2024 Variety Highlight- September
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a variety highlight so let’s go. There’s not really a theme to this- these are just some varieties I’m loving right now. Some are new to our field, some we’ve grown a few years.
Copper Boy
Copper Boy- Red seems to be getting popular again. I’m getting more and more requests for it. I’m glad, ready to move on from the burgundy phase. Copper Boy is gorgeous, shorter dahlia but cut deep and you’ll get some good stems.
KA Cinder Rose
KA Cinder Rose- A lot of my new KA’s died off in the July heatwave, but this beauty stayed strong. And she’s given me several stems already. Only her first year here but showing good potential- here’s hoping for some good tubers!
20th Ave Gwen
20th Ave Gwen- this has been a pleasant surprise. I’m not sure if I ever even saw it bloom last year. If so- I think it missed it. But it’s gorgeous, well worth the wait. This is a dahlia you want to let open a good bit on the plant because the color develops more as it opens. It softens and takes on some peachiness on the lower petals.
Normandy Bright Day
Normandy Bright Day- I was expecting the color to be a bit more vibrant but it’s a beautiful peachiness which I’m not sad about! First year here but it definitely gets a pass to keep growing.
Doodlebug
Doodlebug- I’ve been growing this for a few years and I just keep thinking it gets cuter and cuter. It’s a smaller size than most of what I grow but has a certain sweetness to it. It also blends into any fall palette!
Diana’s Memory
Diana’s Memory- this is an old favorite. I lost it a few years ago because she’s not a great tuber maker. But she’s always been a favorite blush so I decided to try again. Will she make good tubers? Well we’ll know in a month or so.
Where are they now?
Today it’s the dahlia version of “Where are they now?” I decided to share updates on the varieties that I’ve written about in the past and how they fared in the extreme heat/drought of 2024’s summer.
Last fall I released a list of 5 varieties that really stood out to me as being potential great cut flower varieties. But in 2024, I’ve seen some different results (this is why I grow a variety minimum 3 years before I’ll add it to my “must grow list for the hot South.”)
1. All That Jazz- well I’ve yet to see a bloom, they are barely at bud stage. The plants are small and have struggled despite being in a slightly cooler spot than a lot of other varieties. We’ll see if this one gets to stay.
2. Cryfield Harmony- Can’t speak to this one b/c as I said last year- it’s a great cut flower— For cool weather growers. So hopefully some of you tried it out!
3. Caitlyn’s Joy, Copper Boy, and Tahoma Curve- I’m grouping these because they’ve all done excellent. Tahoma had a bit of spider mite damage but pulled through it well. I’ll continue to keep these in my collection.
4. KA Mocha Katie was also a special mention and it has done exceptionally well. Got attacked by spider mites but just keep right on growing and has been a steady producer for weeks now.
Below are all the photos of these varieties:
2024 Test Dahlia Garden
So it’s been awhile since we talked dahlia varieties so let’s chat about what varieties I’m trialing for 2024! This list includes some first year trials but also varieties that are coming back for a second and third year.
The “brand new” (to me) 2024 Dahlias I’m trialing on my farm:
Bloomquist Compare
Bloomquist Wonderful
Bloomquist Mojo
Bloomquiest Alan
Bloomquist Butch G
Bloomquist York
Bloomquist Crave
Ruthie G
Solo
Normandy Bright Day
Elks Tennley Rose
Chimacum Nadjae
Ferncliff Apricot
Normandy Sweet Lucy
Westerton Lillian
GW's Calhoun Moon
Korb River Bend Jean
Sterling Silver
These below I’ve grown before but lost my stock for various reasons:
Tahoma Surething
Kenora Lisa
Camano Zoe
Bracken Rose
I’ve also got a bed of KA dahlias- some brand new and some on their 3rd year:
KA Mocha Katie (3rd year)
KA Snow Jo (3rd year)
KA Keltie Rose (3rd year)
Brand New:
KA Cinder Rose (whohoo!)
KA Mocha Maya
KA Champagne
KA Mocha Jake
KA Pearl
I’m probably missing a few but we’ll just see those when they bloom!
