Small Dahlia Tubers Versus Dahlia Clumps

Is a bigger Dahlia tuber better than a small one? If you are in a State Fair tuber size contest, yes, but otherwise a smaller one will deliver flowers just as readily. This early August heat wave in July has got me thinking about planting a Dahlia clump versus a small Dahlia tuber. A clump…

Dahlia Tubers and Water, Love Hate Relationship

How much water do Dahlias need? Answered.

When To Plant Dahlias

Dahlia Tuber Families Weather makes the final decision here for the, “When to plant date,” at our board meetings. Other members present, myself, coffee and Dahlia tubers who outnumber the days in a year many times over. Weather is our friend at this time of year and remember, a good friend is a good listener….

Mango For Breakfast; Fruit Tree for Greenhouse

Once I read about a nursery in Florida that grew and sold mango trees in the newspaper. Living the dream, I thought at the time. The nurseryman said they planted the seeds as soon as the fruit was eaten. Moved by the article, I put three slippery mango husks in three pots, set them outside…

Dahlia Plants Ph Soil Levels – Leaves Reveal Problems

Be your own dahlia expert and cure any problems promptly. But first you need to know what is the cause and the signs you might be experiencing on your plants. Leaves will tell you exactly what they are getting too much of or too little of, and what they would like you to do about…

Cafe au Lait Dahlia Breeder

The Beatles released their ninth album and the romantic Cafe au Lait Dahlia was introduced to the world the same year. 1968. Flower power was a term used then, too, but it was not about gardening. I enjoy reading about dahlia breeders and the different parts of the world dahlias come to us from. We…

Compost Delivers for Dahlias

If dahlia plants could call and have food delivered within an hour, it wouldn’t be for pizza. The call would be for black gold. Compost. Did you know that compost is practically the answer to every type of soil problem? If you have heavy clay, (we do) compost helps break it up and make it…

Myrtle’s Folly Dahlia Breeder

Behind every success is a story. Let me introduce you to the dahlia, Myrtle’s Folly. She is an remarkable shaped dahlia, fimbriated, fully double and colorful. The word, remarkable, used for it’s coloring of peach, pink, gold and it’s fringed masses of slightly-curled, flower petals. One dahlia grower raved about the Myrtle’s Folly dahlias she…

Dahlia Breeding Lesson

Some of the best dahlia breeders will generously share their process with anyone aching to learn. Learn how dahlia enthusiasts arrange their dahlia stock beds, and which dahlias are good breeding parents, or good-seed-producing parents. This is what every dahlia lover/grower wants to know as some dahlias are not good seed producers at all. Sit…

Dahlia’s First Name in Mexico

What were dahlias called in Mexico and Central America, their native habitat in the sixteen hundreds before their seeds were shipped to Spain? Surely the locals there had a name for them. It piqued my interest. Most everyone knows the early dahlias were later, named after Andreas Dahl. “Acocotli,” and “Chichipatli” is what the plants…