Why I Oughta...

Am I disappointed that I am NOT growing a Bell's Palermo dahlia ?  Yeah.  Sort of.  But, am I now (sort of) falling in love with whatever this dahlia that is growing in our front yard?  Yeah.  Sort of.  Is it Candela?  Maybe.  Does it have short stems?  Yes.  Certainly.   But, it also has this spectacular bloom:

One of the new (to me) dahlias this season is blooming:  Peaches-N-Cream.  I bought two tubers from Bonny Blooms in November and they arrived this Spring.  (Note:  they arrived what I consider to be 'late' and they were...well...small.  They *were* tubers, but single tubers.  Which, I think is totally normal.  But, most of the tubers I've bought were larger.  And...perhaps less desirable.) One of the Peaches-n-Cream dahlias is planted IB2DWs.  Down closer to the sidewalk.   Because of that (previously mentioned) late arrival, I don't think that I pinched this one back like I have done with most of the other tubers.  Or, maybe because the tuber was 'small' is the reason why this isn't very "bush-y" of a plant.  Either way...I opted to cut deeply on this first bloom.  Hoping to stimulate some lower branching and growth.   Below are a couple of photos showing this beauty.  Pinks and oranges.  I proba...

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos of my first (real) flush of dahlia blooms that I cut off the plants in the various spots around our garden .  Those included some "known" varieties including Wizard of Oz, Creme de Cognac, Burlesca and Blue Wish.  I said "known" because there was also a semi-cactus dark maroon dahlia that came labeled as Rip City, but is clearly NOT Rip City. Today, I'm posting some photos of some additional dahlia blooms that I cut the following day.  These, too, include mostly "known" dahlias.  And...one unknown. First...the "known".   The biggest of the bunch is Blue Wish.  And, I'll say that I might have a new favorite dahlia?  This looks like it is painted with a watercolor set.  Pale purples and whites.  Perfectly shaped. Next up is a Saint Martin Dahlia.  This one came in a combo pack from Longfield Gardens via Costco (photo of the bag below).  And, was a new-to-me variety, but the 30" height (other...

In the post that I shared yesterday showing off a handful of dahlia stems that I cut from the garden, I included a photo that showed off my first (real) Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlia bloom.  I mentioned a few days ago that Sweet Nathalie has been a slow-to-bloom grower for me this year and that my first bloom was somehow 'nipped' off at the bud .  But, the second bloom was quick to follow and you can see it in the photo below:  

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a bunch of Pooh Collarette Dahlia blooms that I cut and brought inside this week and talked about how I'm seeing "Dahlia Season" beginning to arrive with increased blooms.  That's due to a couple of things:  the time/maturity of the plants this season along with some recovery from a mite infestation.  The colors, shapes and textures of this morning's cuttings sure are fun to see.  Below are a couple of photos showing what is in bloom and how the colors are changing based on the time of year.   This is (mostly) the usual bunch ( like the cut flowers I posted a few days ago ):  Wizard of Oz, Melina Fleur, Mystery Fox and that dark purple dahlia.  

Yesterday, I posted a photo of my first dahlia bloom (Wizard of Oz) this season .  Today, comes the second dahlia bloom:  Pablo Gallery.  This is a border dahlia (That means they are much more compact that most other dahlia varieties as they stand just a foot-or-so tall).   Here is the bloom below.  This is a much-shorter stem than the Wizard of Oz cut flower.  And, if you look at the petals, you'll see some pest damage from little buggers nipping at the edges.   I have eight of these planted in three spots - backyard, sideyard and (now) Island bed in front.