newbie to Dahlias so ???

I've been hooked on daylilies and hostas but now a patient that comes to the dental office where I work brought a Connells catalog in for me to see........SOoooooo my first question is....
1) Do you folks like the Connells company ?

2) If I order only 1 of a particular dahlia will it look scared in the garden or will it be a reasonably good size the first year. OR should I order 2 of the ones I like ? (to plant in the same hole)

3) I want some of the big ones like 8-10" ones. My favorite colors would be red, yellow, white, and TRUE purple ones . What do you folks recommend ? I might be looking for a total of 12 to fit into my garden so any real good recommendations would be a greatly appreciated.

Thanks Debbie

1. I've never purchased from them, but they do have an excellent rating on the Watchdog.

2. Yes, one tuber will make a good size plant. This of course, will depend on the variety. You would not want to plant 2 tubers in one hole. Spacing is generally 2 feet apart at minimum. You do realize that you will need to dig them for the winter?? And that they multiply?? And then you can swap tubers with the rest of us. LOL

http://www.dahlias.net/dbiglist.htm
This will give you good reading, as it lists a gazillion suppliers.

This will tell you about the classes and sizes.
http://www.dahlia.org/guide/

This is one of my favorites from last year (it changes daily/weekly/monthly ) "Who Dun it"

grannymarsh,
Wow ! thanks for your quick response.
Yes, I do know that they multiply and that I will need to dig them out again before winter (not real sure as to when thou) I just wasn't sure if I needed to plant more than one in a hole. When I do daylilis I like to have 2 or 3 fans to plant because I am one of those impatient people who wants to have a FULL plant the first year if you know what I mean. That is why I asked that question.
I've not gotten into dahlias before cause I knew about having to dig'em out. I really like to keep things where they are supposed to be so if I have a specific spot for them and keep myself limited to about 12 to begin with I believe I can train myself to do it.
Thanks also for the web addresses. I will read up.
Your picture is beautiful !

Hi Willit ( cute name )...
I found this helpful site today www.dahlia.org sponsored by the American Dahlia Society...you ca look up dahlias by size, classes and color, some have pictures. You can find a variety that calls to you.

The really big ones ofte referred to as "Dinnerplate" are AA Giant...these plants can produce huge blooms if pinching and disbudding are done. These plants also require excellent staking to maintain the integrity of the plant and keep blooms from falling over. Also, they tend to produce less blooms, but OH my are the BIG!

Have fun!

I will singlehandedly vouch for Connell's Dahlias as a top notch quality grower, super reliable goods and helpful instant service, whether by email or phone. Buy with confidence...

Second, no dahlia will be 'scared' in your garden unless you don't provide it with the basic needs: full sun, adequate nutrition and hydration, ample support in terms of stakes/ties, or support systems of some kind. Don't bother buying two of the same kind: get more/differnet ones; play the dahlia field! See what's out there and how different each can be; kind of like daylilies, although dahlias have much more variety than daylilies, I think. ( Them could be fightin' words LOL!)

For giant Reds look at Zorro, Spartacus
For giant yellows: Kelvin Floodlight, a bright yellow huge flower, usually findable in local stores; Ivory Palaces is a lovely chiffon yellow, billowy wonder (I love it, can you tell?)

See here for A- AA size blooms in your color preferences.
http://www.dahlias.net/bgbysize.htm

Sudhira,
Thanks for the website. I plan to plant mine by a split rail fence using the fence post to tie them up to. That should work don't ya think? The ones that I've been looking at in the Connells Catalog are approx 4' tall so I "think" the fence post will be tall enough.

Poochella,
LOL ! I'll pretend I didn't hear anything about my DAYLILIES !!!!!!! :)
Thank you so much for your input. Everyone else has been very helpful but your response means alot because you have delt with Connells. Spartacus was one that I really liked.. I will have to look up the others.

Thanks again to both of you !
Now off to work I must go. ;(

I second the vote on Cornnel's. They have wonderful tubers, you can't go wrong buying from them.

