Dahlias Summer 2015

Very nice pics kiseta. We are all about bragging here, lol. It's fun when you have such fabulous Dahlias for subject matter. Our bloom season is coming to an end soon, but I guess yours will continue a bit longer. I envy those of you with milder Winter temps. We did have a heavy frost last night and my Dahlias look a a little rough today, but not as bad as I was expecting.

Thank you dear, I got all in with the dahlias this year, ordered lots of tubers. I lost some, but it was worth waiting after the hot Summer. I think if I had to dig them up I would not have as many dahlias, I don't know how some people do it, year after year. I always dreamed about moving to Ky, The flat side, don't know how to drive in the mountains. Etelka this is Cornell

Haha....nice Kiseta! You lucky duck you. I just cut a bunch of my dahlia blooms off tonight because it's looking pretty good for losing all of them tonight. It's already 38 and clear skies won't do me any favors. They made it through last night's temps very well but I just don't know about tonight.

Great blooms, Kiseta! There is a frost/freeze warning for our general area after 4AM. Along the shore of Lake Erie where I live, we should only get down to the mid/high 30's. But you never know. We had a few brief snow (ice pellet) showers yesterday and this morning. Temps have been holding in the low 40's the past two days. We're supposed to recover to the mid 60's the next two days and high 50's the rest of the week. Lows are to be well above freezing.

I don't enjoy digging the tubers in the fall and trying to store them. But it's a great way to build up your plant numbers. I once read that someone started with a dozen dahlias and after digging and dividing had around a thousand plants after the fourth year. She decided to start her own part time business selling tubers. Hard to believe that many until you consider it only takes a minimum of three tubers per plant over the four year period. Still, not something I want to get into.

The winds have still been brutal around here. Even with the foul weather, many of the dahlias are still producing a surprisingly good numbers of buds. I hope I'll have blooms for a while yet. This is the earliest cold weather I can remember in a long time. Last year we had a big snowfall in mid-November before we had our first frost.

I can't be sure since it was the sun was just coming up this morning when I left for work, but I think the dahlias may have made it through the night. It was 31.3 this morning and we definitely got a frost. I'll have to check everything when I get home from work today and there's more light.

Dan, how many miles are you from the lake shore?

Dahlia season ended for me in Perrysburg Ohio friday night. After our bumpy start to the season with all the rain and flooding I only lost two dahlias . It took them awhile to recover but they sure put on a show . It was the worst year for bugs that I can remember. Vassio Meggos was my star performer followed by La Luna, Neon Splendor, and My Little Sunshine. I have followed all your pictures and enjoyed seeing them but I could not post any of mine because I am pretty hopeless on the computer and do not know how. Now it is time to start the wish lists for next year.Dan I hope the frost stays away from your end of Lake Erie for awhile. Karen

Thanks, Karen! I hope the frost will stay away at least until I can cut some flowers for my Mother's birthday on Saturday. The forecast looks favorable for that. I don't think we dropped below the lower 40's last night. Low for tonight is 51 with 50's and 60's for highs the rest of the week. My biggest problem the past couple weeks has been the winds. We had another really gusty day today. I can't remember having such strong winds like this for so long of a time.

Vassio is a beauty. Spartacus is a sport of VM and looks very much like it with the folded back leaves. Difference is that it's red. I plan on having a couple next year. With all the rain this past spring, you did extremely well by losing only two dahlias. I lost maybe five or six but was very pleased because it could have been much, much worse. We don't need another spring like that.

Jeff, I live probably a little less than a mile from the lake. It's amazing how much cooler it can be just a few miles south of here. Our first frost is usually two weeks or more later than frost at a friend's house five or six miles south.

Wow, so your weather is really guided by the lake. I guess you pay for it in the spring though when your spring takes longer to come on than everyone else. I think I'd rather have my climate. A couple week earlier fall is MUCH better than a couple week later spring..IMO of course ;-)

I checked out the dahlias in the sunlight and, while they didn't get a complete kill, they are pretty much done for the season. All the remaining flowers are still viable and possibly even the buds that were about to bloom but the plants look pretty ragged.

