Dahlias Summer 2015

We came from here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1389553/

Here are two new ones to open for me:

Jitterbug
Sandia Shomei

Nice blooms, Jeff! I especially like Jitterbug. I love any of a number of varieties with that peachy color. That's a beauty.

Good idea about a new thread. The other one was getting a bit long.

We had a nice 15-20 minute shower this evening. Not the flood watch type. Still a chance of rain tonight and then two days of fair weather. Then another round of rain and t'storms Friday through the weekend. Or so they say. lol

I don't think you'd like the Jitterbug in person though Dan, it's only about 2-3" in diameter. I know how you like those big blooms :-) I like the smaller ones though, most of mine are under 4". I was surprised how much larger the Jitterbug plant was than last year. Last year it was just a single stalk stick that could barely stand on its own. Now it's a decent bush. I noticed yesterday that the JBs ravaged a couple blooms on my Ginger Snap but the center pollen area was still intact and the bees were still getting their fill. I went around last night and hit all the favorite JB plants by knocking them into a cup of soapy water. I didn't count but probably netted at least 40 JBs. We got 1.76" of rain last night. I woke up around 1am to pounding rain hitting the window ac. I saw parts of KY that had gotten hammered on TWC this morning; it looked pretty crazy.

In between storms I found this in my back yard and we had one spectacular sunset. Hopefully we will get a day or two to dry out and just maybe I can get out in the garden and work a little bit.

My poor Dahlias have been ravaged by the wind and rain. Last night I found a couple of stems (KF and OT) that were wilting because they had been broken off at the ground level. I hope that is all that sustained such damage. But all in all, I guess it is not so bad, at least I have more of both of those. But they were huge plants almost 4 ft tall with several stems, and I hate to lose them.

Wow Nanny, your pics are beautiful. That looks like one heck of a storm coming or going in pic 2. How much more rain did you get?

My rainbow picture disappeared isn't that just like a rainbow so I'm posting it again along with a few other storm pictures of pre and post storm that we had that was just unreal. I think we got about an inch of rain yesterday.

This message was edited Jul 15, 2015 9:33 AM

OOPS. I made a double post to go with my double Rainbow. lol

This message was edited Jul 15, 2015 9:39 AM

Very nice rainbows!

Beautiful pics! Beautiful morning here. It is 61 just had a passing shower and now the sun is trying to shine, Only supposed to get to 72.I have 4 dahlias blooming. Perhaps not surprisingly one labeled as Lucky Number which should be a smaller purplish flower is a beautiful apricot with bright yellow center. Don't know what it is but I like it.

Great photos, Nanny! I love pics of rainbows. Especially the double one. When Jeff mentioned something about photo #2 in your earlier post, I thought my computer was messing up since I could only see one photo. lol

Years ago I was fishing and saw a circular rainbow reflection in the water. When I looked up I saw a rainbow-like halo around the dull, milky sun. I don't remember seeing that before or since. Someone told me it was a phenomenon caused by ice crystals in the atmosphere. They said it was called a nimbus or icebow. Of course, it had to be one of the very few times I wasn't carrying a camera while in the outdoors.

Thanks Dan! That must have been awesome...a circular rainbow. I posted two pics from my phone, they uploaded to the site, then I somehow un-uploaded the rainbow pic off that post. It was pretty bizarre. I didn't think you could remove a pic once it was posted. Probably could not do it again if I tried. lol

Very pretty blooms Jeff!

Thanks :-)

I have seen that before Dan, it's pretty cool to see.

I re-tied a few more plants yesterday and squished more JB's. Still not any big numbers ,,, yet! They seem to gather in little social groups where you find a half dozen or more on one plant and no others close by. Some are mating and I put a stop to their further "propagation." lol

The dahlias have really grown lately. Some look like they've grown a foot in a week. I was surprised (shocked) to see at least eight plants with buds. Considering all the rain they've had to endure, I would have thought many more would have rotted. A few still look like they need prayer, but overall I'm very pleased. I normally don't have many, or any, blooms until late July or early August. So maybe I'm not as far behind schedule as I thought. Fingers are crossed.

I had planned a metal detecting trip today but the forecast stopped me in my tracks. If the rain and t'storms won't ruin one of my trips, the temps around 90 degrees will. There's not many things I "have" to do outside when it's around 90. Muggy and buggy are not on my agenda.

Gary, was the mis-labeled dahlia a packaged one? I think I set some kind of record last year with the amount of wrong tubers I received. Many were the packaged ones. But some were from sellers on the Dahlia Big List. On the positive side, I ended up liking some of the wrong ones more than the ones I actually ordered. lol I guess that's one way of being introduced to a variety you would not ordinarily grow or even know about.

There Ya' go Dan! We actually went a full day without rain, but it is still really wet out there. I was hoping to be able to do some planting but I think that will have to wait til the ground dries up a bit. Not too much new blooming in the Dahlia bed. The sunshine should help tings along, hopefully.

