Anyone else growing dahlias?

[organichris]

I'm not much of a flower gardener, but to please my wife, I planted a modest flower garden this year with dahlias and lillies. Most of the lillies have been mercilessly attacked by mites, but I am very pleased with the dahlias. They just keep blooming and blooming, despite the heat. In fact, they seem to thrive in the heat. Not only that, but they don't require much water. Talk about beautiful flowers! I highly recommend them for easy growing, and despite what the growing instructions say, they do very well under shade/filtered light conditions.

[shelleybean]

I have some of the shorter ones, mixed colors. They really do well in the heat, don't they? My only complaint is I do have to deadhead a lot. Seems like each blossom only lasts a day or so. They sure are pretty though.

[organichris]

Yeah, they don't last long. My experience is that they last comparable to the same amount of time a rose does. And the blooms just keep coming and coming. The more you snip the old flowers, the more new ones they produce.

[blatanna]

I plant these every year. I have a lot of the tall cactus varieties at the back of the border and the smaller ones to the front. They start to flower about now here in Ireland and will continue to flower until the first frost in late autumn. I think they are great as the have such a range of colour and sizes.

[PNW_D]

Thought I'd try a few in pots to add some colour to my tomato plantings ........

Here's Scarborough Brilliant ..... my fav to date. Edited, oops - this one is Bloomquist Dawn!! Vancouver Dahlia Society is holding its annual show this coming weekend - I'll be there

[tomatoaddict]

That is beautiful!!

[shelleybean]

I've always bought my dahlias as seedlings. I haven't planted the bulbs or started the seeds. I do have a packet of seeds for Unwin's Mix and was thinking of starting these next spring. Has anyone started them from seed before or know how many weeks before frost they should be started?

[PNW_D]

Michele,

do give those seeds a try - if you can grow tomatoes you can grow dahlias from seed - nice large seedlings. I've read that the last to germinate are generally the best colours!! Have a list somewhere of which germinates first, etc. Will try to find some good links for dahlia growing - lots of fabulous sites out there.

The Vancouver Dahlia show was fabulous - will post a few more pics later - but here is my $1 bouquet - 5 blooms for a dollar

[shelleybean]

Thanks PNW D. I think I'm goign to try to fill a flower bed by my back door with the Unwin's Mix. If they do well, I'll do even more the following year.

Nice picture, especially that reddish pink one in the lower right corner.

[blatanna]

I always grow my dhalias from seed. Theres such a big variety and so much cheaper than buying plants. Its also so exciting watching to see just what colours you're going to get from that packet.

[kurtamundo]

Last year, I was given a few roots as a gift, they turned out to be nice late season blooms. (found out later that I should have dug up the tubers after the first frost for planting this year)

This year I ordered some 'dinner plate' dahlias. My goal is to eventually have a large collection of them yearly.

Cheers,

Kurt

[gardengalrn]

I was glad to find this thread, I just got done potting up some seeded dahlias and came here to ask what to expect from them I haven't grown many flowers in the past but wanted to experiment this year and pretty up the place a bit. I'm pretty sure I started them too early (they are large and vigorous seedlings) but I didn't do much in the way of research on them. I have added a few more lights this year so hopefully I have room for everything.

[PNW_D]

Thought I'd bring this post back up -

Couldn't resist adding a pic (click for close up) of one of my dahlias - Rusty Rooster ; a new introduction by Gordon Stach - purchased tuber at VanDusen Dahlia tuber sale in March .......

[Sherry_AK]

I really like the looks of Rusty Rooster!

[ddsack]

Rusty Rooster is lovely! I miss not having dahlias this year. I stored my tubers too close to an outside wall in our attached garage, and they must have froze when we had a long stretch of sub-zero cold weather last Feb. By the time I discovered they were mush, it was too late to re-order, so this summer I have an abundance of cosmos instead. Not quite the same.