Dahlias Are Still Popping Off - October 2024

My first year of *really* growing dahlias in my beds has been a learning experience.  From pests to watering to starting them indoors, I've learned a bunch this growing season that I can apply next year.  I'm also learning about their bloom-time.  I last posted a photo of the Melina Fleur dahlias in our front porch bed two weeks ago - mid-September - when the plants were full of blooms.  Fast forward to today, the first of October, and they're (surprisingly...) EVEN MORE FULL TODAY.  Below are a few photos showing some of the dahlias (Melina Fleur, Orange Nugget, and something that was billed as Cornell Bronze, but is a purple pompon one) in our front porch bed and sideyard.  

Before we go to the photos, I have to say...it is pretty fun to have something like these to enjoy on October First.  

First up is Melina Fleur in front of our porch:

Around the southside of our house are more Melina Fleur Dahlias.  This plant is NOT staked:

Further towards the backyard are the Orange Nugget Dahlias and these purple Pompon dahlias (that were supposed to be Cornell Bronze).  Along with a mess of Moonflower (annual vine) and direct-sown Zinnias.  

And, lastly, near the fence gate is the last Melina Fleur.  This one gets the least sun and was attacked by that fuzzy caterpillar and budworms a few weeks back.   It is the smallest of the plants, but was (earlier this season), producing the most flowers.

I've cut hundreds of blooms from these Dahlias and have made dozens of arrangements this year.  It has been a lot of fun.