Anyone get the SWAN ISLAND Dahlia catalog?

I got mine and am really enjoying it. The pics are awesome. I ordered from them 2 yrs ago and was very happy with the tubers and flowers that bloomed from them. Very healthy all of them.

So, Here is what I was going to order. Please let me know if you have any comments, good or bad on these. I've only ordered dahlias one time and don't have much experience. If you can suggest an alternate dahlia that grows better or is as good and less money, i'm open to suggestions.

Gitts Perfection A pink/white
Envy AA (ID) Red
Center Court B White
Bedford Bush B (fd) White/lavender
I'm a hottie B (id) hot pink
Bride to be BB (WL) white
Seduction BB (fd) Lavender/purple
koppertone BB (WL) copper/bronze/orange
Rawhide -- wow, it's in the pics on page 59 - 3rd place photo front bloom - waterlily -- but very expensive (it is really out of my budget) i think it's 14.95

I really love the water lily types.

I got mine about a week ago. very yummy pictures!!!!!! i had already ordered from them online before i got my catalog but i just may get a few more..........i need to stop.......somebody stop me...........

Like Carole King said, Greathorse, "It's too late, baby....." :)

I got my SI catalog in the midst of dreary snow/rain/weather yuck and a nicer gift could not arrive in the mailbox in January. Beats Christmas shopping, if you ask me.

Maureen, those are some nice choices. I've only grown Seduction and you will love it if you like deep purple with lighter petal surfaces outlined in purple. Great stems and great bloomer. Should go nicely with Center Court and Bedford Blush from the photos.

How do you know it's Rawhide on page 59 of the photo contest winners? Looks like a blooming fool of a dahlia. 2008 variety, so next year a tuber would be much less expensive. Love the rosy/dusky color on those petals.

Greathorse, I think Poochella is right, it's too late...LOL

Poochella - tks for the info on seduction. I called Swan Island Customer service last night and they told me over the phone. It really is a beauty, but i am out of work and really can't spend 14.95 on one dahlia;-( Next year will be better.

I just recieved my first SI catalog and WOW its going to be really hard to choose. Since some of you have grown SI before, are the colors in the catalog true to the bloom colors?? I just love the Nick Sr but that price is way out of my budget.
Christine

Yes, the great majority are true but it always pays to check Plant Files and see the colors on those photos. Some vary widely.

I agree with Pirl (Hi Pirl). The swan Island dahlias I got looked very close to the pics in the catalog. On the other hand, I had a few dahlias from trades that looked nothing like the pics I found on the web.....so either I got mis-named dahlias from trades or some pics do not look true as they did in my garden.

Thanks to you Islander's, I grew up in Massapequa :>)
Christine

I lived fairly close - Hicksville (Billy Joel's town) - from '62 to '91.

jasminines mom - christine, I was looking through the catalog earlier (i left it at my sisters house so she can look through it tonight). And anyway, Nick Sr. is a seedling of Bodacious, which is very similar and only 6.95. Take a look (think it's on page 16 or 17)and let me know what you think.

Where is Blue Mountain -- I've never heard of it.

I have yet to get my catalog. I ordered from them online a week ago. I have ordered the past few years and love the plants I get. Dahlias were the first flower I grew as a little one. Little did my mother know that cheap little bag of tuber she bought at K-mart would turn into a life long obsession.

What a wonderful passion your Mom has passed on to you lexx349. Dahlias are one of the few flowers my Mom didn't grow. She was mostly into perennials and the only annuals I remember were impatiens.

Maureen, Bodacious will be on my list of buys, Thanks for the heads up.
Blue Mountain is in North West Saugerties,10 minutes from Woodstock.
Its beyond beautiful here in the mountains, I've even had a bear in the yard last spring, but my favorite is the deer which I feed all the time.
Christine

Christine, sounds beautiful where you live (and cold...bbrrrrrrr..... :-) I love feeding the birds, we don't have any bear and deer here as you know. Bodacious is really a beauty, I think i'm adding it to my list now too.

Ferncliff's is out. O ya baby ^_^ http://www.ferncliffgardens.com/

Ack! I just finished (or thought I finished) ordering from Dan's, Corralitos, Swan Island and ordered from Lynch Creek in October. Accent order will be called in tomorrow.

I'll just peek at Ferncliff - that's okay, right?

Perfectly sensical pirlgirl ^_^

I just got my Ferncliff catalog in today's mail. Yippeee.....

Pirl, you are going to town. Have you ordered any daylilys, or just dahlias?

They have a catalog? I'm on it. The Hy dahlias I've grown have been wonderful.

No more daylilies, Maureen. Too many claims about color, bud count, etc. that are never true for me.

Dahlias and Japanese irises are my favorites.

HI Poochella, yes Ferncliff has a catalog, not as good as Swan but it's got some pics in it. I am not familiar with the Hy dahlias, I'll have to take a look in the catalog later after I get some work done around my house (I still have the Christmas tree up and it's getting really dusty).

Pirl, do you have any pics of your dahlias and japanese iris you can share with us on the cold morning.....bracing for an arctic blast this week.

Guys, need suggestions. I never turned the water off to the outside garden hose because I like to give the birds water...problem now is that it's frozen i'm sure. What do i do with this arctic blast coming....do i leave it as is or do i turn off the water source knob in the basement that goes to the outdoor hose?? (just a little off topic....LOL)

have a great day ladies, i'm going to pay bills, make mamo apt and go to yoga class....sending good intentions out to all of you....oooooooooommmmmm

Maureen, been there/done that. I would turn the water off in the basement and open the outside faucet as far as it will go. That will give more room for expansion so your pipe won't burst (like mine did oops).

ack broken pipes! Is there a non-freezing place you could thaw and drain the hose to save it from bursting, and then wrap the outer faucet for protection? We just use towels and ties to insulate outer faucets here, but come nowhere near the sub zeroes heading your way. Stay warm!

