Show off your beautiful Dahlia collections .

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@Branching Out very nice dahlias you have posted. They are stunning . I am going to remember them for my next order of dahlias. The large plate dahlia is so delicate in color and shape. I have had Yevonne sometime ago. Also sundown is perfectly shaped, looks like a water lily type?
Do you dig you dahlias in the fall and how do you store them?

 

[Branching Out]

@Branching Out very nice dahlias you have posted. They are stunning . I am going to remember them for my next order of dahlias. The large plate dahlia is so delicate in color and shape. I have had Yevonne sometime ago. Also sundown is perfectly shaped, looks like a water lily type?
Do you dig you dahlias in the fall and how do you store them?

It looks like Alpen Sundown is a formal decorative, and Yvonne has a water lily form. The water lily dahlias are great for viewing from above, whether in the garden or in a bouquet. Their upward-facing horizontal blossoms are perfect for the centre of a vase. So many dahlias bloom with a vertical profile, like the dinner plate ones.

I love dahlias however I am finding that they take a lot of time and energy in September, a time of the year when I am busy harvesting vegetables and dry beans. Part of me wants to reduce the number of dahlias that I grow, but I get kind of attached to them-- so for now I'll keep as many as I can.

In terms of storage, my dahlias stay in the ground through the winter. The last few years I have cut back the stalks in November, and then I cover the clump of tubers with compost, a layer of thick plastic (empty plastic garden sacks or large lids from take-out party trays work well), the chopped up dahlia stalks, and finally a thick layer of autumn leaves. Sometimes I put a big rock on top of the plastic before burying it in mulch, so winter winds don't blow it around. The dahlias remain covered until late spring when shoots start to appear; I usually start peeking under the mulch in late April. I adapted this in-ground storage method from the one used by Jenny Love, at Love'n Fresh Flowers, https://lovenfreshflowers.com/2020/11/08/overwintering-dahlias/.
She tarps entire beds of dahlias for the winter. In my garden the dahlias are planted all over the place so I cover them individually with compost and a vapor barrier, and then mulch heavily over the plastic. We typically have an exceptionally wet climate from November through April, and keeping the crown of the dahlia dry seems to be enough to prevent the tubers from freezing. When I used to dig them and bring them indoors I lost a lot of tubers to mold or drying out; it was also a lot of work (and seriously unpleasant digging up the garden in November). I have only lost one dahlia over several years when I've left them in the ground. This fall I hope to divide and move a bunch of them to new locations in the garden before I winterize them; I think that will be a good idea, so soil-borne disease doesn't build up over time.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Great advice .Thank you.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Last of the cut flower garden , the dahlia’s in the garden before the rain and cold weather sets in.

 

[Blueberry Acres]

Mikayla Miranda

Ferncliff Duo

 

[Blueberry Acres]

A mystery tuber I’m trying to identify…maybe Shaggy Chic or Clearview Jonas? The flower heads vary in size, 3-6 inches wide. Some are vibrant pink around the edges and some are just a faint blush. Lovely warm yellow in the centers.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

@Blueberry Acres your garden is beautiful and you have some choice dahlias that make a great statement in any garden. Dahlias are easy to get hooked on, there are so many to choose from.
The first pic looks like ‘ Pinelands Princess ‘ a Beaty of course and can be up 6-8” blooms, a cactus dahlia.
Not sure about the second dahlia . The third pick looks similar to ‘Evening Sun’ a dinner plate size dahlia, a semi cactus dahlia.
Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[Blueberry Acres]

@Blueberry Acres your garden is beautiful and you have some choice dahlias that make a great statement in any garden. Dahlias are easy to get hooked on, there are so many to choose from.
The first pic looks like ‘ Pinelands Princess ‘ a Beaty of course and can be up 6-8” blooms, a cactus dahlia.
Not sure about the second dahlia . The third pick looks similar to ‘Evening Sun’ a dinner plate size dahlia, a semi cactus dahlia.
Thank you so much for sharing.

All three blooms actually came from the same plant, which is why it's so hard to ID!

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Oh I see they change color as they age. I’m gonna go for the first name is ‘Prinlands Princess’- cactus dahlia. I have that one in my dahlia collection.