To see the full original newsletter with all the photos click here to get the pdf: April 2015 Newsletter
NEXT MEETING: April 14 @ 7:30 @ 9th and Lincoln
Program: This is our final meeting before our Glorious Tuber and Plant Sale. Find out the many ways you can help. Devorah has promised many rare and wonderful cuttings from the greenhouse. Deborah will bring marvelous milk cartoned dahlias, and who else? Will you bring plants or tubers to our meeting for sale, too? Who will contribute yummies?
MAJOR CORRECTION
Thanks to Frank Schulkin for his remarkable distillation of the Worm Lady’s talk in our March newsletter. Attribution is important; I apologize for not including Frank’s name in his excellent explication last month. Is there a paragraph you’d like to write for our newsletter? A whole article? Please let me know dahlia.dietz@gmail.com
PERPETRATING PROPAGATION
Deborah (me) gave a slide show followed by a hands-on demonstration of taking dahlia cuttings. The four propagation sites are: tuber cuttings, stem cuttings, tip cuttings and leaf cuttings. (I find that my tuber cuttings yield almost 99% success; my stem cuttings, 90%; my tip cuttings, 50-60%; and I don’t even try for leaf cuttings.) Following is a recap of March’s demonstration.
My basic tools for making cuttings: container with water and Clorox to clean snipers, snipers, labels, pencil, 2×2’s, potting mix, dowel, and mother plants.
If you find your tuber sending up multiple sprouts, wait until one has 3 leaf pairs. Remove it at the surface of the tuber. Where you have removed “a scalp” two more will grow back.
My cutting medium is richly composted soil mixed with vermiculite or perlite. Other people, such as Corralitos or James Krassner, use sterile oasis as their starting medium.
I start my cuttings in 2”x2” containers. I use a dowel to dibble a hole in the middle so I can pop the sprout in easily. I water thoroughly afterwards and put in my greenhouse as close to the lights as possible.
Stem cuttings come, as it sounds, directly off the stem. Tip cuttings come from the top of the plant. I took cuttings at the Dell during our strangely warm December so now I am able to take cuttings from those cuttings this time of year.
I look for 4 leaf pairs; I cut between the bottom fourth and the bottom third set. I snip close to the first joint, remove the immediate first set of leaves, and cut the second pair of leaves in half to prevent too much respiration and loss of water.
All these cuttings go into my unheated greenhouse under lights which go on from midnight to 5 am. The closer to the lights the better. I mist them often to keep humidity high.
I do not use rootone; studies seem inconclusive about this actually helping, however lots of other people do dip into Rootone substances. I use a little Vitamin B in my spritzy spray along with a very very weak fertilizer.
Depending on how warm the weather, these cuttings should root in 3-5 weeks. Look for them at our tuber sale soon! Frank passed out an excellent four-page hand-out on making cuttings.
HOME, WARM HOME
Frank presented slides of how he built his greenhouse. Basically a greenhouse is any enclosed environment where you can control the heat/light/humidity. Frank built a set of shelves; lined them with reflective material; hung shop lights on each level; and attached door flaps with magnets.
Devi, Pat, and Soc all have these in their dark garages or basements. Check out Roger’s tent greenhouse. Erik Toedli in Oregon just bought one for $78. Such a tent over a light skeleton structure nurtures young dahlias and can be taken down after the season. Deborah and Paula delight in their permanent greenhouses. Paula got hers at the Landscape and Garden show a couple years ago. There is nothing better than making cuttings in the greenhouse whilst it rains on the roof and the kitty sits in the doorway with its nose far enough out to catch all the wafts but not so far that she gets wet.
GENEROSITY OF FRIENDS
Thanks to Pam, Larry and Lola for bringing lovely tubers for sale. Thanks to Deborah for the great looking milk carton dahlias including Juuls Lotus, Woodland’s Wildthing and Show ‘n Tell. Please personally tell Ron and Joann how much you appreciate their bringing in fresh Meyer lemons from their Mill Valley tree so often. Leo donated chocolate chip cookies and John Dale brought pound cake. Pam and Larry brought chocolate and almond cookies. We scarfed up Maggie’s homemade chocolate chip cookies as well as Lola’s peanut butter ones. MMMM, a good time was eaten by all.
ADS BULLETIN ON LINE:
Beginning this month, the quarterly ADS Bulletin will also be available on line at the ADS website in the members-only section. If you are not sure how to enter the members only area, contact Alan Fischer afisherads@yahoo.com. He will verify your membership and give you the appropriate passwords. If you haven’t checked out the ADS website for a while, you might be surprised how it’s been updated and streamlined.
CAVALCADE OF COLOR AND FORM
Fuzzy Wuzzy
NTAC Patricia
Parkland Rave
HH Black Beauty
Vista Pet
Yesterday
Dark Sider
AC Abbey
Gladiator
Vista Cody
Mango Madness
AC Ianola
And now that we’ve whetted your appetite . . .
FEED THE NEED
Tuber Sales around the Bay:
Monterey – April 4 at the Deer Park Shopping Mall in Aptos
San Francisco – April 18 at the SF County Fair Bulding, 9th & Lincoln
San Leandro – April 25 at the San Leandro Library, 300 Estudillo (website)
HELPFUL HINTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL TUBER SALE
All volunteers on the list are asked to arrive just before 8 AM, for sorting tubers, labeling, distributing photos, setting up signs, and looking up varietal information. Remember to get on the list. You qualify if you helped with our show last year, helped in the Dell, helped in our kitchen during meetings, or brought tubers/plants for our sale. If we finish setting up in time, we’ll be able to go “shopping” before the general public comes in. (Can’t you just hear Elsie reminding us all to make sure we were ready for the shoppers outside before we started our own shopping.)
