Why I Oughta...

In what is probably the final week of my dahlia blooms, I have one plant that is (finally) producing its initial blooms:  Sweet Nathalie.   Last year, I saw my first Sweet Nathalie bloom in early September and talked about how it is a 'slow to bloom' .  This year, the blooms came in mid-October.  Five or six weeks later than 2025.   But, what do they look like?  They're pretty great: Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dahlia Bloom - Blush Pink Sweet Nathalie is billed as a dahlia that compares with one of the dahlias that everyone loves:  Cafe au Lait.  Here's what Longfield says about Sweet Nathalie : If you love the colors of Cafe au Lait, this dahlia is a must-have. Sweet Nathalie walks a similar line between buff and blush pink, but its flowers are about half the size of Cafe au Lait and the shape and color are more consistent. What's interesting about that (for me) is that Sweet Nathalie is my second slowest-to-bloom dahlia.  The one th...

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.  

Cut-and-come-again season is upon us in the garden.   Specifically for dahlias.  When I look back at last year's photos, this post from October 1st shows what I called "Pop'ing off" of dahlia blooms that happens as the weather cools down.   The Melina Fleur Dahlia shown in this post is LOADED with blooms .  In preparation (and hopefully) to stimulate that behavior to return in the coming weeks, I've been busy cutting blooms regularly. Below is a small dahlia-only arrangement that I made on a recent evening.  Thanks to the re-used salsa jar, this burst of petals was gifted to our neighbor.  It is full of large Melina Fleur blooms as well as the group that I've been using regularly:   Mystery Fox, Wizard of Oz and this dark purple ball dahlia that is of an unknown variety .   What's NOT in this arrangement (above) is any Sweet Nathalie dahlias .  Why?  Because they haven't quite thrived.  But, we're this/close to ...

Five weeks ago, I potted up a number of stored-over-Winter dahlia tubers and a bunch of new-to-us purchased tubers in one-gallon nursery pots . I kept them inside for the month of May and by mid-month many of them were showing signs of life with new growth .  As June began, I started to harden off the dahlias with increasing time outside.  Eventually, leading to leaving them outside, overnight for a few nights.   Then...it was time to plant them.  Here's a look at the dahlias we are growing out on the patio getting hardened off: Hardening off dahlias that we started indoors a month earlier.   I have planted twenty-one (21) dahlia tubers in six locations.  Yes...twenty-one dahlias.  EEEK.  That's A LOT more than last year.   I also gave away three (two Melina Fleur tubers, one Pablo Gallery tuber).  And....Left on the patio are some slow-to-start ones.  These six *might* come to life, or they might be DOA.  This i...

2024 was the year of the dahlia around here.  I went A LOT further with dahlia tubers in 2024 than I've done in the past - including pre-ordering them, starting the tubers indoors, planting them in the ground, trying to prune them/cut the flowers at the right time/place and....most recently....attempting to overwinter some of the tubers - both in Saran Wrap as well as in the ground. Since the pre-ordering thing went so well this past season, I figured while Longfield Gardens was having a sale on their Dahlia tubers, why not order a bunch to arrive in Spring. Last year, I ordered Melina Fleur and Cornell Bronze .   This year, I ordered three varieties:  Maarn Ball Dahlias Sweet Nathalie Decorative Dalias Pablo Decorative Border Dahlias. Below is a screenshot from my order: They arrive in April, but I'm already thinking about where to grow these Dahlias.  The Pablo tubers were a 'bulk order', so I will have a good-sized colony of these (if they're successful...eek...