![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2005/Newsletter%20copy.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/graphics/8.05.base.banner.jpg)
July, 2006
|
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/0104-0474_img.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/dd1.jpg) NEXT
MEETING:
July 11th @7:30 PM @ 9th & Lincoln. Program:
Deborah will discuss how to transport dahlias, to match vases to
specimens, to combine with unique greenery and to share with friends.
Please bring your favorite way of transporting dahlias to friends’
houses or to shows. Diana will sell
Dahlias of Today
and Growing Guide to Dahlias and the last chance for replacement
dahlias for sale. At 6:30 Deborah will conduct a hands-on seminar in
the Dahlia Dell: de-leafing, disbranching, pinching out, and
disbudding. |
GOOD
GROOMING HABITS:
Lou Paradise discussed how good grooming yields higher
quality blooms. Why “pinch out” or “stop” a dahlia? When your dahlia
forms its first bud, usually accompanied by a bud on each side, it is
generally a small plant. By eliminating all three of these terminal
buds and the two accompanying leaves you “stop” the energy of the plant
from producing this first bloom and force the energy to go into the
nascent laterals, thus pushing for a bushier plant. Some growers
perforce pinch all their dahlias; some people do not pinch.
Lou
tends to pinch those whose initial blooms would be oh-so crotch-bound on
a stumpy short stem—otherwise, he is so anxious to see those first
flowers, he lets them bloom away. Which laterals to keep and which to
disbranch?
Laterals are the stems which grow laterally from the main stalk at each
leaf node and will eventually produce flowers. If you let the lower
laterals near the base of the stalk develop, they will wax very heavy
and often-- just before flowering-- break. Avoid this calamity early.
Take off these bottom laterals when the plant is @18” tall. As the
plant continues to grow, strip the bottom trunk clean. On a 5’ plant,
Lou sometimes has the first 12-14” of stalk bare. Again, this forces
the energy into the laterals producing flowers. |
|
When
and what to deleaf? Eliminate leaves which touch the dirt. This gives
less opportunity for bugs to climb up, or earwigs to find shelter, or
fungus to settle.
To
get more light and air down into the center of your clump, remove the
leaves after a lateral is well established. Can you “time” blooms for shows? Given our crazy weather in
the Bay Area ranging from cool low 50’s to the upper 90’s, foggy to
blazing sun, timing is neigh impossible. However, in general, for a
large flower, consider development from ¼” laterals to bloom in 55-65
days! A pea-sized bud unfurls in 20-35 days. Lastly, Why disbud?
Leaving
one bud per stem yields a bigger flower on a stronger stem. Eliminating
the 2-3 attendant buds at first seems criminal—after all isn’t the whole
aim to have a lot of flowers? However, despite disbudding, a plant
still yields almost as many blooms and they are of a better quality.
(Trust me on this.) When growing A’s and AA’s, many growers double or
triple disbud: they take not only the attendant 2-3 buds off where the
main bloom will be, but they also eliminate any chance for flowers one
or two levels below that main bloom. This forces a lot more energy into
that single glorious HUGE flower. Ideally , Lou likes one plant per
stake. He begins tying them up early and often. Likewise, he begins
spraying for mildew long before he sees damage. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/dicks%20oats.jpg) SOWING
HIS WILD OATS:
Thanks to Dick for bringing in a bucket of 10’ wild oats.
Delicious thanks to Mary for bringing her yummy cake and a bag of milk
cartons to share. Thanks to John for bringing succulents and stakes
looking for good homes.
Thanks to Deborah for bringing in growing dahlias for last
minute replacements. Kudos to Jamie and Rosa for the glossy magazine
article about their
Aztec Dahlias
operation up in Sonoma.
Filoli Estates in Woodside near
Crystal Reservoir has two large dahlia beds. Tour in September for a
fascinating look at the history of the peninsula via architecture and
check out the excellent dahlias. Special thanks to Webmaestro
Ted. Monterey Bay uses Ted’s “5 Simple Steps to Growing Dahlias” on
their website with a
quick link to
DSC’s website. The LA newsletter featured an entire page from
Kevin’s outstanding talk. John McLeod reports that the DSC newsletter
flits about New Zealand as they prepare to put their tubers to rest for
their winter. |
NATIONAL SHOW INVITATION: Here is a great website for the
national show, Sept. 14-18 This site has the registration
form ($120 before July 31; $140 afterwards) as well as hotel
information, tour schedules, and show venue. What a great opportunity
to see fabulous blooms and meet famous bloomerati! |
KQED DAHLIA PLEDGE NIGHTS: Lou Cornish (415 388 1671) and Baker Bill (650 871 7200)
encourage volunteers to man the phones during televised pledge nights.