12 tubers??? You better run and stay off this forum!!!!LOL You will become an addict and be digging up those daylilies or the rest of your yard to make room for more beautiful dahlia's. 12 years ago my friend gave me 12 tubers and now I have 300 sitting in my basement.. Oh what an addiction dahlias's can be!

Welcome to the forum and keep us posted on your sucess. This a great place to learn what you need to know and the folks here are as wonderful as dahlia's

Willow

Hi Willow,
Thanks for your input ...I will definitely be ordering from them now.
LOL! yeah I said the twelve thing about my daylilies and hostas too ! I just can't imagine having the time to dig 300 of them back out in the fall. That makes my back hurt just thinkin' bout it.

I know this is the best place to learn from. I usually don't say much (even thou I know you can't believe THAT ! ) but I read alot of stuff from here.
Everything I know about daylilies I've learned from DG and I never knew there were so many hostas in my life ! I really do love this site.

My dad used to grow dahlias when I was very young. He would be amazed at all the varieties there are now, with more coming out all the time. You can find short ones with pom-pom flowers all the way up to 6 ft tall ones and they come in every color of the rainbow. I used to have a list of the ones I can't live without--list got too long--talk about addiction.

I have discovered that I don't have to dig mine here. I decided to be brave one year and just covered them with several layers of newspaper and then about a foot of pinestraw and leaves. They did fine, so this year I am adding a whole new bed of them along outside my big bedroom windows. My dad would be so proud!!!

Welcome gram! You will be so happy planting those dahlias where you can see them. Can't stop at just one.... you know.

You are lucky indeed not to have to dig every year. The man I talked to today with 10,000 plants out here was STILL dividing from last season- kept tubers in a cold room and works on them as he can. That is a lot of tubers and far too much for one person, I think. Trying to figure out what is the right number is the tricky part of dahlias! My jaw just dropped when I heard 10,000. That's alot of digging, tying, trimming, cutting, tubers etc.

I bet your Dad would be proud indeed.

10,000???? Oh my goodness, I can't imagine that many plants.
Yes, I agree with Annie. Your dad would be proud.
I say the same thing about my grandpa. He had a huge dahlia and rose garden and that is why I just love dahlias now.
Carol

Hi 1gardengram ,
Isn't it wonderful to have fond old memories of grandparents in the gardens. I was not fortunate enough for mine to be flower gardeners thou. The only flowers I can remember from grandmas yard was those....(I know I'm not gonna spell correctly)....porchulackas.
Holy Cow ! 10,000 ! Willow's mention of 300 was makin' my back hurt but that just about had me going to the emergency room LOL !

10,000... My head is spinning. That means 10,000 plants and on a good day that could be over 30,000 tubers. My back hurt, that makes my whole body hurt, but can you just imagine what his gardens look like, Holy Smokes!

Hi I am cindilynn , new to Dave's garden and new to Dahlia growing. I ordered the dinner plate Dahlia's from Brecks going to be getting eight to start. Now i know you have to dig them up but what would be a good staking material to use on such a large flower the spot i picked for them is open i am thinking of putting a lattice fence up and putting them their it will receive a full day of sun and i probably need to amened the soil but what do i use any and all ideas welcome...................cindilynn

Welcome Cindilynn- 8 is a good place to start. You should have a fine display in your dahlia patch with all those bloomers.
Support systems vary and I think all have been tried here:

I use 1 inch wood stakes or metal fence posts and hoisery or cut Tshirt ties as the plant grows up and branches get heavy. This year I'm tying with surveyors tape instead. Drawback: wood will rot eventually, fence posts flanges can cut into tubers when you dig them up in Fall.

Jamlover has green painted rebar- durable and long lasting.

Willow has used modifed tomato cages ( do you modify them Willow?) See how to do these and other methods here
http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Support/NoStake.htm

One gal supported square big mesh plastic fencing horizontally between posts with the idea that dahlias would grow thru and be supported, but that didn't work out so well; plus she couldn't get to the individual plants to maintain them.
I think lattice might cause the same problem for you and cramp the growth of branches. Not sure though.