Actually our springtime weather catches up in a hurry. Once the lake thaws and warms a little, we're not as susceptible to a late spring frost/freeze as the areas south. I've mentioned before about a fruit farm I go to every fall that's located a few miles south of Erie, Pa. They sell a Chinese apple that I can't seem to find anywhere else. Some years they lose an entire crop of apples from literally thousands of trees due to late freezes.

Another strange phenomenon is lake effect snow. As long as the lake is unfrozen, the moist air traveling from the north or northwest stays relatively warm until it gets a few miles south of here. As a result, we may get little or no snow while my friend south of here may get two feet. Once the lake freezes, it usually evens out. I wouldn't be a big fan of living in the "snow belt", earlier spring or not.

How does the foliage on your plants look? I have quite a few plants that have looked bad for a while. Lots of brown leaves. Cutting them down will be merciful. lol

Yeah the dahls are looking pretty ragged, brown leaves and such. I won't cut them down because I don't want to cover the stems with foil.

It really is a phenomenon with the lakes. I know Erie is the shallowest to that freezes faster than Michigan and maybe even Ontario. I would love to be in the snowbelt though. Snow is the best thing about winter. I'm such a huge fan and can't wait until our first snow.

Don't express your love of snow to any of the snow belt folks. You might end up getting a slush ball in the ear. lol My friend has a driveway that's probably a couple hundred yards long. When he complains about having to clean it out, I always kid him and say, "That's life in the country."

A weird thing I saw on the Weather Channel was that places as far south as West Virginia get lake effect snow. After the air moves inland and cools enough to dump snow in our snow belt, it warm until it gets into the higher altitudes in WVA, cools and dumps again. Hard to believe that areas hundreds of miles from Lake Erie can be hit with what's considered lake effect snow.

I think it's much easier and more secure to cover the open stalks with a sandwich baggie and a rubber band. I used foil once years ago and just crimped it around the stalk, but it would eventually blow off. It's amazing how much water can be in the stalks.

Haha...yeah the people around here think I'm nuts too. I just really love the snow. We only average 27" so we don't get a lot. The western side of the Appalachians in PA get lake effect too. Pretty cool. I never thought about a plastic baggie before. I might forget to pull them out of the soil then...lol

Spartacus is on my list to get next year. I am also considering Harvey Koop. Has anyone here tried it? I assume it probably has the same issue as the rest in that family with weaker stems but I wonder if it is a decent bloomer like Vassio Meggos is. When we get the strong winds out here I know some of Vassio Meggos will break but thats ok. Another one in that family i would like to try is Steve Meggos butwill skip it this year because of the price.the orange would be showy though.My son who lives closer to Lake Erie only had light frost damage to Spartacus and ACCJ. The rest of his dahlias were untouched luckily. Karen

The worst cussing out I ever got at work was for wishing for enough cold weather to form ice on the lakes so I could go ice fishing. Co-workers can be downright brutal. lol

I started to order HK one year but the $15 price tag stopped me in my tracks. I haven't checked recently. Maybe the price has come down a little. With all the rotted tubers I used to have in the spring, I can't see taking a chance and paying that much for one tuber.

I was thinking that Steve Meggos was the big white dahlia but just remembered that one is Louie Meggos. There are more varieties in those Meggos and Huston clans than you can keep up with. lol

I have a lot of the bigger dahlias with weak stems. I hate to see those beautiful blooms hanging their heads. I fertilized with pot ash this year but can't say I saw any big improvement. Maybe my soil is lacking something else. I haven't had the soil tested in three or four years. I will definitely do that early next year.

Karen, this Goshen Calico probably isn't as gaudy as HK but it's about the same form, size and has pretty much the same basic colors. I know it's usually a lot less expensive. I don't know if you can tell by the photo but it normally had nice strong stems. I haven't grown it in several years. I tend to grow many varieties for a while and then move on. I plan to add it to the garden again next year.

