Why I Oughta...

First time growing Crichton Honey Dahlia and I know 'get it'.  I understand why it is so widely loved and grown.  It is a star.  I planted two of them, but I'm pretty sure one was mis-labeled.  But, the Crichton Honey that is next to the pizza oven?  ( #1 on my placement list ).  It is certainly true to listing.   And, it is coming on strong.  Below are a couple of photos of the blooms that I cut off this morning: I also went around and cut some other blooms:  Great Silence Decorative Dahlia , Milena Fleur Decorative Dahlia, Rip City Semi-Cactus dahlia, small little Burlesca Ball dahlias , and a uniquely-colored Zundert Mystery Fox Dahlia . Here, below, are a couple of photos of the cluster of cut stems: Here, in the center of the photo below, is that uniquely-colored Zundert Mystery Fox dahlia.  It is more purple than my other Mystery Fox blooms: Living up to its name, I guess. Here's what Longfield Gardens says about Mystery Fox...

Another day and even more dahlias cut off their stems.  And, these are cut deeply as the experts suggest one does early (is it still early in the dahlia-growing season??) for more prolific-blooming plants later in the year.  *Cue the Sheryl Crow* This mixed dahlia arrangement (below) includes Ivanetti, Wizard of Oz, my first Great Silence (decorative) dahlia and the two semi-cactus/cactus "surprise" dahlias.  A dark one and a bubble gum pink one.  This is (maybe?) my tallest set of dahlia cut flowers in a vase since I've grown them.  There are also a significant number of buds that came with those long stems. Here, below, is a closer look at the first Great Silence Decorative Dahlia .  This one is mostly uniform in color with a pink/peach hue.   I bought two Great Silence tubers back in November of last year.   And, put them through my usual Spring dahlia program (starting them indoors in pots, moving them outoors) and planted two Great Silen...

Welp, dahlia tuber FOMO has struck again.  A few days ago, I showed off my Bonny Blooms tuber order and talked about some of the new (to me) dahlias .  And, earlier this month, I posted about how the marketing emails and TikToks and Instagram posts about tubers were getting me antsy about dahlia tuber ordering .  In that post , I showed a number of dahlias that I thought I'd like to try to grow from various growers.  Those growers included Bonny Blooms.  And, Triple Wren Farms.  And...the place that I've bought my dahlia tubers in the past:  Longfield Gardens .   I've had pretty good luck with their tubers - with one (Maarn) being a dud.  They stood by their warranty and sent another set of Maarn Tubers (after the first ones refused to sprout), but the second set were duds, too. In my first dahlia tuber FOMO post , I included a list of some dahlias that others had recommended.  And, in the Longfield Gardens section, I listed a handf...