I am new to dahlias and am looking for ideas on which types are most desireable. That is form, color, height, etc. Which are the newest ones people are looking for? What do you look for when buying tubers. Do you usually only get a single one? Any information will be helpful? Oh yes, where do YOU buy?
What about this one? I caught my eye!
LOL Maniac. I see you finally got bitten by the Dahlias bug too. if ya have the time to read. Don't worry, I sure some of the Dahlia folks will come by and giv eya a hand. I to new at it to be of any help.
Just wanted to welcome ya to the new plant addiction. : )
I asked basically the same question a couple days ago. There were some answers.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/921194/
I am still stumped!
Bernie
Bernie the good thing about being stumped on your acreage is that you can grow thousands and might very, well before you're through.
Here's how it went for me being totally new to dahlias years ago: Our dahlia association raises funds selling tubers in many local nurseries. I ran across a couple packaged tubers shopping for spring plants and thought a yellow and dk orange flower would go well with my existing perennials. They grew like mad, sprawled all over over my raised beds (no stakes!) I liked the many flowers plenty and the next year found a yellow/bronze one I still grow 15 yrs later to 'go with' the other two. I came to realize there were many dahlia sizes and shapes in virtually every color but blue and green available.
So I got a couple purples and lavenders, needed a white to 'go with' them; found a lavender and white, a real bonus for bouquets. Then I wanted more oranges, some round balls, some lacy laciniated varieties, some biggies, some wee petites. And that's why my dining room table and a huge slab of plywood in the garage are both covered with tubers at this moment.
If you have a favorite color or two stick with it. Then decide on size and form, then read all you can on websites and plantfiles and take the plunge! Half the fun is experimenting.
Hello Mainiac; A good place to start would be the American Dahlia Society's web site, [www.dahlias.org]. Lots of tutorials on growing and storing dahlias, list of websites, and the Big List of Dahlias; a listing of all the dahlias cultivars for sale and where you can buy them.
Last year was my first growing dahlias and I planted all dinnerplates. This year I tried cactus, pompons, formal, semi-formal, waterlily and minature ball dahlias. They're all great but next year I think I'll go for the largest blooms I can find with an emphasis on cactus. They really wow people. But it's all a matter of space and what type of display--both in the garden and in the vase--you want.
First year I planted tubers; this year I purchased seedlings-- one summer colors and one fall colors cutting assortment from Corralitos Gardens. Great assortment and the seedlings started producing blooms by the first week of July. Just got an email from the company today. They have 25 new dahlias and have started taking orders:
http://www.cgdahlias.com/
What do you have in mind for them? Cutting, bedding, showing, etc. That's the great thing about dahlias, there's something for everyone! I love the border varieties for lots of easy summer color, but some single dinnerplates here and there sure add drama. It also depends on how much staking or caging you're prepared to do- those big beauties require it. You may just have to try some of each kind to see which ones tickle your fancy, lol.
Learned a lesson about staking dahlias this year. They are not like tomato plants. My tomato cages are bamboo, eight to ten feet tall and run 40 feet. The plants top out at over 14'. Its a lot of work and to be honest about it, I thought dahlia growers were making a big deal out of nothing. Compared to staking tomatoes, I figured dahlias would be a piece of cake.
.But you can't twist, bend and wind dahlias around like you can tomato vines. They snap. I did put in study 6' stakes for the tall dahlias, did tie them up as they emerged but then slacked off figuring I could always bend them back and tie them to the stake. You can do a little of that but not nearly to the extent you can with tomatoes. Next year I'll be more careful training them to the stakes.
Wow, David_ Paul, you are the king of tall tomatoes! I can't imagine such monsters, or the sweet flavorful fruit they must produce. Yum.
Gemini, you make a good point on the variety available: what the goal is for growing them in the first place will dictate the amount of labor one is willing to commit to maintenance of the plant. They grow tall out in my locale and sturdy stakes and ample tie-supports are critical. It only takes a few seconds to give the laterals/plant branches a big hug to cinch up stray branches to protect them from wind/rain/gravity. Heavy blooms sodden with rain are particularly at risk for snapping and a few seconds of care can prevent a lot of breakage and loss of these beautiful blooms.
