a dahlia as big as my head

[Greensage45]

HiD,

You're so lucky to have a resource for tubers like that! Could be that since your dahlias are Anemone-like that the petals have to be trimmed back for pollination. I wouldn't worry about looking for seeds, but please keep posting pictures! Even if you see one and say 'oh they've seen that one already', we would still like to see it!

Thanks !

Ron :bouquet

I bet those pompom style have seeds, you just think it is the end of the petal and not a seeds...why not dry a few heads, break them apart and spread them out on a paper plate, then snap a picture and let us decide if we can see seeds! LOL

 

[Greensage45]

PS these two growers are wonderful to deal with and have a HUGE selection of dahlias

http://www.dahlias.com

http://www.lynchcreekdahlias.com/lynch-creek-farm-dahlias.html

I sometimes imagine what it would be like to own a flower farm!

Thanks!

Ron

OMG, this one looks like mine, and they named it 'Inflammation'
How utterly tragic!
http://www.dahlias.com/inflammation-item512.aspx

Although from this company, Swan Island, the seed mix would be a great deal! I am soooo tempted! My birthday is coming!

http://www.dahlias.com/100mixeddahliaseed-item881.aspx

 

[HiDelight]

I will try to do that this week on my days off ... I looked in all of them including the pom pom but no seeds noticed but you are right maybe you can see something I can not!

I do not mind sharing tubers when I dig them up but that will take forever since I dug them up last year and split them I am not doing it again for a while

we are inundated with dahlia clubs and societies..huge bunches of them for sale at every farmers markets ... here I guess we have a great climate for them? I dont know since I have never grown them anywhere else and never even knew much about them

when I was growing up we had a spectacular flower garden ..I come from a long line of flower lovers only with me the names and varieties and whole organizing thing just skipped a gene ..I hope my chipmunk is better than I am ..so far he is pretty OCD and likes things in order so maybe he will be the generation that gets that part back ...he adores flowers ..so much so he has made me pull the car over to look at someone's garden

I do know they do not last long when I pick them and put them in a vase and when I have purchased a bunch at the farmers mkt they lasted over a week ..what do they know that I do not know?????

I put hot water I put cold water I have used aspirin a splash of dish soap ..(btw that keeps the water fresh if you do that!) I have used even the crap you buy that is supposed to keep them longer and the dahlias I grow just do not last more than three days max before they fall apart

any ideas?

 

[Greensage45]

Oh here we go!

This was taken from: Grand Valley Dahlia Society Newsletter
October 2007

Some Thoughts on Collecting Seeds from Dahlias

In late September and into October the dahlias will be in a state to produce seeds. As the blooms fade and the ray florets drop from the pod, the grower is advised to try different ways to keep the pod from being soaked by rain and dew. Wet pods will encourage mildew to destroy the pod and its contents. Bending the stem is a popular method so that moisture will drip from the pod. Some people will squeeze the developing pods so that the moisture drips out. Some will place a plastic sheet over the pod with an open end facing the ground. This would be similar to a little umbrella to keep the rain off the pod.

Some growers will cut the stems containing the pods just before the killing frost. Then they place them in a vase with water containing the floral preservative for a week. This will further allow the pod to produce mature seeds.

Once the pods have been collected, they must be thoroughly dried. Then they can be opened by hand to search for the seeds. You will find that the seeds will be a dark color. Some of the dark structures will not have anything within the outer husk, so one will need to bend the seed in half lengthwise. If there is difficulty in bending the seed, then it is most likely a viable one. Those that bend in half easily are blank and will not produce a plant. Not all pods will have seeds. The A and AA size dahlias commonly will produce no seeds at all. Finding one or two in these large dahlias is considered a fortunate event.

Once the seeds are collected from the pods, then they are placed in a labeled paper envelope and placed in the refrigerator. Dahlia seeds stored in this manner will germinate several years after collection.

