![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2005/Newsletter%20copy.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/graphics/8.05.base.banner.jpg)
August, 2006
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![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Scattered.jpg) NEXT
MEETING:
August 8th @7:30 PM @ 9th & Lincoln. Program:
NOVICE ONLY MINI SHOW. Single blooms in AA, A, B, BB, M, BA, MB,
P, MS, S, AN, CO, NO, NX, O, P, PE, S, ST, WL. x3 and x5 of the
same flower variety. Please limit your entries to two per category.
This is a wonderful opportunity to practice staging and to hear the
judges evaluate your blooms. All entries should have the first leaf
pair included and showing above the container. Come early, say 6:30, to
be set up by 7:30. Be able to name and ADS number your entry. Bring
containers with pin frogs, paper or cloth towels for spills, scissors or
clippers, water pail, and a bucket to pour your excess water into at the
end of the competition. Who will win BEST IN SHOW? |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Tinne%20w%20wine%20carrier.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Lou%20w%20pc%20and%20insulation.jpg) SPECIAL
DELIVERY: Deborah, Tinnee and Lou brought various methods of
transporting dahlias safely. Tinnee transformed a wine case into a
Dixie cup condo. The 12 plastic cups held water to transport individual
dahlias. She cut down the edges to customize for shorter dahlias and
left the box intact for the taller dahlias: simple and recyclable. Lou
first experimented with pvc pipes, hacksawing the lengths to fit a
plastic container. He assembled various diameters to carry various size
dahlias. To decrease the weight of all that water, Lou began fitting
pvc pipe into plastic hot water pipe insulation. Evolving finally to
100% pipe insulation material, his solution proved light, simple and
succumbing to very little water slop. Deborah utilized milk cartons
with their tops cut down an inch to provide water guards for bringing
bouquets to friends so they don’t have to return the “vase.” She likes
to add rosemary sprigs to “scent” her gifts.) For competitions, she
utilized trays designed to grow tree seedlings, popped into plastic
carriers. Deborah spreads a tarp across the entire back of her van when
she transports boxes of flowers; she was very glad the one time she had
to slam on the brakes—what a mess but at least the water was contained.
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![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Deborah's%20carrier.jpg) TIPPED
OFF NOT TIPPED OVER: Deborah demonstrated matching containers to
blooms. Do not use large tall containers, not practical! Look for
HEAVY shallow vases just a bit higher than your pin frog. A tall heavy
flower requires a heavier "keel". Pin frogs can be purchased at
Soko Hardware on Post Street in Japantown or at
the FlowerMart on 6th and Bryant.
Aftosa.com is an online spot. Use green florists’ clay to affix
their frogs; to permanently attach a pin frog use aquarium cement. Put
your name on the bottom of all your vases! Shallow containers are
especially prized when you have short stems: the first set of leaves
must be over the top of the vase. Deborah showed how a crooked stemmed
Bea Paradise with scraggly leaves can be shown as floating water lily.
The other 2 places leafless dahlias can be entered in competition are:
People’s Choice and in displays with 7 or more blooms. Experiment
with the length of the stalk/stem/bloom ratios in a vase for the most
aesthetic. Have fun at home combing unusual combinations; Martha
Stewart featured a great bouquet of dahlias and black berries! Deborah
uses maiden hair ferns, purple fountain grass or ivy as fillers. Have
fun! Michael Gesundheit uses
Crystal Clear Floralife (800-323-3689 ); this “embalming fluid”
keeps the flowers fresh longer. Maintain quality control now.
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![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Chimacum%20Julia.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Astrid%20Siersen.jpg) REASONS
TO COMPETE IN YOUR FIRST SHOW:
Go for the gold! Glory and fame fly to the proud
owner of Best in Show. At our mini show, every blue wins $1.50; red
wins $1; and green wins $.50. Fame and fortune accrue to the bold and
fair! Moreover, each time you exhibit a dahlia you help promote
“better” dahlias and push the germ plasm one more step into the future.
