Here are the varieties in my patch that are slow pokes this year...
Aljo-very slow
Hana Hitosuji-slow
Edna C-slow
Nenekazi-slow
Lavender Athalie-slow
Phoenix-slow
Braken Ballerina-slow
Hillcrest Kismet-very slow
Versa-slow
Hollyhill Electra-slow
Amorous-slow
Bar Redbud-very slow
Wine & Roses-slow
Hillcrest Harvest-slow
ALso slow here:
Hillcrest Kismet- but at least it's alive! I only have the one and I'm hoping it makes it.
Wine and Roses: I must have dug it up 3 times already. Shoots are formed, roots just starting. Geez, get on with it!
My Bracken Ballerina (from Nai!) is up and about average in growth/size. Lavender Athalie is up but smaller than many. I still have a few that are underground dilly dallying, for cryin' out loud.
This has been quite the year to practice patience eh Poochie!!! My oh my...My Lavender Athalie has been barely peeking above the soil from weeks it seems...drat...oh well..a watched pot never boils????
HAHAHAHA
Oh, to have a dahlia patch that big! It would be the best.
Achoo,
I have to plant enough for the deer, gophers, and bugs...ack! Keeping one step ahead of them is quite the task!!
I have 8 "pokies", simply because everyone else was a plant when they went into the ground.
But of the plants that are up, there certainly is a difference in the growth rate. I hit each plant with a T. of 6 10 10 a couple of days ago. Now with our soakng rain it should be starting to dissolve and ready to be available to the plants. I have never used com. fertilizer on dahias____just sheep compost. Would another dose of 6-10-10 be OK. when buds start setting or have I done enough damage?
Hey Jam...
I am pretty dumb when it comes to chemical fertilizers...I use only organic ferts 16-16-16 or so...I would wait a couple of weeks before I fed again...the rain as you mentioned has helped the stuff leech into the ground...I am guessing though...
Happy growing..hooray!
Here are two started inside at the same time. The 3 headed monster is Ludwig Helfert and the front short one will remain anonymous.
Pooch - it's a meager start for Mazama. It's got to get up above the bug zone. It will get there in time.
Al, your only mission in life is to save Mazama! I know it's a terrible burden but you can do it! Who is eating holes in those leaves? A little bitty Midwest slug? Those tubers are so huge, it's no wonder the plant is still puny. I'll be curious to see how the monster Mazama behaves in your area compared to mine. Last year one was way over 8 ft tall.
I got lax last night and did not take the time to cover about 80 dahlias with their little milk jug protectors. ( tossed and turned all night LOL) Only one in a corner of the garden had one sprig bitten or maimed by something, not necessarily a slug. But all the small ones are once again covered for the night. It's been really gusty with winds here today and pelting rain earlier ICK- hopefully blowing in some warmer, sunnier weather for a change.
Dahlia Imperialis held up well in its protected corner of the house, but I still want to stake it to prevent a tragic break.
Pooch - I would assume slugs, I have seen some small ones and have put out slug bait twice now. It really is in a good spot and should take off later. Hey my Lauren Michelle snuck into the other photo of mine for you also. Warm and dry here - low of 73 tonight ;(
I checked Hillcrest Kismet today to see if I could figure out why it was SO slow and small...Answer...no roots! The end had been chopped off and looks like there was rot beginning..so I replaced it wit another plant...I am going to take cuttings, and see if they root...we'll see...
Sudhira, my Hillcrest Kismet is among the slowest of the entire gang here. I can't remember how it started out last year, because that was soooooo long ago LOL, but I am coddling it because I love it so. Have you tried cutting off the rotting part of the tuber and replanting?
I should have taken a photo, but digging up some slowpoke the other night, I found a shoot, with many many long roots formed on the last inch coming out of the of the "eye-end" of the tuber and the "tail end" of the tuber soft and mushy with rot. It was a perfect example of how much these plants want to go on to live, and a reason not to give up when they fail to thrive.
It was if it was saying "go ahead and rot, I'll just form roots up here on the business end of things." I trimmed off the rot, dusted the cut with fungicide and replunked it into its soil nest. I fully expect it to grow into a full size plant, even with only one inch of tuber left.
You know Pooch, I just made cuttings from it yesterday & chucked the tuber...Funny though, the pile of discarded tubers that I tossed behind my workshop way back in December...are spouting, some even have buds!!! That area has little sun, and only a bed of oak leaf... I put my boots on and salvaged some "unknowns"...hahahahaha...too funny
They grew to spite you! That sounds like my pile of Chimacum Topaz tubers overwintered above ground through snow, hail, freezing weeks of weather last year, sat next to the garage foundation in my "garbage" area ( you know, the one I'll clean up *someday*.) I noticed lush green growth in about Mid June, took pity and planted them.
Do you think your cuttings will go on to grow at this late date? I'm asking because I am still planting some of my teeny weeny 3-4 inch cuttings. They have lots of roots, just never got the heat they needed to grow much. I guess we still have all summer to look forward to- if it would just ARRIVE!
I think the cuttings will grow .. we'll see..always an experiment going on around here with the dahlias!!
Well, unfortunately I seem to have 18 out of 62 that are no-shows so far. May be poor sun in spots, may be one particular dahlia farm, don't know why. This is my second year, the first was a practice year, and this time I built a raised bed for the dahias. I should have bought more than one of the ones I really wanted to see, however I mostly bought one each of the larger varieties, and some smaller cactus types I liked. But my Zorro and Big Wow had not shown yet, which really bummed me out! So I just went a'diggin for Big Wow, and sure enough, that huge tuber seemed just fine, a sprout was about 1 inch sticking out of it (had no visible eye when I got it). It has been five weeks since I planted it, is that normal?
todgor , some people hack the really fat or long tubers in half or the shoots get lazy and dawdle underground living off all that food in the tuber. It only needs a relatively small amount of tuber to get it started sprouting and roots will then take over to nourish the plant.