Dan it was a prepackaged dahlia purchased at Menards. It was the first to bloom and I really like it. Dahlias are blooming way early for me this year. Most to open so far are really intensely colored ones. Afew pastels are staring now.

We have had a couple of nice days with cooler temps but muggy and buggy are on their way today. They make quite a pair. lol. Picked raspberries and blakberries yesterday evening. They have produced well this season.

I have always heard that the fruit bearing plants and trees bear heavily is an indication of a hard winter to come. That may be an old wives tale, but my grandparents believed it to be true

There is always extra satisfaction when you disrupt the mating of JBs.

We had quite a storm last night, It started about 12:45 at my house. I spent the day picking up branches and staking everybody. Not much damage to blossoms which is surprising since I had a little over 3" of rain.

There was so much lightening that it almost looked like daylight out. Southern metro area got hit the hardest there were 70,000+ people without power this morning. 88 and humid but a very stiff breeze making it bearable to be outside a lot today.

We had the same weather as you yesterday, minus the rain. The temps climbed all day and the highest I saw was 87. And as you said, the winds helped but it was very humid. I ventured out to look at the flower beds but it doesn't take me long to look when it's this warm. Thank God for a/c! Forecast shows a 50-60% chance of t'storms this afternoon with a high of 89. I wouldn't mind a good shower but PLEASE!, no more flooded beds. lol It's supposed to cool back down to the low/mid 70's by Wednesday.

yes I really enjoy touring the gardens each day. But the tours are shorter with this heat and humidity. Plants look great.

I was out in the garden for 6 hours today. It was brutal. I had to change everything I was wearing when I cam in for lunch. It was like I jumped in a pool. The highest it got here was 93 and the heat index was up to 106. At 9pm it was still 85. The dahlias don't seem to mind it though. I had a new bloom open but haven't gotten around to taking a photo yet. I'm glad I plant them so early because then I get to steal the spot light before Dan starts posting all his...LOL

Please keep posting photos, Jeff. I'm not really sure "Dan" will have a spotlight to steal. lol I am encouraged by the number of plants with buds. I'm seeing a few more each day. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I get some blooms.

We had another scorcher yesterday. Highest temp I saw from the Cleveland reporting station was 86, but I swear it felt like twice that. A few people close to here told me their thermometers showed over 90 degrees. While I was out, I stopped by a small stream I used to fish. I walked over to look at it and saw an old foundation and cellar hole where an old house once stood. I couldn't resist. I took out my metal detector and searched the area. I don't know what was worse, the heat and humidity or the mosquitos, even with repellent. About 30 minutes was all I could stand. That's something that will have to wait until it cools down. Anyone need any rusty nails or bottle caps?

Our 60% chance of rain and severe t'storms yesterday didn't produce a drop. It doesn't look like we'll be getting much or any precipitation until next weekend. It looks like I'll be getting out the hose to water my plants for the first time this year. What's the world coming to? lol

Haha...feast or famine I guess. It doesn't look like we have a good chance for rain until next weekend either. Hopefully we'll get a stray storm today or tomorrow. It sure is hot!

The dahlias are amazing this year. I don't have a pic capability, but they are absolutely beautiful. I have never had them bloom so early beforethis year.My phlox of which I have about 15 varieties are also blooming way ahead of normal for me. It is beautiful out there!

Hopefully that isn't a harbinger of something negative for you...like an early winter. Too bad we can't see pics but I'm glad you're enjoying the flowers!

I'm wilting out there! The plants look great it's just me who's wilting. Can only take short trips to look at blooms. There are a lot of dahlias blooming now. I planted about 40 and about 1/3 are blooming. Many more have buds.

Hot(ter) weather is headed our way. At least a couple days of around 90 this coming week. We had a very light shower last night but the ground was pretty dry this morning. I'll have to do a lot of watering this week. I hope this heat won't be around long ... but it's almost August and I guess we've been lucky it hasn't been hotter so far.

I had a bloom open this past week. But somewhere along the line it's been mis-labeled and is definitely not Akita, as is written on the tag. Hope this isn't a repeat of the mis-labeling like last year. I'll take the blame myself until I dig in the fall and look for a name on the tuber. I also have a Firepot which is close to being completely open. I took photos and then realized my new computer has iCloud installed instead of iPhoto. Enough of a difference to confuse someone who's almost computer illiterate. Anyone know of a six year old who can help? lol I'll get my nephew to straighten it out this week.

I shouldn't mention this and jinx myself. But I've squished less than two dozen JBs all year. I feel cheated. lol

There appears to be another healthy crop of apples and acorns again this year. I hope and pray that isn't a sign of another winter like last year.

