Morning Auron,

I think Dahlia's have the most beautiful flowers of all flowering plants.

Your Dahlia's are absolutely gorgeous.

Like you, as soon as temps drop, corms need digging, then stored in a cool, dark place.
I keep corms in a large, covered plant pot, 'over-winter.'

By spring, new growth sprouts while in the container..if warm enough, Dahlias's are then transplanted in the garden.

BTW, I didn't know there were mini's.. I'm going to Google mini's...check flowers.

Auron, your flower bed is BEAUTIFUL. Your lucky you have rare Dahlias. Those sold here are the same old types, but still pretty.

I have three different Dahlia types/colors, lol. Yellow, dark red & white and pink& white. Some Bozo walked on the red and pink, 'two plants,' broke the foliage and flowers.
I didn't see broken plants until this morning while walking to my car.
IDIOT!!!

Do you think the corms will thrive?
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Flirck is doing maintenance, so I can't copy and paste the third Dahlia.

Why are some of your Dahlia's not yet flowering?

Your plants are amazing. Toni

I too love Dahlias! Both of you all posted some beauties! They have always been a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing!!

Toni,

Unfortunately these are not mine, a public garden that I volunteer at from time to time grows these. Not sure why some dahlia's are slower to blooming than others...might be the losers in the battle for water and sunlight or they are just genetically slower. Notice there are no spider dahlia's yet...I feel like it's a natural thing. I did have dahlia's at one point and in my experience they are very tough plants. When I moved I did not bring the dahlia's with me. The new homeowners told me they actually survived the winter! That was 2 winters ago....when there was no hard freeze here, odd year that was. If they didn't bring them in last winter they probably died. I'll start growing them again once I am able to focus on gardening. I'm on the hunt for "bee happy"....I feel like i'll pay any price for such an unusual dahlia.lol

Not sure if they will produce any babies this year, it probably depends on how far along the growth was before it was stomped on. The corms should recover just fine though. Are those both dinnerplates? They are lovely dahlia's.

I agree that no individual flower beats a dahlia. The only thing that even comes close are orchids...but that's mostly because they are so "otherworldly" rather than just the pure gorgeousness that is the dahlia :)

As for the mini's, I don't believe there is much variety. Still beautiful, but I don't think there are any dinnerplate (sized), ball, spider, or anemone mini's. They usually have the dinnerplate colors and shape (not size....that would be wild though.lol)

When you say "bozo"....why do I feel like your darting your eyes at DH? lol

teisa,

Your welcome :)
I'm glad I got some people excited for dahlia's.lol

Good Afternoon,

Teisa...thank you...

Do you have Dahlias? If so, can you post photos?

I only wish we lived in a warmer climate where certain bulbs/corms don't need lifting. :)

Auron,

Oh, sorry about that..Eventually, your garden will be filled with various Dahlias. Right? :)

Since you're a volunteer, maybe when it's time to lift, they'll give you a few corms to start out???

What a nice hobby...

Do you talk to the people who now reside at your old place?
If so, you should ask if Dahlia's made it through, last winter.

Last winter was so darn icy, unlike the year before. Perennials that have been around a long time, froze.
Serioulsy, I was upset. One was Musa/banana, hardy to z5 and up.

I don't know your location, but maybe you should wait until spring before planting???
What time of year do they dig bulbs/corms where you volunteer?

Yep, all 3 are dinner plates..Actually, dinner plates were the only Daliah corms available..Purchased locally.
Thank you.

Oh yes, I agree, Orchid flowers are beautiful, too...maybe it's me, but my orchids don't produce any award winning flowers. lol.
But, members here who post their orchid pics have amazing orchids with the lovliest flowers.
Do you have orchids?

I Googled and Wiki'd Daliahs.

According to Wiki, there are 36 species, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants.

"Flower forms are variable, with one head per stem; these can be as small as 2 in (5.1 cm) diameter or up to 1 ft (30 cm) ("dinner plate"). This great variety results from dahlias being octoploids"

AND:

"The stems are leafy, ranging in height from as low as 12 in (30 cm) to more than 6��"8 ft (1.8��"2.4 m). The majority of species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars. Like most plants that do not attract pollinating insects through scent, they are brightly colored, displaying most hues, with the exception of blue."

If you go to Wiki, type in Daliah, then scroll down, there are pics of Daliah's with spider-like blooms.
One is 'Stars of the Devil,' (spooky name, lol,' and 'Karma Sangria.' Both are very pretty.
They remind me of a Zennia I used to grow in the garden..

Although dh IS a Bozo, I think it was someone else..Sometimes, kids sneak out of their homes, cut through yards, trample my garden plants.
I found a pack of Camel cigarettes on the side of the house the other day.

I wonder if Daliahs will grow in containers??? Toni

teisa,

if you like dahlias... you should try to make a trip to portland, OR some year in late august or early september. there's a farm nearby that has 40 acres. it's a sight to see. they have two weekends each year when they have a festival, but you can visit the fields at other times as well.

i checked, and they list 'bee happy' in their catalog, so it's still available commercially.

oh, and i agree with toni... if you volunteer, i'd think that you should be able to finagle a corm. if not, and the garden has the plant again, i've heard that you can root cuttings of the plant though i've never tried it myself.

cheers,

nancy

ps the dahlia farm is called Swan Island Dahlias. i won't post a link to their site since commercial links are frowned upon.

Toni,

In a perfect world, they would just toss a corm my way for all the help, right? Anything the garden can spare though is usually sold at the spring sale. There is no admission so visiting the garden is free to everyone. Anything they do is from donations, volunteers, plant sales, or various events. I feel like if they even did it would probably be given to some of the most dedicated volunteers or people that donate "big money"...

They dig up tubers about 3 days after first frost. Knocks out the top and helps set eyes on the tubers....or some hocus pocus like that. I think it's usually mid October. We put them back out around early may if weather permits.

But yes, someday I will have dahlia's again :)

I do have orchids, i'm a bit of a fanatic for them, but i am also very new to them. Currently own 7. Once they rebloom i'll have some better pics. The ones I do have of them are not so great. I could never do orchid shows....too much dedication required for that optimal bloom.

Cigs thrown near your house? How upsetting. I'm typically put off just seeing litter in public. I get that too though... Need to go to my happy place.....I wish consideration wasn't a foreign concept to so many people.

Nancy,
I came across that site a few times googling dahlia's. They have great info on how to describe characteristics and SO many dahlia's. Considering how expensive dahlia's typically are, they are reasonably priced. They sure ask a lot for some though....i'm assuming the pricey ones are either very new or just difficult to cultivate.

teisa,

on pricing... i think you're spot on. this year's new 'introductions' always cost quite a bit more than any of the others. i'm just guessing that the other price differences depend on how many tubers each variety tends to make. you can also tell as you're walking in the field that some varieties are only 1 row wide versus 3 rows (ie a lot more) for others.

you didn't ask about this, but i found it interesting...

they have a big test area where they grow out seed from last year. i think that it's really pretty because every plant in each row is different - different color, different height, different flower style... anyway, someone asked one of the owners how they decided which ones to cross to try for new plants. the guy chuckled and said, "well, for a few years, we tried carefully to cross one type or color with another specific type or color... and then we realized that the bees were doing just as well or better. so now we just let them do our work."

cheers,

nancy

Great pics & garden! I had no idea there were so many different ones. Mine are always upright and well-staked but the little stem of each bloom usually fails. This is the 3rd year the blooms almost all end up pointing down. Cutting the next buds for a vase. Thanks for sharing, maybe worth giving them another year, and just planning on cutting them for vases anyway.