A Dahlia Setback - Cracked Stems on Rip City and Milena Fleur - Late August 2026

Just when things were going swimmingly with dahlia season pop'ing off, we have a setback.  And, this one was an accident.  I planted a number of dahlias in the Pizza Oven Bed.  I called it the "Pizza Oven West Bed" because it is, well...West of the oven.  And, that makes them *close* to tree swing.  Which, up until this week hasn't been an issue.  But...kids will be kids.  And, one-way-or-the-other, someone found themselves in, amongst the dahlias.  And, unfortunately....that means that two of them had stems that were cracked off.  

A Milena Fluer decorative dahlia.  And, Rip City.  Or...what I was sold as Rip City (but I'm pretty sure isn't really Rip City.)

Here, below, are a couple of photos.  Milena Fleur on the left.  "Rip City" on the right.  Both were cut down by about half.  

 

Below are a couple more photos showing the close-ups of the cracks.  

And, here below, are a couple of photos showing the 'after' for both.  I trimmed off the broken stems.  And re-straightened-out the support.  Both of these were well-supported.  

As I've talked about over the years, I've adopted a 'chop-and-drop' approach to pruning.  For the most part.  I'll haul off some stuff to the compost bin, but when I can, I'll chop up the material into smaller pieces and leave it in place.  That's what I did with these dahlia stems and leaves and buds.  

Below are a couple of photos showing the leaf litter/plant material that is left behind.  The green stuff is now laying ON TOP of the house-made compost that I scattered around these plants earlier this week.  

There's still time for these to recover.  I have a couple of Milena Fleur, so I'm not worried about that one. But I'm bummed about the 'Rip City' dahlia.  It was my only one.  And, it has been very productive.  I'll want to grow this one again, so I'm hoping the tubers have grown and (hopefully?) multiplied.