Besides lots of fun and a lovely dinner, you display lovely dahlias on
your tables which are ultimately raffled off at the end of the
evening. Lou and Bill are also soliciting volunteers to help man
shifts at the DSC booth of the South San Francisco Day in the Park,
Sept. 23, 9-4:00. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/just%20peachy.jpg) GREAT
DATES:
8/5-6 San Leandro Show San Leandro Library
8/19-20 San Francisco Show Hall of Flowers GG Park
8/26 Picnic Dahlia Dell GG
Park
9/2-3 Monterey Show Capitola Mall
9/7-8 San Jose Show Valco Mall
9/16-17 National Show Long Island, New York
9/23 South San Francisco Fair South San Francisco |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/Franz%20Kafka.jpg) GET
POTTED: INSURANCE FOR NEXT YEAR: Pot roots started this time of year could be invaluable
next spring. With the unrelenting rains this year, many people lost
stock to rot. Having a stash of pot roots would have saved them. To
make pot roots, simply start some cuttings from plants you grow now. I
use the 3-6” branchlets that I clean off from lower stalks. Ideally,
you would dip these in rooting hormone, pop into sterilized soil and
tuck into a humidified greenhouse. My dahlia godfather uses 100% perlite;
Lou Lombardo uses a perlite sterilized soil mixture treated with
Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate. However, I simply rip the mini laterals off
the stalk, scoop dirt from the garden into a 4x4” container, water
immediately, and label. I cram these 4x4’s tightly together
outside and water and fertilize. I win some; I lose some.
But since I was going to throw them away if I didn’t plant them, I’m
sanguine. When these flower—which they will!—double check with the
label again. In the course of the summer, tubers begin to fill the
4x4. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/Juul's%20Amethyst%20-%20408%20-%20FD%20L%20LV11%202005.jpg) By
the end of the season, you can simply stack them all on top of each
other and stash them away in a big box or dusty corner of the garage. In
the spring, these mini-clumps will have multiple eyes. You have the
option of planting the whole gnarly clump or cutting it in pieces, each
with its own growing green sprout. If you are like Lou Lombardo, you
will cosset these growing plants through Thanksgiving, pinching
liberally to encourage a busy appearance with many growing tips. From
these you can make more cuttings for our tuber sale and for your own
garden. Essentially, pot roots allow you to produce many mini-plants
making mini root balls in a small space from material you would have
thrown away. For the size of one giant tuber with perhaps one eye, a pot
root give you the probability of multiple eyes in the same volume.
Nifty? Try it! |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/paula%20labels.jpg) MASTER
GARDENERS AT THE DELL: Paula and Kat, graduates of the Master Gardener program,
practiced hands-on pinching out, de-leafing, and deadheading. They both
tried a hand at potroot production.
Paula generously researched waterproof paper and produced
beautiful labels for Deborah’s section.
Thanks to VZ for planting, berming and raking. Sarah kept Rose
company while operating Ted’s water system.
Paula deadheaded with Tinnee whilst munching on burritos. Mmmm. We all delighted in the first flowers of the year:
Sean C, Juul’s Amethyst, Nenekazi,
Franz Kafka, and
Inland Dynasty. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/DSCN1036.jpg) JULY
JUBILATION! Blooms at last! Proper grooming and judicious spraying
should yield a bumper crop of glorious dahlias from now until
Thanksgiving. Let the season begin! Disbud, de-leaf, disbranch,
deadhead. When I de-leaf, I check the backside for critters or eggs to
give me an idea of what is portending. Water when your plants look as
though they need it. In foggy gloomy San Francisco you may only need to
water once a week. During the sweltering crush of heat in Novato you
may need to water every day. During the triple digit siege in Idaho my
brother mists for 10 minutes every hour in addition to regular watering
Read your plants' needs. |
![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/dis_bud1.jpg) ![](https://sfdahlias.org/newsletters/2006/jul/pix/0DSCMeeting-8Jun2K4%20007.jpg) At
home, I spray every two weeks with a combination superbloom fertilizer,
fungicide, and bugicide, all mixed with a little dishwashing soap (not
detergent.) Practice quality control. Eliminate any plant abnormally
stunted—it could be virused. Just throw it out into the garbage and not
the compost heap. Check your labels against the actual flower
produced. My CG Eclipse turned out to be Sean C. Surprise! Cruise the
thrift stores and garage sales for containers. Arrange to tour gardens
of your fellow DSC members to learn their secrets. |
Looking ahead on what you might need to do in the
coming months? Check out the
Monthly Calendar.
|
|
Dahlia Society of California, Inc., San Francisco, CA -- Copyrighted
Chief Editor: Deborah Dietz
eNewsletter Editor: Ted Marr
Acknowledgement: Photos in
this issue by Deborah, Rose and Ted. |