Dahlias

[digitS']

Beautiful, absolutely!!

. . . and, healthy foliage and such strong, nice stems!

I bet the tubers are just as nice.

S'

 

[RustyDHart]

Thanks DigitS.....They did well in 2009....2010 was a different story....nice plants....very few blooms....but TONS of tubers...so I'm happy.... Here is "Yellow Star"

" Neon Splendor "

"Tie Dye"

 

[sonjab314]

Oh I like that Neon Star

 

[RustyDHart]

You mean "Neon Splendor"? It's classified as a "Flame" colored Dahlia....not Orange....but a blend of colors....it's popular. It is mouth watering and the photos DON'T do them justice....

 

[RustyDHart]

Here's a little dahlia story....I show poultry also...and was at a show when a judge friend of mine approached me and asked if I'd heard of a Dahlia variety called "D-Day"....? He new the creator of the variety and had remembered seeing it at this gentlemans home back in the early 50's..... Anyway....he wanted to see if he could retrieve this Dahlia again in memory of his old time friend and mentor.... I said I'd look for it and had asked on one of the Dahlia Forums.....(International group).....I recieved 3 answers back....2 from England and one from Vancouver, Wash. Both gentleman from England had heard of it and didn't think it existed anymore...but asked that if I found it...if I'd be willing to share...(?)....Of course!!!! The sweet lady from Washington started her response with...."Rusty...how many would you like?" I was awe struck....She sent me 6 tubers...I planted them and in hopes of getting some nice tubers for my friend and some for the others...and a few for me.... I called my poultry judge friend and asked if he wanted the tubers that Fall or the next Spring....he answered..."next Spring"...I had a better facility for storing the tubers through Winter. The following Spring (2010)...I recieved a call from another poultry buddy telling me of the death of my long time friend and poultry judge (Earl Jones).... I was devastated....I miss my longtime friend and mentor deeply....I had the priviledge to do a talk on Dahlias for a college a little bit later that year ...I displayed several varieties of Dahlias and discussed each one explaining color...pattern....and shape...and when I got to the variety "D-Day" and told the story of how I acquired it and my old time friend....the entire audience stood up and applauded "D-Day" and my friend Earl Jones.... I will never forget that day or my friend Earl....I will always keep this variety of Dahlia.... I hope you don't mind me sharing...

"D-Day"

 

[sonjab314]

That was a lovely story. I didn't mind it at all. It makes you think about how there is no guarantee about tomorrow. (And from my earlier post yes I meant Neon Splendor lol).

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

D-Day is a beautiful flower! is the color a pale pink or a pale purple? i can't really tell with how light the color looks.

and such a nice story of how you acquired it. i am sorry about your friend's passing.

 

[RustyDHart]

Thank you sonjab and chickies'Moma......Earl is gone...but his spirit is still with us and I'm reminded of him every time I look at one of my "D-Days".....it just upsets me that he didn't get to see the flowers before his passing.....I know he's looking down at them in my garden and smiling.... Sorry that the photo wasn't that good...."D-Day" is a soft ...what I call "Victorian Pink" bloom....it's a delicate color.....very nice size and form....It looks great with white Dahlias or white mini-Carnations..or white Roses...some asparagus fern and a little bit of Baby's Breath...in an old vase sitting on a hand crochetted lace doily. It makes a beautiful "Grandma's " flower arrangement. I sell alot of cut flowers at the Farmer's Market. Arrangements as well.....In the Fall I do them in heirloom Pumpkins of various colors. Friends of mine made me an ole time European flower cart to sell the Dahlias in....one day at the market a buddy of mine approached my display and said "Kinda Frilly" isn't it? I responded...."I'm selling cut flowers....Not Chain Saws". He laughed and I made over $200 that morning. To each his own.... I'm still learning about raising and showing them and I don't mind sharing what I've learned with others. I raise herbs and heirloom plants, poultry and sheep...it keeps me busy.

 

[cwhit590]

I'm kinda late to this, but welcome to TEG Rusty! Good to see another Michigander. And wow..... great pics of your dahlias! NICE plants and flowers.

When I was doing greenhouse retail in 2009 we grew some big dahlias (Vancouver and Babylon Pink) in 3 gallon pots....and man, as soon as those things started blooming they sold like hot cakes!

How are dahlias as cut flowers? Do they have a good vase life? Are some varieties better than others for cutting? I'm curious because I'm planning to grow more flowers for cutting this summer.....seriously considering marketing at farmers markets and/or to florists....if I have the time! We will see.....

 

[RustyDHart]

Thanks....Vancouver and Babylon Pink (Rose) are both nice varieties....I show a photo of Vancouver on here somewhere...(?) I have Babylon varieties in Pink (Rose), Red, Purple, and Bronze..... If you cut nice healthy blooms...in the right conditions the cut Dahlia will last a "Good" week. I sell lots of cut Dahlias at the Farmer's Market. It's easier to use smaller cut varieties (B, BB, M sizes) in vases and arrangements....unless you have a pretty good size vase. Some of the (AA Size) much larger variety blooms can get over 12-14 inches....I've seen 17 inch at a show and a Dahlia friend of mine says he heard of one about 20 inches....That's a Pizza!!!!