I sectioned off an area in the backyard bed last week. I planted a dozen dahlias I've been holding in pots and planters in case I needed any replacements. I don't expect much out of them since they were planted so late. I'm just hoping they'll produce some tubers for next year. Lord knows I need more! lol

Several people have mentioned the weird weather we are having this year. Very different here in the Seattle area (actually Port Orchard). Today we had a couple of real downpours. 1st rain in three months. That is unusual for our area. It has been hot and dry since May. Flowers, fruit trees, and other stuff is about 3-4 weeks ahead of normal. The really strange thing has been the growth of some but not all dahlias. A friend brought this to my attention at July 4th picnic at his house. Showed me several plants in bloom but only about 1 1/2 feet tall and bushy. Same plants were 3 ft or more last year before blooming. Came home and noticed the same thing with some of mine. We had some really hot weather(about 85-90) in beginning of June. I'm thinking that real hot weather in June prompted the plants to stop vertical growth and start blooming early. Not sure. Only a hypothesis. Anybody else notice this phenomena??

Yeah Dan, it's supposed to be in the low 90s here pretty much all week. We only have a chance for rain today and Thursday. We got 0.36" yesterday into last night. Hopefully we can get some more down before the heat really sets in.

Skalan, we had a drought in April and May, double the average rain in June, and since then we've been average. Nothing has really affected my dahlia's height. All are clocking in at the same size they should be.

This has been a very strange year for weather. As Jeff said, areas around here were bone dry through mid-spring. During June and early July the floodgates opened. We had record precipitation for the month of June and I lost count of how many times my flower beds were flooded. I nearly gave up on them more than a few times. Some areas around here had rain for 13 consecutive days. Now it looks like we're headed for a drought. Feast or famine.

It's been a strange year for the plants, too. I have several that are barely knee high and very bushy but have buds. I've never seen so many short ones that are varieties that normally reach at least four feet tall. I have a Zorro that is not much over a foot tall and has a bud that should open in a few days. It's going to look weird if that bloom reaches it's normal 8"-10"+ size on a plant that short. I think you might call that "top heavy." lol

I squished three more JBs this morning while watering. That's barely two dozen for the entire year. That goes along with every other strange thing this year because usually we're being eaten alive by this time of year. In the past week I've only killed six JBs. Wouldn't you know that five of the six were having my first bloom for lunch. I remember someone saying that they removed all their blooms until the JB invasion was over. I'd hate to wait that long to see blooms.

Wow Dan, maybe all the rain came at a critical stage for the JB larvae and drowned them all. What you've lost in terms of JBs, we've gotten. I'd go nuts trying to remove them from everything they're eating. Luckily they stopped eating my Dawn Redwood save for a few still eager ones. They feasted heavily on my crape myrtle flowers and my creme colored KO rose is getting walloped. One night last week I took a cup out with soapy water and probably got 100 of them. Anyone know if Partridge Pea is toxic to them? There are quite a few dead underneath my largest Partridge Pea plant. That plant is in between two Zebra Malvas too. I don't think I remember them dying last year when they ate the Malvas. It's just weird, but a good weird :-)

That is a GREAT kind of weird. Please let me know if you find that the Partridge Pea (or anything) is toxic to the JBs. I'd have an entire forrest of them if so. I used to joke about the heavy rain we've had some years drowning the beetles. I doubt that's the case but I do wonder why so few this year. I just hope I don't see a sudden population explosion. Better late than never is definitely not true regarding JBs. Or earwigs.

Yes, that's for sure. I don't know, maybe I'll do some research on that at lunch. I figure we have only about 3 more weeks of them here. Can't wait til it's over.

With all of the blooms I have already seen this feels like it is much later in a normal season. Besides the dahlias my phlox and oriental lilies are in full bloom already. By the way it was a great year for lilies of all types at my house. Some of my phlox have panicles 10" across. Talk about adding a splash of color.

Chance of rain tonight, much more likely tomorrow. I am going to check the plants and see if I need to spot water.88 today again been hot for going on a week now. Really ready for some relief.

Wow! What kinds of phlox do you have? I planted a bunch of lilies last year and I've already ordered a bunch more for this fall.

The National Weather Service forecast is showing highs around 90 or above for Tuesday and Wednesday with temps "cooling" to the low/mid 80's the remainder of the week. There's only a 20% chance of rain Wednesday night. I hope to get the lawn mowed early tomorrow. After that, the Dan Forecast is showing a 100% chance of me being inside in the a/c with about a gallon of iced tea.

Any watering I do this week will be very early in the morning. The plants have withstood some terrible conditions so far this year. I wish I was that tough. I can stand a lot of cold weather but absolutely hate the heat.

I used to have entire beds full of lilies. Last week I dug the last few dozen and gave them away. With the deer situation in our area, I'm wasting time and energy trying to grow them. I love lilies but I'm tired of providing free meals for the long-legged rats. This year I was "allowed" to see three blooms from the remaining 50+ plants before they were gobbled. Enough is enough.

Wow Dan, that's terrible. Deer are such jerks, way worse than rabbits, which is what I deal with. We have no deer where I live, they are several miles away. The heat for me isn't that bad but I do have the luxury of working inside an office most of the day so I can still enjoy the heat outside.

Some of the phlox I have include David,Laura, The King,Sandra,Bright Eyes,Caspian,Delilah,Eva Collum,Nicky,Orange Perfection,Purple Flame, and Pink Flame. I also have a number of volunteer seedlings. They are kind of fun. You just never know where they will show up or what color they will be.