a different Lowe's store and bought 2 of each Blue Boy, Crazy love, and Sun Explosion, they feel like very heavy bulbs and I am hoping to get some sprouts soon.
Dan , about the pansies, it is good to eat for humans, I guess the deers would eat it to.
I got some supper phosphate, hope it is the right thing for dahlias , Also have some bone meal too, soon as the pansies get leggy, I will plant the dahlias next to the fence. Last year my white Snowbound did very good, but hope to remember to pinch the middle so it wont get so tall. Love you guys, but please stop me from buying all this plants. Etelka

Don't worry, Etelka. I need intervention as well. I've gone way over my limit for dahlias so a few unsuspecting souls will get the extras.

Today I made it worse by ordering roses at J & P's BOGO sale.

Last week I ordered a bunch of phlox.

At least I didn't order coleuses because I do have enough but if we really get the snow, then all bets are off.

Just when I thought I was through ordering, I made the mistake of going on the K Connell site and looking at that one called Candle Lite again. This one is different than the Candlelight that Swan's Island sells. The fact they are available in bulk, 5 for $10, sealed the deal. Just so they won't get lonely in shipping, I also ordered a Clint's Climax, Wyn's Sundazzler and Trelyn Rhiannon to keep them company. I have to end this compulsive buying disorder. Hope I can stay away from the local Petti's Garden Center and Wal Mart.

Time to sell the mower since you'll have multiple dahlia gardens!

Lowe's had Rebecca's World and Vancouver...just in case you need any.

I also have Rebecca's World to spare -- just sayin' lol

I love all those you chose Dan. Wyn produced such lovely new blooms.

I was out by the mall this morning so I thought I would stop by the garden center "just to look." True story, those first two bags jumped into my hands and wouldn't let go. The devil made me do it. They were $6.99 for a bag of two. And $.98 sales tax sure beats the shipping charges I've been paying. I have a couple of SC in storage. So these are insurance.

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and found this Sunrise Mango Blend. I've bought these the last few years and they have almost always been the normal Akita color. One year I did get a yellow one and a reddish one. At the cost of $3.98 for three clumps, I can live with that.

I would like to say I'm DONE buying for the year. But I don't even believe that myself. lol

Many of us have had similar experiences like that, Dan, even though some other people find it impossible to believe. Now I'll have to visit our local store to see if they have jumpers available.

ROTFLOL

I, of course, never suffer from that malady.

Whew! I got off easy with just a package of seeds. I spotted a package of 2 dahlias for $6.99, Manhattan Island but had already bought a bag of 4 for $9.98 at HD or WM.

My local store had Salmon Star lilies at 2/$5.99 but I had bought 8/$9.98 at WM. It does pay to shop around.

I was surprised that the grocery store dahlias looked much better than those at the big garden center. The garden center had probably close to 20 varieties but many were already looking dried out. I started to buy two "insurance" Ferncliff Illusions but they looked terrible. I also stopped at another local Wal Mart. They only had three 12"x12" boxes of Peaches and Cream and one box of a dinnerplate mix. Looks like our local WM's are out of the loop this year. But they had plenty of potatoes and onions!

Many of the bags of dahlias in all three stores had a lot of condensation in the bags, especially after being in the warm car on the ride home. When I got home I snipped off all the "danglers" and put the clumps into gallon size zip-locs with a little more peat moss. Almost every one had at least one sprout showing. A couple more weeks and I'll start bringing all of them out of the attic.

The Ohio Dahlia Society will have their annual plant/tuber sale in early May about 15 minutes away from here. If you hear of a crazed, wild eyed, drooling man filling up a big u-haul trailer with plants, that'll be me. Seriously, I hope I'm very, very busy at home that day and can't make it there. lol

The Seattle Dahlia Society is having their the first part of April. Interesting.

Should we stage an intervention for Dan, Arlene. Sounds like he is going over the falls this year.

LOL Dan! And I thought was bad.
I have already had a lecture from my mother saying that I can't possibly find room for any more bulbs, and that she is not going to help plant them. She usually helps me with the flowers and the garden if she has time. I did buy a few more that I did not tell her about. She will find out soon enough. ;)
I am going to have to make a dedicated Dahlia bed from the looks of it. I have gone from 3 to over 20 different Dahlias already and planting hasn't even started. Thank you Mary for adding to my collection. I hope to return the favor soon.

Poor Dan. At least we can say we knew him before the dahlias got him certifiable. Make big plans for early May, Dan, and stay out of trouble!

Yes, Mary, Dan needs our help. He'd probably enjoy our help with planting tubers and/or lifting them in fall.

Nanny - it's probably best to surprise your mom but have the smelling salts ready if she passes out. I've found dedicated beds work best. It's easier than going from garden to garden to tend the dahlias.

Nanny, you have gone from three dahlias to 20. Next year it will be 40. Beyond that ... who knows? You will have fallen into the dark abyss of dahlia addiction from which there is no escape. lol An enterprising dahlia vendor would do well to remember and play upon the advice from the anti-drug warnings which said, "Be careful, the first one is free."

I don't think I need an intervention ..... yet! But I might need a contribution when I start getting overdrawn notices from the bank.

Dan - Imagine if they all bloom so beautifully for Nanny that she continues to buy more? Big troubles for her lawn!

Those who think they can handle the problem, and don't need intervention, are the same ones who still consider going ice fishing in late March.

Those people are all wet. lol

A year or two from now, Nanny will be saying, "What lawn?"

Now that's funny Arlene. Ice Fishing in March?? I looked at some pictures from 2014. I was comparing this year to last year. I was shocked to see a couple of feet of snow at this time last year and this year it is all but gone. I also had dahlias laid out in flats and some growing about 4" tall. I am just as glad they are still in the basement.

I had an ingrown toenail removed yesterday. No big deal -- yesterday. Different story today. Ouch. I was going to go down to the crawl space to see how the tubers were doing today. Not likely. Just like hitting your toe with a hammer. Had to be done though.

My Abalone Pearl peony in a pot in the dining room (from Mama Jack's) is finally unfurling its first leaves. Spring if only in the dining room. lol

Ouch! Sorry about your toe, Mary, hope it heals quickly. I dropped a small glass bottle of OJ out of the fridge onto my big toe once, I thought I was going to "die" it hurt so much. So damaged toes are nothing to scoff at. Very painful. It blacked my toenail and I had to drill a hole in it, to let the pressure off. It was niether pretty or fun.

Sure, easy for you to say, Dan...now that you've dried off from your fishing adventures.

Look at all Nanny will save on gas for the mower?

We had more snow last year but more frequent snowfalls this year.

Jack had the same problem about 6 weeks ago and had to soak his foot daily, then another exam, then more soaking, more follow-up visits, and finally he's done with the problem.

Hurray for the peony! No signs of any growth yet on ours.

The ice was still over 20" thick last weekend. I've fished this lake for years and have never seen more than 12"-14" of ice, Just goes to show what gullible warming can do. The fish fry will have to be re-scheduled though . If there's anything I can't stand, it's stubborn fish.

I know all about those ingrown nails. The worst part is the shot of Novocain into the infected area. Last time I was there the doctor cut off about half the nail and scraped the nail bed to deaden or kill any more nail growth along the side. Some grew back but I have about 3/4 of a nail on each big toe. No more problems.

Your photos are missing palm trees. Makes it look very cold!

Loved "gullible" warnings!

The doctor also sliced off the offending edge of Jack's ingrown toenail. He said it was quick and painless so I don't know what the doctor did that was different. Yet, Jack has already fallen asleep during root canal (no sedative, no Lydocaine) , so we can't count on Jack to judge pain!