Who Gets the Boot?
It’s that time of year- time to make the calls. Who gets to stay and who goes. I’m still undecided on a few and won’t make decisions on those until this winter. But I have identified a few that won’t be back in 2024.
***Disclaimer: I’m a cut flower grower so I’m looking for productivity, good tuber makers, certain colors, certain growth habits, etc. None of the following dahlias are “bad”. I wouldn’t put any of them on a ‘absolutely do not grow list’— they just aren’t right for my field.
Here we go:
Cryfield Harmony: I really hate to cut this one because it’s productive and an early bloomer. But in our heat, the center doesn’t ever close completely and is a big yellow blob in high temps. Now— if I was a cool climate grower- I’d give this one a try. It’s color is amazing (and was what I was looking for). It also has better than average vase life. (You may recognize this one from the vase life trials blog)
Cryfield Harmony
Mystique: I’ve grown this one for 3 years because I really wanted it to work. The color is to die for and not easily found in the dahlia world. But she’s just a bobble head. She does make a great productive dahlia for your home garden though. She’s an early bloomer too so you can enjoy her for several months of the season. Dark stems and dark foliage make a stunning combo.
Mystique
Muchacha: It’s a shame to cut a dahlia with such a great name! Gonna miss saying that. This one is really a great dahlia but just not what I’m looking for. She’s a bit small and her coloring is dark purple with some golden yellow. The original pictures I saw online looked burgundy and pink mix- which was what I was expecting but once again- temps and amount of light is playing havoc with the colors. I would highly recommend this one as a great addition to the home garden though- prolific and very sturdy plants that don’t require much support!
Muchacha
Crazy 4 Wylie Quinn: Once again- well bred dahlia but wrong color. The picture on the website showed a coral orange ball type. I got a florescent two tone orange- Big Nope! I forgot to take a picture but trust me- big no.
Beatrice: I want to like this one because it’s a great color, shape, and early bloomer but that big yellow center is just a killer! I think this one would be an excellent choice for a cool season grower.
Beatrice
Hapet Perfekt: This one was lovely last year but this year, it’s forming very oddly and blowing it’s center very quickly. It’s a bit much for me color wise honestly. I think there are other better large dahlias so with limited space to dedicate to large dahlias, I’ll move on.
Hapet Perfekt
Polyventon Supreme: Yes- this was on last year’s cut list and I added it back at the last minute. I wish it’s color was a bit more muted. It’s just a tad too neon. But it’s a great tuber maker, sturdy stems, prolific. So if you like bright yellow- give it a go. It’s definitely going this time.
That’s the list so far. It will grow between now and next May! I need to cut 30-40 varieties minimum. I’ve trialed so many over the past years that now it’s time to settle on the good ones and grow lots of those!
So who’s on your cut list?
Dahlia Vase Life Trials: The Boiling Water Method
I’ve written a lot on getting the best vase life for your dahlias— But my best recommendation is always to use a flower cooler. However, the backyard dahlia grower doesn’t often have access to a professional flower cooler. So today I’d like to share results of another method of getting great vase life from your dahlias.
The Boiling Water Method is often mentioned as being a way to extend the vase life of your dahlias. But what does that mean exactly?
To use this method: You boil water (an electric kettle works great!), give your dahlia a fresh snip at the bottom of the stem (about 1/4”), then dip and hold it in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Then place it immediately in your vase for display.
I remember using this method the first year I grew dahlias. I didn’t have access to any professional methods of cooling my flowers. But I couldn’t really remember if it worked or not. So I decided to run my own trial.
I chose 6 stems of the same dahlia harvested at the same time/day. This is Cryfield Harmony. (Note: the yellow center is not a result of cutting too late, just a heat response, this trial was conducted in August in the South)
Here’s how I conducted the trial: Stems were harvested early in the morning into a bucket with just water. Then they were allowed to rest in a 65-70 degree room for a few hours. After a few hours, I divided them up. Jar #1- I recut the stems and placed them in a vase with just water. Jar #2- I recut the stems and placed them in a jar with water and the appropriate amount of flower food. Jar #3- I recut the stems, dipped into boiling water for 30 seconds and then placed them into a jar with water and flower food.