Amend your soil so it drains well but has some good compost to hold moisture and nourish our favorite little plants! I try to allow a cubic foot of good growing 'nest' for my tubers. If you take the time to pick out bigger rocks from the planting hole, you will thank yourself when it comes time to dig up the tubers as they are annoying when the tubers entangle the rocks.
Lower nitrogen fertilizer 10 or less will get you less foliage and more flowers. You can read about that at dahlias.net too.

Good luck to you.

Yes, I modify the tomato cages. They work perfectly for me and much easier to put in than driving a stake with my hands and all. After the plants get up, you can't see the cages and no worries about me falling on one of those stakes and impaling myself, my father used to call me "Grace" lol

Good luck ,beware you will get hooked....

Grace LOL! I have to be careful with those 3 ft stakes, leaning over to tend to a plant can be dangerous with my long distance vision and short distance blurriness. Safety goggles would not be out of line for me. 8)

Here's a direct link to the tomato cage thing in case you couldn't find it. It was pretty hidden in the "Members' Gardens" section.
http://www.dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Support/NoStake.htm

Hi Cindilynn,
I'm glad you posted your question about staking. Even thou I plan to use my fence post in my particular situation....the lady who got me thinking about dahlias told me that she uses tomato cages. That certainly looks like a great method.
The dinner plate sizes are what I also want to get. Which particular ones did you order ? I would like to look them up. I must get my mind made up.
In Connells (www.connells-dahlias.com) I will definitely be getting Wicky-Woo. It is not a dinner plate one but because I want purple and my friend said that was her most favorite one I will always remember who got me hooked.
Good luck with yours,
Willit_grow (Deb)

Spring is slowly coming along up here too- been a while since I visited the dahlia forum- but dahlia unpacking time is almost here- willit-grow- I love your enthusiasm! I thought I'd chime in too- Here's the thing- the dinner-plates are definitely fantastic, but the smaller flowered ones have points to consider: they bloom earlier, they have many more blooms, they work in flower arrangements well, and generally behave better in a mixed flower garden....and there are some fantastic forms and color variations...In any case you'll have lots of fun- just order from pictures you fall in love with- and take it from there. I also have ordered many times from Connells- great company--like everyone else says!

sjms,
ya know, I was just thinking about that blooming time.......the dahlias will be blooming when my daylilies are so I'm still gonna be bloomless untill about July right ? So when do the early blooming dahlias bloom ?
And who else do you recommend to order from ? I was looking at the van Bourgondien book but after reading what was posted in the garden watchdog I think I will hold off on ordering from there.

well...........there are lots of fun places to get dahlia's!! the north west area seems to have all the big growers- like swan island, connells, etc...this forum has lots of suggestions- just plunge in, and get a few somewhere!....even the grocery store- As far as the Dutch sources like Van bougondian (i have had so so experiences with them- sometimes their tubers are kinda shrively...), I think that Dutch Gardens has the better quality.. Recently I've ordered from Endless Summer in Maine, and like them, because they have already sorted out varieties that do well for my short summer. You know- unless they are started in greenhouses- all dahlias take a while to bloom! Its worth the wait! Mine start in July sometime. I just have a problem with some like Thomas Edison- which is so beautiful...who bloom in September and barely manage to get one quick flush of blooms and then are zapped by frost- it's really sad!!!! So I search out earlier varieties... Your summer is somewhat longer than mine, you can relax a bit more about this issue!

thanks for your advice.....JUST GET SOME ! LOL, I know what you are saying. I was looking at some at Lowes over the weekend but didn't buy cause I couldn't figure out where it told me the size. ( and it was probably right in front of me ) Anyway I got home and realized the one WAS a large yellow one called Kelven something that I would have really liked.

Willit_Grow, I think you are referring to Kelvin Floodlight. One the first I every got and a must in my garden. I still have tubers from the orginal 12 years ago, a bit of sunshine in your garden. Mine have grow up to 12 inches across.