Each entry is a “vote” for that particular variety. You can read in the
ADS Classification Book just how many “votes” certain dahlias have
garnered. The healthier the plant, the more disease resistant, the
brighter the colors, the better attitude the head, and the fuller the
bloom, the more likely it wins. Showing dahlias pushes your ingenuity
as well. Figure out transportation needs, ferret out containers,
aquarium cement the pinfrogs correctly, and decode the ADS
color/form/numbering grid. Any flower you bring to exhibit educates the
rest of us. We all love to see new flowers and how our favorite flowers
fare under your growing conditions. Lastly, by entering into a
competition you participate more fully in your DSC Society. More people
notice you; they want your horticultural secrets; and they want to swap
tubers with you. Please bring flowers to the Novice Only Mini Show—even
just a couple! |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Dick%20Manny%20Frank.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Dahlia%20shirt%20pic%201.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Mary%20Thelma.jpg) SNIPS
AND SPRIGS: Welcome to new member, Michael who grows 240
dahlias in South San Francisco. Wow! Thanks to DJ for bringing in so
many 4”x4”s to share. Frank’s final tubers sold out quickly. Lou
reports that his famous Christmas shovel smites wretched gophers—34 at
the latest count. Vermin. Grrrr.. The
Colorado Dahlia
Society posts this summer’s show circuit. If you’re going on
vacation, check out where you might catch another society’s dahlia show.
Frank wondered if we would be interested in buying t-shirts featuring
Skipley Spot and “Ask Me about Dahlias.” They come in all sizes and
several colors. He thinks they would cost @$15; sweatshirts would be
more. John brought in an article about a woman in Nanimo so devoted to
growing dahlias, that even when she had gone blind, she continued to
divide them by Braille; she could feel the eyes! Gerda reported that
Safeway sold cut dahlias: 5 for $5.
Carol Hemingway brought a sample version of her 2007 dahlia
calendar—gorgeous! Thank you Joanne for the lime bars, to the Cornishes
for the Cadbury fingers (I hadn’t seen those for years!), to Marilyn for
the delicious apple pudding, and to Mary for the crunchy cookies. Who
brought the chocolate chip ones? Thank you all for sharing with your
friends. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Pooh.jpg) FLORIBUNDA:
OUR BIG SHOW: Elsie ( 415 566 5222) requested everyone to sign
up to help with our show. We need people to help set up tables on
Friday night August 18 at 5 pm and tear them down after the show at 5 pm
on Sunday. Please volunteer to “host” for a couple hours during the
show to answer the public’s questions or to man the membership table.
Volunteer to clerk at 9:30 Saturday morning. A clerk accompanies the
judges and records the decisions—fascinating and educational. Come
early 5-6 am on Saturday and help “run” participants’ entries to the
proper tables. The more you participate the more fun you have—really.
Please try to show—even if it’s only a couple flowers! Put up posters
at your work place, library, nursery, hospital or wherever to invite the
public to this phenomenal event. |
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![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Sandia%20Calypso%20by%20Ray%20Kurz.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/aug/pix/Juuls%20Amethyst.jpg) ASTOUNDING
AUGUST:
Mildew has already
begun dusting leaves; spray now! I mixed up a batch of Bayer’s Three in
One soil drench with some Super Bloom and squirted it at the base of all
my home dahlias with a turkey baster as Rose suggested. It works great!
I imagined I could tell a difference within 2 weeks. Who knows? I
also suggest spraying with a cocktail of bugicide (I use Malathion),
fungicide (Monterey Fungi Fighter which was spotted on the shelves of a
nursery in the Castro recently), super bloom (I use Schultz), and
dishwashing soap as a sticker ( I like Ivory). I use a 3 gallon back
pack sprayer (@$100 at Home Depot). Weeny teeny caterpillars have hit
my secret garden so they may be looking for your luscious dahlias,
too. Begin assiduous dahlia bondage—the windier the more tied up.
Keep disbudding.
Leave only the
central bud on a three-some.
This produces a
stronger longer stem and a bigger bloom. Start collecting milk cartons
to use as “vases” so you can delight friends, fellow employees,
librarians, shut-ins, and relatives with glorious bouquets. Take
pictures! Enter the photo section of our Floribunda as well as the ADS
National Photo contest. For our show pictures must come from this year
or last year. For the national competition, photos must be taken this
year. Check your dahlia labels against the ADS Classification Book
descriptions. Exhibit at the Novice Only Mini Show, at the San Leandro
Show, at our Floribunda, and come to the picnic. Wow! Bloom on!
Yours in bloom, Deborah |
Looking ahead on what you might need to do in the
coming months? Check out the
Monthly Calendar. |
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Dahlia Society of California, Inc., San Francisco, CA -- Copyrighted
Chief Editor: Deborah Dietz
eNewsletter Editor: Ted Marr
Acknowledgement: Photos in
this issue by Andy Iseri, Deborah, and Ted. |