Hey I really like Goshen Calico and will shop around for it.i love those colors. I hate to invest too much money in the tubers never knowing how many will make it. Steve Meggos is the orange one and it has a $15 price tag. I will wait for it to come down.there are some dahlias that I grow every year but I also order a number of new ones to keep it interesting Karen

All day rain here. Which is ok with me. Still haven't had a killing freeze but the plants are looking oh so sad, but with a cheery blossom here and there.

Yes, the plants are looking tired indeed. Mine look like zombie dahlias as their bottoms are ok but the tops have been frost burnt and they are still blooming. I ripped out all the annuals today and they filled most of the back of the truck.

My plants are pretty much toast. We're still having the high winds almost daily. I wish the frost or Dr. Kevorkian would come to finish them off and put them out of their misery. I'm ready to do some digging. This is the earliest my dahlia season has ever ended. I'm not sure if it was because of the weather this year or maybe something about the plants health. Some haven't looked good for a while. At least I got to cut several vases of blooms for my mother's birthday.

I know our weather was a contributing factor because it was very dry and hot for the last of Sept-first part of Oct. and then it rained and turned cold and windy. So considering the crazy swing in the weather, they have done as well as could be expected, I guess.
I am about to start digging, as soon as the ground dries a bit, just so I don't have to do it in the snow, lol.
I cut a big vase full last week before the "frost". Apparently it didn't get as cold as expected because the Dahlias are still blooming.

The last "Hurrah"! I don't have a sense of color co-ordination, so what you see is what you get. lol I'm just thankful they lasted until Mom's birthday. With this weather and wind, even a couple more days would probably have been too late. On to next year!!

Photo didn't post the first time. I'll try again.

I like a bouquet with all different colors, besides I am sure your mom loved them!
And the wind and rain last night beat the dahlias up pretty bad, so it won't be long til digging time after all.

Photos look great Dan.

My dahlias need water or dug. They are super dry but I just don't feel like watering them because the plants are half frost killed. A couple have managed to continue blooming, those crazy plants. We're supposed to get a moderate rain tomorrow so that may alleviate my guilt. I'd like to pull them all but don't they need to set for a week or so after a killing freeze? Or can I just pull them now?

More rain and high winds today will surely be the end of the Dahlia blooms. Last night I picked a bouquet, just because I hated the thought of them being pummeled.
I would think if the foliage had already started to die back they would be ok to dig. But Dan is a lot more experienced and can give you a thumbs or down up on that.

Thanks, Jeff! Thank God the blooms lasted until Mom's birthday. Now, it no big deal when they do go.

The ground here is very dry. The forecast a couple days ago showed low-mid 50's all week with a chance of rain on Wednesday. Now they're showing 67 for tomorrow with a 100% chance of rain and winds up to 40-50 MPH. They're also showing rain every day through next Wednesday. I love consistent forecast. As you know from reading my posts, I have little to no faith in our so-called meteorologists. Seriously, when you get a forecast calling for an 80% chance of rain, like a few days ago, shouldn't there be at least a drop or two. It's the worst I've ever seen. Oh, how I long for the days of my grandmother's sore bunions telling me it was going to rain! lol

Many experts say to cut off the stalks after a frost kills the foliage and wait a week or two before digging the tubers. I would probably dig some of mine now but don't have a cool enough place right now that I would feel comfortable storing them in. I'll leave them in the ground as long as I can.

I read that Hollyhill has been digging their's for a while. I can't imagine any of the bigger commercial growers waiting for a frost to dig their thousands upon thousands of tubers. Of course, I'm sure they all have excellent storage facilities.