Oh WOW !, Willow, I think you are probably correct however since I am NOT AT ALL sure of any names yet....I will just say that if it is not the one I saw it WOULD be the PERFECT SUBSTITUTION !!!! It's beautiful. Thanks for posting your pic. I think I'll be going back to Lowes this weekend. The Connells site didn't have any huge yellows that jumped out at me.
So did you start with 12 like I say I'm going to ? And how many do you have now ?

I think a co_worker gave me a dozen or 2 and right now I have about 250 sitting on peat flats in my greenhouse. Last year I planted about 150 tubers and gave away about 100 more. I trade some, give some to the local dahlia soc. for their auction, give some to friends and neighbors and yes, buy some. It is an addition but not a better one that I can think of.

K.Floodlight is pretty common at lowes or Walmart, places like that. It is a great one to have and the tubers really multipy. I think every beginner should grow one as it is impressive and very easy. I will never have a dahlia bed without one.

Good luck with your dahlia's....Willow

Thanks Willow, happy gardening to you as well !

I've been reading along here with all this good information. I really wanted some ideas on staking. I tried the tomato cages before and they were a lot of bother, in my humble opinion. My plants were so heavy that the cages would not hold them up, but I could not take the cages away without breaking off branches and buds. So.....I ended up having to stake the cages and it was pretty messy looking. This year I plan to use the green rebar things or the green metal fence posts. They get hidden by the plant and I think they would be a lot more sturdy than the cages.

I'm just now getting ready to put my tubers in the ground (have some helpers coming to put out new top soil and compost in the new bed and dig the holes for me). We all need to document everything we do this year and whether or not it worked--and then share our goods/bads with others. I'm so excited about having so many more of these lovelies this year. I just hope I have the intestinal fortitude to take off the side buds so I can get the really big dinnerplate sizes on those that are supposed to do that.
Diane

Diane,
We did go over staking pretty well in this thread. I am almost finished painting mine now. 1 coat primer 2 green - so exciting :(.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/559258/
Al

I'd like to pass along a staking idea that came from Uber Gardener- Big Red on the Vegetable Forum
You drive short metal fence posts in the ground that have the holes drilled in them - you can buy them at any hardware store. As the plants grow, you screw a 1x1 wood stake to the fence post to make it taller. With vegetables I don't think anybody cares about having ugly metal fence posts sticking up 5-6 ft in the air, but in a flower garden - not so pretty. This way you could control the height of the post that you see. Downside is probably that the metal fence post is going to be a permanent addition, or you'll have to pull it out.

I like the tomato cage idea. But if they bend over under the weight why not drive a length of rebar in the ground, or those long orange snows stake to anchor one side of the cage.

HI all : thanks for all the good advice, i think i am going to use the painted rebar for staking,the Dahlias that i 'm planting are ,
Thomas Edison(purple)
Kelvin floodlight(yellow)
Fleurel(cream)
Garden wonder (red)
Mrs Eileen (orange)
two of each i ordered them from Breck's.
Another problem i'm facing the place that i am planting the Dahlias is out in the open i heard that because of their size they need wind protection,the spot is very sunny and the soil has very good drainage, i am hoping to stake them well enough so that the wind does not bother them,the only protection that they will have is a lattice wall and i am afraid that is not enough protection from wind any ideas would be helpful.

Thanks ~cindilynn~

I have dahlias exposed to wide open nothingness too.
Tie, tie, tie some more. If we are going to get a big windstorm I am out there tying until the first lightning bolt hits nearby LOL. Those huge blooms get very heavy especially with a heavy rainfall, and it's too much to ask for a stem to hold up all that weight. That's where surveyor's tape or pantyhose legs cut up, or T shirts cut in strips come in very handy. Just give the plant a big hug and cinch them up a bit. You can rearrange the foliage or it will just naturally grow to cover up any obvious "I've been tied" look.

Grannymarsh says the surveyor's tape comes in camouflage color and won't cut into your stems/foliage.