**I always use flower food in my vase water with dahlias because I know for a fact that it increases vase life. My goal here was to see if the boiling water actually gave any boost to the vase life in addition to the flower food. **
The blooms looked great for several days with no sign of decay. Stems were held in my living room which stays around 70 degrees. I did not change the water or recut the stems from day one to the end of the trial.
On day 6, I began to see signs of browning and fading on the dahlia in Jar 1 (just water).
Jar 1, Day 6
On Day 7, I saw signs of fading/browning on the dahlias in Jar 2 and 3.
Jar 2, Day 7
Jars 2 and 3 began to fade at the same time but I noticed that Jar 2 definitely faded faster whereas Jar 3 was only beginning to turn brown on some petals.
Jar 3, Day 7
So what does all this tell me: Well obviously to get really accurate results, you’d need to repeat the experiment and also try it out with multiple varieties of dahlias. But generally speaking, boiling water doesn’t add any vase life over water with flower food.
My suggestion for increasing your vase life (for a backyard dahlia grower) remains to use flower food in your water. It’s just much easier and faster. If you don’t have flower food or don’t want to use it, then give the boiling water method a try- I think it would increase your vase life over straight water with no prior processing of the stem.
Notes:
What kind of flower food am I referring to: I use either Chrysal Professional #3 Vase Solution or Floralife Flower Food 300 - either works, whatever you can find. This is the white powdery stuff in the packets you get when you buy a bouquet. You can buy small pails of it on Amazon and other online market places.
Previous blog on increasing vase life in your dahlias- Click here.
Disclaimer: I know some people who swear by the boiling water method and if it’s working for you- then continue it! Keep in mind that health of plant, hydration and growing climate play a big role in the vase life of your dahlia. Most importantly— make sure you are enjoying them!!
New (To Me) Dahlia Varieties - August 2023
Dahlias have been in bloom for a full month here on our farm in Travelers Rest. I’m already seeing some new varieties that have potential as keepers.
I love dahlias that bloom in August! Why? Because early bloomers have so much potential- you can usually get two flushes off early varieties in our long growing season. So much more beauty potential!
I want to share some of them with you today. Caveat— These are my first impressions. I grow a dahlia for at least 2 years, usually 3 before I choose to add it to my collection.
Lark’s Ebbe
Lark’s Ebbe: I don’t think I really have to say much about this one- What a gorgeous color! Perfect size, I mean what’s not to like. Early bloomer, not too tall. So far it’s got a lot going for it.
Yvonne
Yvonne: I grew this one a few years ago but ended up getting rid of it. But from time to time I would think about this dahlia so I decided to bring it back. It’s a great combination dahlia— by that I mean that it’s good for a cut flower but also as a garden dahlia. It’s not super tall so will stand on it’s own with minimal support (or you could plant it admist other things to support it some). Early bloomer and gives lots of blooms. The petals are a bit susceptible to bruising (which was the original reason I cut it) but if you can handle it well— It’s really gorgeous!
KA’s Keltie Rose
KA’s Keltie Rose: 2nd year growing but in the crapshoot that was the 2022 season, I only got one bloom. This was grown from a cutting so it could be a bit later from a tuber. But the color on this— the photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s a dusty smoky rose color! I’m hoping it will pump out some blooms because I see a lot of potential for this color- I need a prolific bloomer in this tone. It’s a pretty plant too— slightly darker green foliage and the plant blooms above the leaf canopy.
Robinhood
Robinhood: This is another one that I used to grow but lost the tubers back in the days when I didn’t know how to store properly (takes a few years to learn). I love it’s coloring- kinda raspberry with peachy undertones. Early bloomer and threw a flush of several stems at once.
Gerrie Hoek
Gerrie Hoek: I’m loving the color and form of this one. It changes color with temperature too— blushier in heat and pinker in cool. It does have some growth habit issues— does a bit better with some disbudding so we’ll see if I feel like keeping up with that. But the main thing I love about this dahlia is that it makes me smile every time I walk past it. It’s the happiest flower!
