Dahlias in the Rockies (2)

New thread. We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/824967/

Good. Post more pictures, Dahlia!

There are some big fat buds just waiting to burst open on some different ones roybird. I'm torn between luving the rain and wanting hot sun for the dahlias. We need more hot sun showers here methinks.

Our weather doesn't know what to do! It gets hot during the day but cooler at night than it's been. It clouds up but can't quite manage to rain. It rains like crazy and hails for 20 minutes. Argh.

I finally got home for a brief stay. Shot a few of the Dahlias overtaking my garden.

Just around the corner. Boy am I going to be busy digging up bulbs this fall. Oh well. Got these in a big bag and have no names to give you.

Welcome home Soferdig!!! Outstanding dahlias!!! Mine are shrimps compared to the height of yours. Luv the red hollyhocks too!

It has been a long absence from Daves. My life hopefully will slow down now to allow me to be part of the life here.

Wow! Sof. Those are very beautiful dalhia's. I hope you can participate more, too.

Hi, Sofer. Pretty dahlias and lots of 'em.

Okay, I am feeling Dahlia deficient so today I took pictures of my little tiny dahlias that I am growing in my flower pots out front along with petunias and salvia and gazania and lots of other stuff. These little dahlias are sold as bedding plants. They don't get more than about 9 inches tall, but they are very bright and pretty. This is at least the second year I have grown them. See, I am not totally dahlia deprived. Here is the rose colored one. As you can see something has been eating them but they are still kind of cute. These flowers are at most 1 1/2 inches across.

This message was edited Aug 27, 2008 9:24 PM

And here is a red one. I also have white and a sort of very dark red and a sort of gold/brown one. So, here is the extent of my venture into the world of dahlias. Maybe next year I will try some larger ones.

Very pretty paj. Are you going to save the tubers?

Are the tubers on these little ones saveable?

oh for sure paj. Leave them in the containers for 2 weeks after your first hard f*r*o*s*t. Then take them out. You will see little bumps on the new tubers which are the eyes that will make dahlias next year. Make sure you leave a little stem on the tubers as sometimes the eyes are right at the stem. You don't have to wait to see the eyes if you don't want to. You can just store them all and wait til next spring to which tubers are viable. I don't wait. I just get the assembly line going and store them all.

Do you store them in soil? Keep them moist? Dark?

I store them in slightly moistened (couple mist sprays with the water bottle) vermiculite in sealed freezer bags in my cold room in a cupboard. They need dark and temps about between 40-50F. I've also stored in peat moss before and that worked. The thing we have to watch is that they don't dry out. It's bone dry in my house in the winter. I check them about once a month. If they start to look a little shrivelled I mist. To wake them up I just move the bags into room temperature and they begin to sprout and then I do a dance of joy ^_^ There is a newer method using saran wrap that I might try this winter if I have alot of tubers http://rain.prohosting.com/midahlia/No_Fuss.htm

Thanks. Sounds like my garage might work pretty well if I put them inside of something -- so the sun from the windows won't strike them. I have lots of vermiculite.

I need to get some vermiculite. My plants are all being munched by you-know-whats. 'Tis the season. They don't like to eat sunflowers or virginia creeper, at least.

I only have four small flowered dahlias this year, but they are gorgeous. My problem is that I am going to have a hard time finding a place to store them this winter. I don't have a cold place in my house and it will go well below zero in the garage many nights. Can I use my fridge? It is at 35 degrees. Too cold?
I will take some pics tomorrow morning.

Kathy

Its bad when you have to put things in the fridge to keep them warm! I can't wait to see the pics!

I've never tried the fridge KathyCoRanch but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I think you would really want to watch the moisture level as frost free fridges really dehydrate things.

KathyCo, I wondered the same thing. What I'm thinking is to try the garage, my studio, and the fridge. I have no ideal place for them. I just hope I have enough tubers to experiment with! None of mine are super special rare things, so they ought to do alright some where.

Dahlia tubers are pretty forgiving I find (if they don't freeze or dry out). If its too warm they just start growing ^_^

Well- maybe I could just repot them and bring them indoors for the winter? Then they might not bloom next year. I will figure something out. Here is one bloom- pretty ordinary dahlia, but pretty.

Luvly red KathyCo. Dahlia tubers need a cold dormant period. I overwinter my calla lilys in their container. My DH lugs it down into the cold room for me.

They just look so beautiful I have got to figure something out. I now have the red, a peachy orange and brilliant magenta blooming right now. I am going to move them to a btter spot next year- I didn't know what I was doing this year and they are now hidden among the ever looming cosmos. I have finally finished the irrigation system and everything is looking really happy out there. (I am too!!) I also have one I planted from a corm and it is lloking excellent as well- should open within a few days, hoping it is the color I actually purchased!

Kathy

When you have white you can mix it right. Simple is beautiful

Sofer, welcome back!! Ok, here are my two, and only, contributions to dahlias. Both are Lowes NOIDs.

And the other.

They are very pretty. Here is Park Princess from this morning when the sun came out.

Luvly dahlias all. I will have some more pics tonight. A couple need today to fully open. I luv the peach one with white tips vadap.

Another luvly striped mignon

Another Bluesette. It's my favorite pink I think so far. The blend makes it pop in the garden.

A pretty pink!

NOID but it's a keeper. 6" flower and not fully open but I couldn't wait to show it ^_^

Oh, that one is spectacular!

If it's tuberlifik a tuber just might find its way to NM this Jan/Feb when I come down (shhhhhhh I didn't say that with my outside voice did I?) I'm going to put it against the hedge next year where it will really show.

Those dahlias are magnificent. And I understand you have to be careful about planting dahlias because they tend to creep across borders. Shame on me. I didn't say that!

So are you coming south this winter? Where might you be headed? Perhaps a Rocky Mt. Forum meeting could be arranged?

This message was edited Sep 2, 2008 9:48 PM

I love the Dahlias in your garden Dal-nut. You have me looking everywhere next spring for a whole bunch. My DW and I have decided to take out our veggie garden and use it for a seed starting area for flowers and I am going to propagate a whole bunch of those beauties. Love the dinner plates with that much color to look into.