The leaves are really starting to fall. I mowed the lawn and had eight or ten bags of grass clippings and chopped leaves. I dumped them in a section of the backyard garden, hosed them down and covered them with a tarp. I seldom get finished compost because I'm too lazy or forget to keep turning the pile. Since there won't be many more grass clippings, I'll start saving all the vegetable and fruit scrapes to use as my "greens." The trees still look full and partly green. It's going to be a long leaf mowing and raking season.

I can't remember if I took samples for the soil tests in the spring or fall. I'll have to check. If I put it off too long, it'll be time to plant again before I remember to do it.

I cut most of the best blooms to bring in before the wind and rain hit. Iceberg and New Dimension were about the only ones that still have decent blooms. The foliage is fading fast on the majority. As soon as it dries up enough I plan to dig them. I would rather do it now before the snow flies, mine will have to be stored in my unheated garage,different from previous years. We are putting an office in the other garage so I am being evicted, so to speak. I guess I should rephrase that...the flowers are being evicted because of space issues. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Anybody know how to fix photos that upload sideways from an Android phone?
The pics are correct on the phone but flip on uploading.

OK I think I got it!

My Iphone does the same thing and it's so annoying. What I do is edit the photo by turning it a direction, saving it, then turning it back, and saving it again. That seems to work fine for me.

It really hasn't been that cold here to determine how much warmer the new garage door will keep our garage. It does seem to be a lot warmer so far though. I think I'm going to clear a shelf right next to the opening where it will be coldest. That will probably be my best bet.

That is one thing I didn't think of though Dan, that I don't have anywhere cold enough to store them right now. I guess they'll be staying in the ground looking pathetic. We still have no forecast for a freeze in the next 10 days. It's supposed to be 34 Friday night but we won't get below 40 for the foreseeable future after that.

Very pretty arrangement, Nanny. My arrangement talents consist of cutting off the blooms and cramming them into a jar of water. lol

With the ridiculous winds again today, my cleaned up yard from yesterday is now wall to wall leaves. I guess this will continue for a while. lol At least I should have a lot of compost material.

We're in the mid-60's today and the forecast doesn't show any really cool temps in the near future. I hope I can eventually dig the tubers without standing in mud or freezing.

Thanks Dan. In a fairness I should disclose that I grew up in a flower shop/greenhouse. So I did have an unfair advantage. But Dahlias are tricky to arrange because of their size for one thing, and the stems on some of mine were not real straight.

I didn't look closely at that arrangement but that looks awesome Nanny. I like the use of southern magnolia leaves.

Thanks Jeff! I had a limb that needed trimming on the Magnolia, so I killed two birds with one stone, lol. I love using Magnolia leaves in arrangements. Dahlias are so impressive they needed a greenery that has some substance to it. It seemed to work.

Yeah that's great! Which variety of Southern Mag do you have? We have a Bracken's Brown Beauty. It grew all summer long and I'm concerned the newest leaves won't be hardened off enough for the winter. With this delayed fall though, I might get lucky. I got the darned thing for 25 bucks last year in the 'yard sale' area of the local nursery. It was so cheap I couldn't justify walking away from it. This was it's first full season and it grew about 2 feet at least.

I drove to work in snow last night. It didn't stick and the dahlias still just look tired. Ready for a killing frost.

Oh man, dahlias and snow are something you don't see in the same sentence every day.

I don't know the variety of the Magnolias (I have 2), they were planted by the Nursery across the road from me. And it has since gone out of business. But I may be able to find out from the guy that planted it. These were about 8-9 ft tall and cost way more than $25, but that including planting. You got a DEAL! The worst fault I have with the Magnolias is they wind burn, from extreme cold. I don't think you can do anything about that, except plant in a protected area.

Temps in the high 60's /lower 70's are forecast for this coming week. Looks like a frost will delayed a bit. I'm getting anxious to start digging tubers and see what they look like. Swan Island says if you haven't had a frost by Nov. 15th, it's okay to go ahead and dig. Hopefully, I can get some of my bowhunting out of the way until then. I really didn't want or need this warm weather for the hunting or digging. lol