All That Jazz
All That Jazz: This one was offered to me as a trade from another grower. I loved it’s coloring in photos I saw. I’ve been eagerly awaiting it to bloom and it finally did this week. The photo doesn’t do it justice - it has a tan/peach reverse with some purple tips and almost a light sangria color to the front. I’m going to have to pull out my nice camera because the phone camera isn’t cutting it!
So just a few I’m excited about. Still need to see if they are good tuber producers, resistant to powdery mildew, prolific and then to see how they do through different growing conditions - which takes a few years!
Guatemalan Flora
A few weeks back, I returned from 2 weeks spent in the amazing city of Antigua, Guatemala. My husband and I had a wonderful time resting and relaxing there. We had the added bonus of visiting some family living there too. I’d highly recommend it as a vacation destination.
When I’m on vacation, I love to take pictures of all the local flora. It’s one of my favorite things about visiting a new place— I want to know what grows there!
Guatemala is called the “Land of the Eternal Spring” and for good reason. The climate is mild all year round and produce and flowers abound! I’ve put together a selection of photos from our trip of the local flora. Most of these I don’t know the names of but tried to identify where I could.
Late Summer Dahlia Care-- Keep Going!!
It’s August— So it’s hot and it’s either wet or dry depending on where you live. Most likely it’s not an ideal climate for your dahlias right now.
It’s been a mostly wet summer here. We had a hot dry patch in early July (complete opposite of last year’s cool wet beginning to July). It’s easy to want to give up right now. I’ve heard multiple times recently— I’m going to quit growing dahlias if they don’t start looking better soon!
Well I’ve got news for you— how they look and perform— that’s up to you (to a degree). Yes, the weather plays a substantial part. But as a dahlia grower, you have to observe and adapt to whatever the weather is throwing at you!
KA’s Mocha Katie (a new personal favorite)
For example, we’ve had thunderstorms that dump loads of water at least 3 times a week recently- sometimes we’ve even gone a stretch of several days in a row of afternoon rain storms. As I walked my field the other day, I began noticing lighter green leaves on the newer growth. This is a sure sign that the dahlias need feeding. Lots of rain means that nutrients are leaching out. One benefit to clay soil even in rain, it does hold more nutrients than a sandy soil. I spent a lot of time earlier this week feeding my dahlias. And with as much rain as we’ve already had this week, I’ll probably feed again before the week is out. I feel like they are behind nutrient wise and a double feed won’t hurt them this time. I wouldn’t normally feed 2x a week but I think they are really low in nutrients right now.
I’m feeding with Alaska Morbloom which is a 0-10-10. I also added some fish emulsion since we’ve had so much rain. I usually stay away from nitrogen this time of year but I could tell the plants needed it. Just keep the phosophorus and potassium numbers (the last 2 in the 3 number chain) higher than your nitrogren when your dahlias are beginning to produce buds and blooms.
I also applied a fungicide. Thankfully I haven’t seen any powdery mildew yet- although with the current weather conditions, that’s not surprising. Powdery mildew can come on fast as it gets later in the season; it’s definitely time to begin frequent scouting for it. With as much rain as we’ve had, I do know we are likely to get other fungal related diseases so a fungicide regimen this time of year is crucial. I sprayed Cease the other day. But I also alternate with Copper and Milstop too. I’ll move more towards the Copper and Milstop rotation as we get later into the season. Those actively kill fungal spores. The Cease is more of a preventative measure and it’s quickly getting past the prevention stage in the field.
Linda’s Baby Dahlia from the side
I’ve also seen some plants just melt down and rot. But with the amount of rain we’ve had, I’m not surprised. Disappointed yes, but not surprised. It’s only a few plants here and there and with heavy rain and heavy clay soil, it’s to be expected. The loss rate is still nothing like the loss rate of last year during the dry heat wave of a summer we had.
BJ”s Dusty Rose
Dahlias in a hot humid climate definitely aren’t for the faint of heart. They aren’t a plant it and forget it plant. But the good news is— there are lots of ways to adapt and I find I really enjoy a crop like dahlias because after 10+ years of growing them, I still learn tons of new tricks every year!
If you are a new grower, hang in there. The pay off is coming. The weather will begin to cool in a few weeks and the dahlias will begin their big show!