2nd and 3rd Year varieties that are returning for further evaluation:
Midnight Dancer
Nonette
Sylvia Craig Hunter
Doodle Bug
Ferncliff Spice
Gerrie Hoek
Copper Boy
Skipley Moonglow
Clearview Peachy
American Dawn
**Click on an image and it will turn into a pop up with the names labeled
So have you grown any of these? Do they work for the hot South? Let me know- I’d love to hear about your experiences!
What To Do With Over-Wintered Dahlia Plants?
Winter of 2020-2021, I over-wintered some tubers in the ground for the first time. And— I really learned some things. Fast forward a few years and I decided to do it again this past year. I wanted a chance to fix the mistakes I made.
We still dig 95% of our tubers since we sell them each year. However, over-wintering in the ground really helps my perspective when talking dahlias with a lot of you. Most of the home gardeners in my area leave their tubers in the ground. We don’t freeze hard enough for the ground to freeze solid. As long as you have good drainage, your tubers will do just fine in the ground. (Zone 7b-8a, South Carolina) In fact, I recommend most people leave them in unless they have a temperature and humidity control storage environment.
A Bed of Dahlias From mid April 2021
Overwintering in the ground works pretty reliably in Zone 7 and above. Some zone 6 can do it. Occasionally I hear about a zone 5 but that takes some work and I wouldn’t risk it.
So when you overwinter, your tubers will begin to sprout once your ground gets warm enough. We overwintered in 2 different environments- on our farm in a cooler than average spot. The second was our off farm plot that sits high and very open to the wind. In early March I began checking to see if they were resprouting. I found our off farm plot was already greening up when I removed the tarp. This location gets full sun all day so the soil is a bit warmer even though it is more exposed. It runs warmer when the suns out but much colder on a freezing night than our home farm.
The home farm area sits between 2 hoop houses so has wind protection but that also means a bit of shade and gets enough sun to grow dahlias but not 100% all day full sun. So in early March, those tuber clumps were still slumbering when we removed the tarp. I noticed that this week (3 weeks after removing the cover) they were beginning to sprout.
*** Side Note— Do you have to use a tarp to cover during the winter? No- We used one for several reasons: weed control. We needed to kill off some weed pressure on the off farm plot. We also needed to be able to control how much water was getting in because that plot doesn’t have as good of drainage as our on farm plot. (in fact, we lost about 50% of one variety on that plot) As long as you planted in an area with good drainage, I’d recommend a bit of mulch and that will work just fine in the home garden. ***
Now- you’ve probably already thought— It’s March- do you really want your tubers sprouting then? Well no- but it’s not the end of the world and when you leave them in the ground, you have to roll with the punches. So I’ve been taking pictures over the past few weeks of what’s been happening:
The above pictures are from right after we removed the tarp from the off farm plot. You can see how the tips got a bit burned from not getting the tarp off sooner. But I didn’t worry about it because I knew we had a frost coming.
after an early Spring Frost
When you let your tubers sprout naturally, you are probably going to have a frost that knocks them back at some point. So I just let it happen because I knew they’d resprout.
Resprouted tuber after a spring frost
This picture above is about 8-10 days after the frost picture. It doesn’t take long. They may go frosty again- we are still 3 weeks from our last frost date. But it’s okay because I know they’ll resprout again.
The first time I over-wintered, I covered with frost cloth each time we got a Spring frost. But I learned that was just extra work- they are going to do what the weather tells them. And once we level off temperature wise, they will grow like crazy!
So what do we do with these dahlias once they sprout and stay sprouted? Fertilize!!! This was a major mistake I made the first time I over-wintered. I didn’t fertilize early enough. Once they are sprouted, begin your fertilization. They need food- they are hungry after that long winter’s nap!
Also make sure to re-install any support structures if you removed them throughout the winter. They will need them sooner than you think.
Lastly- the question I always get: So if I over-winter in the ground, should I divide my tubers and if so how often?