There should be a way to shut off the water, get the hose off and then open the faucet to blow or drain it of water, but that's plumbing stuff. Or will opening the faucet just drain it Dahlianut? (I would be out there with a blowdryer or turkey baster instead of an air compressor. Blonde plumbing.) Good luck with whatever you try.

I use a blowdryer to warm the fitting to take the hose off first. If the hose is frozen, I just leave it as is or it will snap like pasta for sure. When the temps rise and the hose is pliable you can drain it and bring it in but I leave mine out all winter as I use them to clean the bird baths when it chinooks. LOL I should right a book 'Oops in the Garden and How to Fix Them' tee hee.

Great news.....it warmed up to 40 deg today. I turned the water on, a couple of ice cubes came out first (LOL-but true). So i cleaned the bird bath and then filled it up...the birds are hungry and thirsty. Then I turned off the water source from the basement to the outdoor hose...so i'm set now. thanks guys!! Less money for plumbing, more money for flowers.........

maureen: see this one for photos of JI's - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/941068/

Looks like you have help with the faucets. It's 41 out here so now is the time to get it done. Burst pipes causes messes and big money.

Good that you got the ice cubes out! Don't break your birdbath when it freezes. Gone through a ton of those too due to freezing. Aluminum pie plates are good for temporary bird baths.

My mom still feels bad 30 years later after trying one of those electric heating coils to keep her bird bath open in Minnesota. One of the first customers was a squirrel, that's right Dnut, a tree rat LOL, but he got electrocuted! Probably a short or something. The woman still has PTSD over the unintended event.

Pirl, I took care of it today since it warmed up. Can I tell you i've already got plant/flower obsessions and now i'm seeing these gorgeous JI. Oh no, this could be trouble. I think I may need a few varieties of these in my garden. I have the perfect spot too.

Poochella, I never thought of the birdbaths freezing. The cement one is solid ice, it's the metal one that I filled. The ceramic one weighs like 60-70 lbs. And I can't believe that happened to your mother, she must have been so upset when the squirrel got electrocuted. I was thinking of getting one of those bird bath heaters, glad i didn't.

Have a great night all, i'm going to make a cup of tea and attempt to take down the Christmas tree (i'm a major procrastinator...)

Can you just imagine the squirrel's family watching the event! Poor Sammy and Suzie watching their brother Stevie get fried! They must have had PTSD, too!

Glad you worked on the hose. We had geraniums for a Christmas tree so no need to take it down.

Pooch how'd you break the bird bath? I've never had that happen. Are you taking about pouring warm water into it? Inquiring 'oops inclined' peoples need to know all the details. Thanks muchly. Maureen, Pirlgirl is an iris siren. Of course now for sure I'm doing JIs once we put in the water feature. NOTE TO ALL: DANGER! DANGER! BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID! DON'T GO TO PIRLGIRL'S LINK! DANGER! DANGER!

Oh geez, I went to Pirl's link against your advice! Those are some be-eau-ti-ful iris and that first photo Pirl is magazine quality. Nice!
No, no, no, no room. I do love a good iris though, for early spring blooms!

We've lost a slough or slew of birdbaths over the years, Dahlianut. We don't freeze solid that often unless it's a total mayhem event as we had over late December/Christmas and the last thing on one's mind is emptying the birdbath, so they get frozen with water which expands and invariably cracks them to ruin. Have lost terracotta ones, ceramic ones, aggregate ones. The aluminum pie plate reigns supreme in very cold weather. And you Canadians can just keep your "arctic blasts" to yourselves until next winter, thank you very much. It was total chaos in Seattle for a couple weeks, out here for even longer.

sorry Pooch (blush) we did a number on the west coast this winter. It's all my fault. I was wishing for snowfulness.

No need to apologize. We had wonderful snowfulness, aplenty. The White Christmas was a true gift, but the enduring cold and prolonged snowfulness was a bit much. I'm still mad that I didn't carpe diem the chance to head down our driveway or hill on our beat up flying saucer sled. It was so tempting....
Here: the snow dog was chasing a brave tree rat for you. Note the birdbath waiting to crack!

I'm over winter now, on to ordering dahlias....

Poochella, your snow dog is adorable.

I plead innocence! I also just happen to have a photo of 'Innocence'.

We've lost birdbaths, too, due to the freezing and thawing. It's best (for the birdbath, not for the birds) to tip them over to the side for winter if they can't be brought inside. The metal ones seem safest but the birds may not like the icy cold of the metal.

Love your pooch, Annie.

Here's the one Annie liked - 'Frilled Enchantment', as it's unfurling.

As wonderful as JI are, and for as much as I do love them, they just don't go on blooming for five months as dahlias do.

ahhhhh but when they do bloom pirl they are indeed enchanting. Luvly pooch, pooch. Very prettiful snowful pic.

Ooh that iris is so luscious! Agreed on the short bloom time, but aren't they a lovely way to usher in the gardening season? That one would look stunning with Ferncliff Illusion.
Early snowfall snowdog. She has such thick fur, she just doesn't care if it's pouring rain or snowing.

Roxie is such a sweetheart. And such a great guard dog....

That's a giggle. Poochpuppy is turning into a snowdrift.