Please wear a dahlia t-shirt or apron if you have one, so the public will readily identify you as a dahlia consultant. Ideally, bring your ADS Classification Book, sharpie pens, a magnifying glass, and your most helpful attitude. If you hope to share tubers or cuttings with other DSCers, please do so in the parking lot. Whatever comes into our auditorium is FOR SALE.
Remember that we’ll have a lovely potluck afterwards, so bring something delicious to share. If your dish needs a serving utensil or hot pads, please bring the appropriate items. You may utilize the kitchen’s refrigerator, stove, or oven.
This is our ONLY fundraiser, so please send out our poster to EVERYONE you know. Post it on Facebook and ask your friends to repost it. Thank Devorah drdevisff@gmail.com for the lovely artwork. If you have three or more tubers or cuttings of a single variety for our sale, please inform Devi so she can make a photo of it. (Sooner is better than later….) People buy with their eyes; tubers are kind of ugly, but Devi’s pix are enticing.
ADS BULLETIN ON LINE
Beginning this month, the quarterly ADS Bulletin will also be available on line at the ADS website in the members-only section. If you are not sure how to enter the members only area, contact Alan Fischer afisherads@yahoo.com. He will verify your membership and give you the appropriate passwords. If you haven’t checked out the ADS website for a while, you might be surprised how it’s been updated and streamlined.
PSW CONFAB
While only 14 people attended the Pacific Southwest Conference held in San Diego, Bob Papp reported that pleasure and education mingled well. Needless to say, EVERYONE won a bunch at the raffle. John Morton brought lots of lovely cuttings both from his greenhouse and Corralitos to share. Marcia and Barry represented DSC and took some pix. Farmer John imparted tips about commercially growing tomatoes and other vegetables in Baja California. People especially hearkened to planting a couple tomatoes every week for six weeks to lengthen the harvest season. Karen Zydner again presented the long-awaited Top Dahlias by rank in the entire PSW conference; Top Winners broken out by size; and list of winners from all the shows in the PSW conference. Click here to know what succeeds in California. The #1 dahlia in California? Kenora Jubilee. #2? Parkland Rave.
Parkland Rave
LITTLE DAHLIAS, BIG RIBBONS
Do you have a small garden? Maybe only a balcony on the eleventh story? Then concentrate on mignon singles and micros. The ribbons for Best of Type are the same whether won by humongous Inland Dynasty or itzy bitzy U2Ania; the same whether won for Dahlia of the Year double as for Dahlia of the Year open-centered. Rembrant, Matthew Juul, Inflamation and Lo-blush, can be successfully grown in pots 8” wide and 5” deep. They require very little water compared to large dahlias in the ground. They respond to your grooming ministrations. You can enter x1, x3 and x5 in competition. These little dahlias provide a wonderful way to begin competing without having to put in a huge garden. Become the Master of ONX, Micro, MS, Orq, even S, and Col. Look for these petite perfections at our Tubersale and grow your winning wee jewels this year!
AT LAST APRIL!
Time to plant! I usually plant in the Dell all through the month of April and special things even into May and June. I ONLY plant my milk cartooned dahlias when the sprouts are over a foot tall and the roots are well established. However, Kristine and Lou P. plant both tubers and cuttings directly into the soil. I rip open the milk carton, and voila! a perfect rectangle of roots ready to go crazy in fecund soil. You can plant cuttings directly into your garden. However, just to make sure that I have a well-established root mass with the cuttings I get at our sale, I transfer the 4×4” into a larger container and grow it in a protected place for a while longer. When I plant, I dig a hole about 6-8” deep; add some fertilizer and a little Bayers 3 in 1 systemic granules just to protect my wee dahliaitos. Kristine Albrecht likes to add a teaspoon of mycrorrhyzomes. Hammer in your stake, BEFORE you lay in your tuber/plant. (You know why) Depending on how extensive the individual plant’s root system, water accordingly. For this reason, some people plant all their cuttings in one spot and their tubers in another. Cuttings need a LITTLE water EVERY day; tubers need NO water until they sprout. Post a label IMMEDIATELY. If your plants look fragile, you might make a cylinder out of a half-gallon milk carton and slip it over the top and secure it in the dirt. Lastly, add some snail/slug/earwig deterrent. Coreys for earwigs is pretty lethal stuff and can make your kids and pets sick although it works deadly well; Sluggo Plus, although pricey, works adequately and is safe for all your critters two or four legged.
Ideally you would plant about 30-36” apart. However, it really depends on the variety. A little Rembrant or Elvira requires less space; a big bushy bruiser like Vernon Rose or Prince Valiant needs all the room you can spare. I prefer to have my drip system in place before I plant rather than risk knocking over tender green things at such a vulnerable stage. As soon as she plants, Kristine puts straw all over her garden to act as mulch, keep weeds down, and keep water from evaporating. Roger uses black weed cloth. Baker Bill turns old venetian blinds into excellent labels. He cuts them to the desired length, punches holes in one end and strings them up on his stakes. Phil and Marilyn write varietal names on plastic knives for their labels. Sue, Lou, Pat and Valeria laminate printed labels for the public to read their specimens at the Dell. Bring your extra tubers and plants to our tuber sale. E-mail our sale poster to EVERYONE you know. Light up your friends’ lives with glorious dahlias. Every garden needs a few. Bring something yummy to share at our post/sale potluck.
Yours in Dirt,
Dahlia Society of California, Inc., San Francisco, CA — Copyrighted
Editor: Deborah Dietz
Page layout: Mike Willmarth
Photo credits: Baldwin, Bayer, Bergman, DeWitt, Dietz, Hart, Krassner, Larken, Schulkin, Toedli
Originally Organized
In 1917
In San Francisco the Dahlia was adopted as the
Official Flower of San Francisco on October 4, 1926
by its Board of Supervisors