Dahlias: Spring 2015

This warm spell has been a long time coming for us Mary. I expect we aren't done with the cooler weather just yet. But it sure is a refreshing change for us. I had to hang some shade cloth over the dahlias that I took outside because I was afraid they might sunburn. It was supposed to be partly cloudy today...go figure. Oh well, not complaining, mind you. I just had to make a few adjustments.

27F this morning. I covered my peas with just one layer of row cover and they came through fine. The rest of the plants are covered with poly. I wish it would warm up enough to get my bean and squash plants out in the hoop beds but I lost them all last year by putting them out too early and don't want a repeat. That was about the middle of April. Not bright. I noted on my calendar that I planted out again on this day last year. I think I will wait at least a week or so before trying that.

Yikes, why did you put them out in mid April last year? I don't think I would have even been that brave living here. Good thing you're waiting this time. Last year we got two hard freezes back to back mid April last year. It's so hot here we had to put an air conditioner in! It was 85 today.

That is just so amazing. 85. In May.

I was very enthusiastic and had read a book on pushing back winter in the spring and fall. Guess I got carried away. Last summer I attended a class on raising vegies in Alaska and that is the first time I heard about cool weather crops and warm weather crops. What I have in the hoop beds now are all cool weather and doing very well, even being set out mid April. We have had several many hard frosts but they are fine under the poly.

I had a few things to do yesterday morning and had to hustle to get the garden in back tilled and limed before the rain. I got finished less than a half hour before the shower. Rain didn't last too long but we've had a little more today. There's a chance of rain and thunderstorms this afternoon.

My hyacinths in two of the front beds are looking a little tired. In another week or so it will be "off with their heads" time. I have to get the dahlias planted, maybe next week. I'm planning another trip to Virginia on the 15th and these trips are costing me an opportunity to start the tubers indoors. I hate to leave them in planters for a week or so and don't really want to trust or bother anyone to water or carry them out to get some sun. That would be a lot of carrying inside and out. I'll just plant the sprouted tubers and accept the fact that the blooms will be weeks later than when I set out plants. The bigger concern is the possibility of rot if we get a lot of rain. Many of the tubers are just starting to develop a root system.

We were at 79 degrees around noon yesterday. I'm not sure what the high for the day was. I would be extremely happy if 79 was the high for the entire year. Not a fan of hot weather. In fact, it's sometimes hard for me to enjoy spring-like weather knowing the hot weather is coming soon. lol

I love it HOT. A nice 85-90 degrees is no biggie for me. Even with the humidity it's all good. I was in my element yesterday for sure. Now it's back to work in the lame air conditioned office. I took off yesterday to garden. A perfect vacation day :)

Ober, now I understand about the 'cool weather' plants and why you'd try them early. Thanks for explaining.

We all live and learn In fact it is the fun part of living. lol

Yeah well that's for sure. My brain is so dense that most times I don't learn unless I do it myself. Then it really sticks.

I absolutely agree. I am a hands on learner. I read the books, I listen to advice, but the learning takes place when I put my hands to it. Or maybe in the case of spreadsheets and databases, my mind to it. I freely admit to being a SS and DB junkie. lol

Oh nice :) I like Excel but I'm more of a basic - intermediate user. I have all my plants and bulbs for the last two seasons on a spreadsheet. It's very helpful. I print it at work and carry it around the yard with me so I know where to plant stuff.

Sequoia, I get this mental image of you carrying a long trail of paper around your yard, lol. Like the printer paper we used to use. I am not so organized as you and Mary are. No spreadsheets here, just use the old "find an empty spot and plant it there" method. lol I wish I could be a better planner, I have to admit I am a little envious.
I have moved all the Dahlias outside and will be planting in-ground in the next few weeks as the weather (and job) allows. All but a few that I stored from last year have sprouted. So I am pretty well pleased with the outcome so far.
Mary ,my tubers I got from you are looking good. Thanks again! How are KF and TE doing?