In the spring the seeds can be put on a wet sheet of paper towel, folded, and placed in a plastic bag. Putting the bag on a sunny window ledge will encourage the seeds to sprout. Check the bag in 4-5 days to see if there are any that have germinated. Take the germinated seeds out and plant them each in a small container. Cover the remaining seeds in the toweling and wait a few more days. Some seed germinate quickly in 4 days, while others germinate in 8-10 days. I find that starting seed on 1 April works out just about right for putting an 8-10 inch plant in the garden in the middle to end of May.

I think you may have to keep your heads dry girl! LOL :coolsun

Ron

 

[Greensage45]

Oh yeah,

You mean no one told you?

I first saw this done many years ago with Gerbera Daisies. I would cut mine and they would droop, but the ones at the Florist stood tall for a long time! Finally I viewed a program on a Florist Farm, it was so easy; they cut the flower and sear it with a lighter/flame. It prevents any juices from escaping the flower.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2138760_precondition-cut-flowers.html

Here is an internet article on all the different methods for different types, as you scroll down you will see this:

#
Step 6

Special Pre-Conditioning Instructions: Hollow Stems

If you are cutting hollow stem flowers such as Shasta daises, dahlias, poppies and so on, they require a bit more attention. Once you bring them indoors you should submerge the stems in fresh water and make a new 45 degree cutting on the stem as outlined above. At this time, you may notice a white substance coming out of the flower. This white stuff is a nutrient that the flower needs or it will die. So, it is up to you to make sure that it isnt all lost. You will have to remove the flower from the water, make a third 45 degree cut and then sear the flowers tip with a match or candle flame immediately. This will seal off the stem and contain the nutrient inside. Next, remove any extra leaves or foliage and place the cutting in room temperature water. Be sure to mist the flower heads with cool water.

Ron :rose

 

[HiDelight]

great info thanks so much Ron!

the whole dry thing and dahlias is probably the reason I can not find seeds! it is not like we are known here for dry weather and I think they rot before they seed is the issue ..no wonder no one talks about saving dahlia seeds here ..at least not out loud!

 

[digitS']

There's no leaving dahlias in the ground year in, year out in my part of the world. I think of their beds in the same way as I do those for annuals. The dahlia advantage is that they can double, from one year to the next with no reason to worry about seeds or plant starts in the greenhouse.

One has to be a little organized, however. Otherwise, you will find that the most successful varieties have doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. and crowded out everything else. I find this to particularly true with purple types and the picotee, especially. Those tend to suffer from petal burn in the sunniest weeks of the year so they aren't the best in my garden for looks. They just really like it there.

And, if you think that it is odd to grow dahlias where the soil freezes every winter - think about how Kalispell Montana is something of a dahlia breeding center. I'm not even sure how they have enough time to see the blooms in their short season . . .

Nope, they can't take a frozen soil. I have just cleaned the "clumps" and buried all the old tubers in the little vegetable garden. In a warmer climate, I'd have so many dahlia shoots coming up next year in that bed, they probably wouldn't have room to flower. Not here, they'll all be "mush" under 8" or 10" of soil and their nutrients pushing up lettuce in 2010.

Steve

edited in defense of the dahlias' ability to last, cut in water - they do as well as roses, anyway.

 

[HiDelight]

I have lost a lot to rot over the years..

ok what is the easiest way to get the earwigs out so they do not cross the table and walk on someones plate during a nice dinner?

 

[digitS']

Well, you don't want to spray them with insecticide after you've got 'em on the dinner table . . . .

Earwigs looooove dahlias. They will chew the leaves after the plants first emerge right down to the stems. I battle with them every year and - they ain't easy to kill.

What I think I'm accomplishing is that I get the earwigs heading in another direction early in the season by spraying the plants with systemic bug killer. Mostly, earwigs hide during the daylight hours in some sort of permanent cover and come out at night to chomp on your dahlias, lettuce, and whatnot. Of course, after your plants get big - they are considered permanent cover :/.

I buy Ortho systemic and begin spraying as soon as I see damage to the leaves. Then, I continue spraying right up until blooms begin to open. Since red spider mites also loooove dahlias, I have to spray right thru the summer . . .

Try to keep debris away from your dahlia beds. My worse problem area is the dahlia bed near the compost bin.

Steve