Time to Reap the Reward
It’s finally here- the dahlias are starting to come in. It begins as a slow trickle, just a few handfuls one week and then it gets more the next, then it jumps and we are cutting buckets before I know it. We aren’t quite to the buckets point yet but we aren’t far off. I look around the field and see more and more organza bags protecting our precious buds and I know it’s coming!!
So how about a harvesting tutorial? (I’ve got a special tip in here for all the flower farmers too!)
Knowing the correct stage to harvest is important with dahlias. There’s a myth that says they don’t open anymore after harvesting. But most varieties I know will open at least about 20% more after you cut them. Knowing this makes it important to know the proper harvest stage (that’s also really important for good vase life too!)
Harvesting:
Know what application you are harvesting for. I harvest for cut flowers for florist wholesale. This is a bit different than if I were cutting for a dahlia show or bouquet/grocery store use.
This is Sweet Fabienne pictured above. In the far left photo is the correct stage for bouquet/grocery use. You want 2 rows of petals beginning to reflex backwards. For florist use, I would cut more like the 2 middle pictures. They like their blooms more open and at the perfect use stage. Most of the blooms they buy from me are used within 2-3 days so as open as possible without having a blown center is perfect for them. The last picture shows the frontal view of picture #3. It’s a good full dahlia. Picture #1 will look like this within 2-3 days of sitting in the vase but since vase life is so important for bouquet use, you want to cut it earlier to give your customer the full show!
2. Stem Length- We measure with our arms. Our minimum stem length is from finger tip to elbow. Anything less than that gets culled. Goal stem length is mid bicep. I’m often asked if you should cut at the first node below the bloom so that they side buds will bloom. This doesn’t work for cut flower use- too short. If your goal is as many blooms as possible for a stellar display in your home garden- then deadhead spent blooms at the first node (break) below the bloom. But for cut flower use- if you want long stems, you have to cut long stems. Sequential stems will always be a little shorter than your original so if you want them long, you have to cut long from the beginning. It may feel like you are taking half the plant at first but it will push more longer stems if you cut deep.
3. Consider the form of the dahlia. Different forms require different cut stages.
From Left to Right:
#1 Bridezilla- I find this one looks best if the first row of petals has started to reflex. It will open to a nice fluffy state.
#2 Cactus Types (this is Clearview Jonas)- These look much better if you let them open a lot - But you want to make sure that center is still tight. But their true beauty is in the layers and layers of petals they have that give them a full look.
#3 Cafe Au Lait- this beauty can be cut fairly tight and still open well. Ideal stage is when she has a flat back. Make sure her center is still tight and not showing any yellow pollen.
#4 Peaches N Cream- She has such a good vase life that you can cut it more open and it will still last really well in the vase.
4. Know your varieties- As you’ve just seen in the pictures above, you can get the best performance out of your dahlias by knowing your varieties. But to do this, you have to test them. So always cut, put in a vase and observe. Take photos- I find this helps me remember.
Now- A tip for the flower farmers. We are using a new system this year to help us remember how to cut each dahlia at the proper time. I made labels for each variety and tagged each row.
The harvest stage listed refers to the harvest stages for dahlias in the Floral Standards book put out by the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. So now all we have to do is learn the 5 harvest stages listed in that book — Instead of remembering the harvest stage for 100+ varieties of dahlias! I plan to print out a small poster of the 5 harvest stages and post it in our field pavilion.