For years, leaving tubers in and rarely dividing was the norm. However— in this day and age of virus potential in dahlias, I think it’s good to check your tubers often. So I recommend digging up your tubers at least every other year to check for gall diseases (crown and leafy). It’s hard to tell above the surface if you have these. You can then divide or just put the clump back into the ground. If you are introducing a lot of new varieties each year, I would check more often- I’d dig your clumps each spring, inspect and then replant.
Yes- I know this is extra work but it will go a long way to keeping your plants healthy!
So go check those clumps— hopefully you’ve got some green sprouts! If you need help dividing your tubers, come join our workshop on April 13- Dahlia Dividing and Planting. It’ll be a morning of exploring the beauty of Spring on a flower farm and learning how to divide your tubers like a pro! Sign up Here!
Dahlia Game Plan 2024: Choosing Varieties
What dahlias should I grow? What will thrive in this hot humid climate?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked that question. Often people assume that I just pick what I think is pretty. And yes- looks play into it. But the longer I grow in a hot climate, I understand that it takes more than just good looks to thrive here!
So what factors do I consider when choosing varieties for our trial gardens?
Customer preference: I grow a lot of flowers for florists who do very fancy weddings so that influences my color choices- white (always white!), pinks, peaches, neutral blending colors and a few burgundies mostly. Maybe you grow for a farmers market- that would influence your color choices - brights and fun colors!
If you have a home garden, this would mean you choose a color you like or that fits in your garden color scheme. Thankfully there are tons of dahlias out there so you can choose several in your color and then see if they fit the rest of the characteristics.
Heat tolerance: You hear this term thrown around a lot in the dahlia world- especially down South here. But what does it mean? Well that may depend on who you ask. But for me it means a few things:
The center of the dahlia stays closed in high temperatures.
The plant stays healthy with minimal maintenance through high temps
The bloom has a decent (4-6 days) vase life in high temps. Some dahlias will bloom in high heat but then will only last 2-3 days.
Peaches N Cream is an excellent example of a highly heat tolerant variety
Classification: There are lots of classes of dahlias but mainly I’m concerned with balls, decorative, waterlily, and formal to semi-formal types. Those work well as cut flowers and are also what my customers prefer.
Size: I do love the WOW factor of a 12” bloom but the reality is that my customers have no use for it. So I grow a few large blooms but mostly stick to things in the 3-6” size range.
One nice thing about growing in the South is that larger varieties do tend to shrink a bit here. Cafes are regularly more 6-7” in size than their normal dinner plate scale you may see elsewhere.
Orientation: Dahlia blooms can sit several different ways on a stem and that plays a bit factor in how you arrange/design with the bloom. Some face upwards, some face forwards (often called “clock facing”) and some sit at a 45 degree angle. The 45 angle is probably the most desirable and what I try to find. But I’m not going to turn down Cafe Au Lait just because she’s usually clock facing!
Petal Density: I’ve learned through many years of observation that dahlias with higher petal densities hold their shapes better. Ball dahlias with high density of petals tend to not blow their centers as quickly. You do have to let these open up a little longer to get a really full look but it’s worth the extra day or two.
Height: For me, I tend to choose varieties under 5’ because I live in an area that can get strong tropical storms. I cut out all the super tall dahlias (looking at you Lady Nathalie) because they always blew over no matter how many layers of netting we used!
Bloom time: I really like dahlias that bloom early. One- because I’m impatient to see them but also because I grow in a long climate area and I can usually get 2 strong flushes out of early blooming varieties. On the flip side, our long climate gives us a chance to grow varieties that take 120+ days to bloom (looking at you Nicholas) My favorite early varieties are Peaches N Cream, Sweet Fabienne, and Linda’s Baby.
Bred in the right climate: Years ago you couldn’t find dahlias that were bred in hot climates, but these days there are a few places you can get them. I really do think the breeding climate makes a difference. I see dahlias from hot climate breeders thrive from year one. Whereas sometimes I have to grow a dahlia from elsewhere a few years to get it acclimated to our climate. So look around and find out who’s breeding close by.
We all have different things we are looking for in our dahlias. But over the years the above characteristics are what I have found that attribute to varieties that are successful in my field.
