I remember the tv ads that said “When J.P. Morgan talks, everyone listens.” When a four generation family of Dahlia growers speaks ah, we listen. Enter one of the latest Dahlia books, “The Joy of Dahlias,” authored by three women, Katja Staring, Linda Van Der Slot and Marlies Weijers. Linda grew up on a flower…
Tag: growing dahlias
Dahlia Tubers For Sale
If you are looking for Dahlia tubers to plant this Spring check out the Dahlia growers here in the states or from local Dahlia societies who walk, talk and breath Dahlias. The reason I like purchasing from smaller growers is that the Dahlias tubers you order are the Dahlias you receive. Novel; isn’t it? There…
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…
ADS, American Dahlia Society—A Little History Gathered
ADS, not to be confused with Attention Deficit Syndrome or Advanced Draining Systems. No. This is the wonderful, wild, world of dahlias where members get together to share information, dahlias and have shows to find the “best of the best.” There is history of show winners and the dahlia flowers who placed put together by…
Dahlia Plant Pet Names
The Little Dahlia That Could. I nicknamed a stem shoot that I clumsily lobbed off of a dahlia tuber. I thought I had a careful grip. It’s normal to give your plants pet names: Isn’t it? “Itsy Bitsy, Tiny Punch” and “Little Foot” are others. I never toss the bud-stem-shoot growth away even if it…
Books: Naomi Slade and Georgianna Lane Dahlias
It was on Instagram that I first found Georgianna’s Paris photography. It had such a romantic feel and when I looked into every photograph, I longed to step into each light-filled scene and spend a week or two there. Her style is “branded” and I could pick her photographs out of my feed lineup without…
Proof Dahlias Thrive in Heat
Hot weather. Hot topic. Dahlias can be grown in hot weather. If I read, “Dahlias do not like hot weather” again on a gardening site, I might shout. Just consider this a muffled shout. Normally numbers don’t interest me but we need some baseline numbers here to determine exactly what is considered “hot weather,” when…
Dahlias and Japanese Beetles
Growing sustainable flowers can turn a flower farmer into an amateur entomologist. Studying bugs that come to your dahlia party without an invitation, can help you deal with the little devils. Study your enemy, I say. There are many more bugs than humans on this planet, but that doesn’t mean they get to rule my…
My First Dahlia
This post should be titled, “First Dahlia Fail.” Oh, don’t get me wrong. The dahlia grew and bloomed. It was what happened right after the first flowers were presented. We had moved to a quiet development with a big backyard. It was a sea of grass punctuated with two lilac bushes, and a mock orange….
Do Dahlias Love Hot Weather?
You bet they do. Whether dahlias like cooler overcast or cloudless skies and hot-cooker-days really comes down to one very important element…the “soil.” We farm here in Maryland and we are just starting our “dog days of Summer,” and the dahlias are unfazed by the heat. They are lush, stretching up their green mittens (flower…
Once Upon A Dahlia 