This message was edited May 6, 2015 8:08 AM

I am not always organized Nanny but when you have 40-50 new perennials going out, there's got to be something or I would spend much time walking around in circles...LOL My spreadsheet has the garden name, plant name, preferred sun exposure, water needs, color, and height. It's come in pretty hand I'll say. I printed my spreadsheet on a single page, shrunk to fit on an 11x17 piece of paper.

It's good to have a plan, I should give it a whirl. It surely would make the planting process go faster. I spend more time trying to decide where to plant, than actually planting. Hope everyone has a splendiferous day!

Yeah for sure. I do usually go overboard though and have to walk around trying to slip a plant in somewhere.

I don't use the spreadsheet for where to plant stuff. I use it more to record where I planted each plant so when it blooms I can record when. This year I have no clue where I will plant everything. Still too cold to even consider it. Down below 30 again this morning.

I am thinking of planting all like kind dahlias in groups. It looks so stunning when I see it in pictures.

KF and TE are among the largest plants I have. Thanks so much for both. Both because they started earlier and because they are simply large plants. I am so glad the tubers I sent are doing well. I dumped many of mine that were not going to sprout eyes. And I certainly didn't need any more plants, even when they were the only tuber of a particular kind.

The aphids are still with me and I continue to spray with Safer. I have to look every day as they are very persistent. I don't think it is all that good for the dahlias being attacked by aphids and sprayed with Safer, even if it is organic.

Why not spray the aphids with neem oil? That knocks them out cold.

I could. I have some. I guess I thought the Safer was just as good. I will mix up some neem and hope to deal the final blow. Tired of spraying every day and finding some I missed dying or dead - the plant, not the dratted aphids.

Yeah they are annoying. They love the new growth on our euonymus alatus. I give them a systemic in the spring at bud break to handle that. They also love the new growth on our photinia villosa. The latter I spray with the neem because that makes flowers the bees like and then produces berries.

Do you suppose I could give my plants a systemic? they are all new growth like dahlias, annuals, lilies, etc.

Well that is up to you. You CAN but you run the risk of killing the bees and other pollinators that frequent those plants. I am careful which plants I use it around. I will not use it on my dahlias, which attract many bees. It would be great for killing the Japanese beetles that eat the dahlia blossoms though. Bees and pollinators are important to me so I only use it on plants that bees don't often frequent. But to answer your question, yes, you technically can use the systemic on any plant. Make sure you read the labels prior to applying so you know all the risks to the environment.

If it is that toxic then no thanks. And I would hate to kill the bees and pollinators. My yard is full of all sorts of flowers and subsequently I frequently have to disturb the bees to get to my plants. I try to be kind about it and they aren't really aggressive so I don't worry. My MIL keeps bees up in Fairbanks and sends down honey regularly. Would love to have a hive of my own.

Yeah you really have to decide if it's for you or not. I'm just very selective with my use of it. I don't think I'd ever want my own hive but I appreciate that people do and don't want to kill their bees. I very much enjoy watching the bees and frequently they are within 6" of my face while I'm working in the yard. I love to watch them work, especially in tube shaped flowers like Penstemon. They disappear inside and then back out when done.

Yeah. They are pretty amazing creatures.

I try not to use chemicals that are toxic to the beneficial insects. We don't even spray the dandelions in the yard. The bee population is already is serious decline, last year I saw very few honey bees around the yard. I am not sure why. But this year there seems to be more around, so maybe they're coming back. I sure hope so. I haven't seen any Hummingbirds yet either. But I haven't hung out my feeders yet, I will do that this weekend.

I bought one of those gizmos that pulls up dandylions by their roots. So stopped using what I had used for years. Weed-B-Gone. Did a great job though. The gizmo puts a hole in the lawn but I guess you could consider that aeration.

I barely ever see hummers despite having many hummer friendly plants.

I usually don't see the Hummers until I put up the feeders, and I am late getting them up. Usually the Hummingbirds arrive in April, but maybe the crazy winter affected their migration. I really enjoy sitting out on the patio watching them flit around the feeders.