There are two varieties I've grown with huge potato sized tubers: Mazama and Smokey. Am sure there are others out there too. Really fat- like one pounders, like yams! I learned to hack them off before planting in Spring because I got sick of waiting for them.
Poochie, mine are mostly up but mostly 1 or 2 ft tall but putting on buds is this ok ? slugs have devoured a few or them, bad year for the varmits. I bought diatamacious earth they don't seem bothered by it. anyone need escargoe ? how do ya spell that?
Escargot and no thank you, I've had it once already. I am using Sluggo like there is no tomorrow. The only place something is really eating dahlias badly is in the big pots I'm trying for the first time. I finally spread Sluggo around the driveway where the pots are temporarily housed and every morsel was gone the next a.m.!
Veeja, everyone out here is saying this is a great year for lack of slugs! Weird. We are only what- 10 miles apart- 15?
1-2 ft dahlias is way ahead of me. You are a bit warmer down there I imagine, so you are doing great! Right on target. Is Camano Choice growing? I rotted my only tuber of it : (
I removed a slowpoke " Bracken Ballerina" today..root rot, but it had made a new root, so I cut off the yucky one and plunked it into a pot with worm castings, John & Bob's soil opitmizer and soil...wonder what will happen???
Well since some have flowers and they rest have buds here are the official slow pokes for this year: Mazama, Koral Reef,Firepot and Northwest Cosmos. All of these are still under a foot tall.
I'm sure they'll all flower fine later, but time is flowers as they say.
Firepot is SO Slow!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So is mine! ('Firepot') So it isn't me then. Good to hear.
My 'Fire Magic' was the first to show any green and it is very late on blooming now. So???
But I have an 'Arabian Night' that is only like 3 inches and has been for over a month????
A lot of mine this year are very short too. The ones that were overwintered. But then again, a lot of mine that were overwintered are even taller so.... what is going on???
Carol
This has been a very odd year for growing dahlias in my humble opinion! I too have some that are still very small...I do remember FirePot being slow last year too though...I probably will not replant it next season...Arabian Night is okay though...guess we just have to wait and see...Crazy weather year too!!!!
Totally agree, Sudhira. Totally!
The sleeper has awoken Sudhira, here is Firepot. This bloom is 8" off the ground on a 14" plant - how humbling.
BTW - this flash photo came out fairly true so I used it.
Oh Firepot is pretty, if not height challenged! My tuber of that never eyed up from another trader. Good job Al: Dahlia King! Don't make me call you "King Al."
I was interested reading back on this whole thread to see which were slow pokes and they all pretty much still hold true here.
Lavander Athalie which I think was blooming by now last year is about 18 inches tall. Hillcrest Kismet (fighting back tears) rotted but I have a 4- inch cutting in the kitchen garden window : ( Bracken Ballerina jumped up and is in bloom!
There are others that are just sabotaged and one of them is Fire Magic: shaded twice by taller plants in front of the two plants of Firemagic. I'm taking a notebook before too much more time elapses and noting who grows fast and will block sun from its neighbors i.e. Hailey Jane the 5 foot monster shading so many plants behind it.
Mary's Jomanda is another offender for "too tall- too soon" as is Karma Sangria. I was under the impression the Karmas were all 3 ft plants- Sangria is well over my head! There are a few shorties seeking sun behind her.
It's always a learning experience, like Sudhira so aptly said.
Slow Pokes!!!!! Here they are. Maybe if I report some of them they will come!!
Black Satin, Blended Beauty, Bliss, Bumble Rumble, Camano Ariel, Canano Sitka, Canby Centennial, Chilson's Pride, Cornel, Crazy Love, Edinburgh, Edna C, El Judith M, Extase, Erin Ann, Firebird, Gay Princess, Gitts Attention, Hy Enid, Hulians Carnival, Iceberg, Island View Twister, Jazzy, Jomanda, Just Peachy, Karas 150, Kathy's Choice, Kenora Superb, Kenora Fireball, Koral Reef, Kidds Climax, Last Dance, Lauren Michelle, Mary Eveline, Mary Jo, Mini Red, Mingis Toni, Mrs. Eileen, Normandy Tinkerbell, Otto's Thrill, Rip City, Ripples, Rose Tascano, Spartacus, Taratahi Ruby, Wildwood Marie, Wine and Roses, Woodlands Donna, Voo Doo, Zorro.
I'm, ripped off. May the dahlia fairy attack soon and bring me flowers.
I am still waiting on Hillcrest Kismet, Colorado Scarlet, Lavender Athalie, TipToe.
Edna C just gave me 1 bloom so far...
Firepot is a very pretty bloom...It grow oddly for me...the blooms are on shorter stems, and "sit in the pot" ...
Firepot is about the greenest dahlia I have, I just don't get it.
Jam - Your Koral Reef finally has a bud here. My FIrebird looks about dead so I hope yours blooms. I hate to comment on all your list because some of those are monsters here.
Some bloomed earlier Al, but now nothing. On last trip around I think I found firebird dead. I'll check for sure. Whole 1 foot tall plant just gone to mush.
I have had some of those that took breaks too, it is frustrating that some are such steady flowerers and some only want to put out so many.
