5 varieties of 2011 Dahlias

The Big Sleep

This year I left plenty of stem on each tuber--truthfully, I still found it difficult to identify the "eyes" so, I was much more generous with the dividing process. Many of them looked blind, but it pays to adhere to the old hymn, "I once was blind, but now I see". So, everybody got a chance to "see".

I learned about the Ink In a Bottle pencil--the best marking tool for labeling each tuber with it's varietal name--sure beats marks-a-lot pens that blur.

Finally, each tuber was sulfur dusted (wetable).

My Dahlia friends, also, helped me with ideas to store the tubers more efficiently. I purchased (something like) 12"x14"x9"deep plastic file boxes; I needed 4 of them. Using perlite for medium, I layered single varieties of tubers with medium separated by newspaper or paper bags--both bags and newspaper worked equally well. On each box I listed each layered variety of tubers in order.

Then, this year, I stacked and stored the boxes in the front hall closet. When we had the garage remodled into an entry way, we didn't have the closet insulated. On an outside wall, it stays quite cool in there during the winter in Oregon, but won't freeze. Turned out to be a perfect and convenient place to store the tubers for the big sleep.

The learning curve

Not sure where I am on the learning curve; I can only hope centrifugal force hasn't thrown me to far off from where I need to be.

It's been a long time since my last post and a lot has happened. I'll enter a bit at a time until I get caught up.

The Roseburg Dahlia Club members have donr much to save me from myself. I got hands on advise on how not to behead my 2010 crop of tubers.

This year I added some new storage techniques that worked very well.

Did I say stout?

The bad news first. The first heavy rain in mid October brought my "stout" Kalista Angels crashing to the ground too heaqvy with water to hold themselves up. The good news is that they were the only statistic; I had tied every one else up.

Side note: the house is full of K. Angel bouquets, from the mandatory harvest.

These are Tioga Dawn, Korb Impeccable Dream, Allie White and Kalista Angel

Note: The Colorado Classic plant is quite weak and tall stems will fall over and break at ground level unless tied up.

Kalista Angel on the other hand is a dense stout bush which could easily be used as a 2'to 3' hedge. The flowers are often hidden within the dense foliage.

All plants have recovered from my accidental poisoning with Round Up (big oops). Anyway, most are looking healthy and are beginning the fall bloom.

minutiae continued

As I was reporting...

Allie White (2 plants) about 2'6" to 3'--same deformity (foliage looks burned)

Clifton Lela (4 plants) All about 1 ' with same deformity

Clifton Zack (1 plant) 6"--same deformity

Aitara Diadem (2 plants) 6"to 16" with same deformity

Korb Impeccable Dream (3 plants) 1'6" to 2'6" with same deformity

Kalista Angel (4 plants) 6" to 12" same deformity

Sorbet (4 plants) 6"to 12" same deformity

Thoughts:

1. I lost 2 Aitara Diadem of the 4 planted. Of the 30 remaining plants 26 show burned, deformed foliage. I can only assume that even though I was extremely careful, there must have been a small amount of drift from the Round Up weed killer I used on the weeds around the dahlias. I heard they were sensitive, but hey don't open a bottle of the stuff within a 1/2 mile of a dahlia! I'll have to use cloth or mulch for weed control next year.
2. I pinched the center growth bud of each plant at 2 to 3 leaf sets. I may have set back the growth on a number of the plants by doing this. Still learning...

By mid August of 2010...

Please skip to the next blog unless you're really interested in dahlia minutiae:



Tioga Dawn (4 plants):

• 1 is setting buds--height about 2'6"


• 3 are small--6"to 8"

Normandy Wild Willie (1 plant):

• setting buds about 16"--new foliage looks burned

Colorado Classic (2 plants):

• 1 is 18"--deformed growth around setting buds


• 1 is about 8" same deformity

Ruby Viola (3 plants)--6"to 8" same deformity

Allie White