Yeah they are quite fascinating that's for sure. I like the precision with which they operate around the flowers. They sure don't waste any time.

What size shoe, Madam? My Yellow Lady Slipper just broke ground a couple weeks ago. I had almost given up on it. In the following 10-14 days it grew over a foot and I didn't even notice the blooms until yesterday. I'm not sure when it actually bloomed. I've heard these are supposed to be planted in the fall. If I go to Virginia in the fall I'd like to bring back a few more of these. Hopefully, the dahlias will get planted in a couple weeks. I'm getting tired of watching over them like a mother hen.

Very nice Dan!

Amen Dan. Me too. Ready to chuck them all. Well, not really, but survival of the fittest for sure. The battle to maintain my vegie seedlings adds to the angst. But our weather is improving each day. It is supposed to be in the 60's this week with night time temps in the 40's. I put azomite and 10-10-10 fert on my peonies in the front yard. Need to buy more for the back yard.

I have bumped up my volunteer time with the ABG. They really need help with their accession database and putting out new labels, identifying plants, etc. Great fun and good work.

Mary, I hear you...about maintaining plants until the weather cooperates. I sowed seeds later this year so I could possibly avoid the crunch of having everything ready to plant at once. The weather is always squirrely this time of year. Right now we have temps in the mid 40s at night, mid 70s daytime. Last week it was almost 90 day, 60 at night. Next week...who knows???
I am getting ready to plant the Dahlias in the ground, possibly this weekend, they have been outside for over a week now and should be properly acclimated to outdoors by now. Some are over a foot tall already, so I need to get them planted. Hope everyone is doing well! Have a great day! I have pics I just have to figure out how to get them from my new phone to the computer. lol

Last year I put my dahlias in the hoop beds with poly over them. They hardened off beautifully with no wilting. This year the beds are pretty much all planted out. I could probably do it is shifts, putting several out where there are no plants yet or where potatoes are not up above ground. I worked all day at the botanical gardens putting out new accession tags. It was glorious. Blue sky and probably 70. Surely felt like it. Which for us is wonderfully warm. Lots of walking even in our small garden. Great exercise which I sorely need after this winter and last summer.

Potted tubers are emrging. It has been cold/ Last two nights in the low 30's. didn't cover them but seem fine.First to emerge was all three Holland Festivals.I still have about 7 seemingly viable tubers which have done nothing yet. About 40 have sprouted.

Nice to hear they're coming up! All but a couple of mine have made it to the surface. I don't label mine so it will be a mystery what they are until they flower.

Glad things are moving along for everyone I have some Dahlias that are well over a foot tall. Those are in the ground already and about 2 dozen more left to be planted, So I am about a third done with the Dahlias. Will post some pics later. Have a wonderful day!

Wow, a foot tall already~!? Go you!

I started them in flats and pots so I could have plants by the time the weather was warm enough. And wouldn't you know it is going to go down in the 30's tonight. :(
First daylily of the season

This message was edited May 21, 2015 6:11 PM

30s! That's rough indeed. I like that baptisia in the background. We're supposed to go down to 43 tonight. I told my wife we'd have to put an extra blanket on the bed. Crazy weather..

Thanks! I re-did this bed, took everything out, except that Baptisia, and a yellow one, that quit blooming cause I had to dig it up to get to what needed to be removed. Anyway I left a "Miss Kim" Korean lilac and a few DLs that were original to the bed. Everything else is new. I have some border plants to go in there. and maybe a few more Dahlias if I can work them in. But there are lily bulbs and peonies planted in the bare spots that have not come up yet.
It got down to 39* here and is supposed to warm back up. I sure hope this is the last of the cool nights. It makes me nervous about all the tropical plants that I have moved to the outdoors. Banana Trees,Citrus Trees, Hibiscus, Areca palms,Cannas, just to name a few. I have over 30 pots that are cold sensitive plants. Too many to have to move in and out! And that is just the stuff that wouldn't fit in the greenhouse. lol