Juggling plants

Spring may have just made its formal entrance in the Northern Hemisphere but it's already time to prepare my Southern California cutting garden for summer.  We've had episodes of warm weather at intervals over the past couple of months.  Some of my cool season flowers like Camellia williamsii and Scilla peruviana have already exited while others, like the Osteospermum, show signs they're feeling the heat and may be preparing for an early exit.  Still others, like the calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica), may be skipping the spring season altogether, going underground in lieu of wasting energy on blooms.

Yesterday may have been our warmest day yet this year and we're expecting more of the same today.

86F (30C) wasn't miserable but it is hot!

I received an order of dahlia tubers by mail last week but, with the raised planters in my cutting garden full of spring bloomers, I faced my usual quandary about how to juggle plants so I can get as much as possible from the spring crop while getting my summer bloomers geared up for an early display.

Viewed from this angle, there doesn't appear to be a lot of empty space available in my cutting garden

 

Although it's not the optimal approach, I elected to start the dahlia tubers in good-sized plastic pots.  In addition to the 8 tubers received by mail, I pulled out another 8 tubers I'd saved from last year's stock.

For reference, here's the list of tubers I potted up:

• 'Akita' (2 saved tubers), red/yellow flowers
  
• 'Azteca' (1 new tuber), orange flowers
  
• 'Bahama Mama'  (1 new tuber), pink & yellow flowers
  
• 'Bluetiful' (1 new tuber), lavender flowers
  
• 'Break Out' (1 saved tuber), pink flowers
  
• 'Candlelight' (1 new tuber), orange & yellow flowers
  
• 'Enchantress' (1 saved clump), fuchsia & white flowers
  
• 'Gitt's Crazy' (2 saved tubers), bronze/purple flowers
  
• 'Iceberg' (1 saved clump), white flowers
  
• 'La Luna' (1 new tuber), pale yellow flowers
  
• 'Mikayla Miranda' (1 new tuber), lavender/pink flowers
  
• 'Pink Petticoat' (1 new tuber), pink & white flowers
  
• 'Southern Belle' (1 gift tuber), coral/pink flowers
  
• 'Summer's End' (1 saved clump), peach flowers
  

Once they sprout, my plan is to move the dahlias to larger quarters.  If all 16 tubers sprout, that's a lot of plants to juggle but there are 2 duplicates and, if those sprout, I'll give the extras away.  That leaves only 14 plants in need of spots.  

Despite my best intentions, I was late in sowing seeds and planting bulbs and plugs for spring blooms.  My sweet pea seeds, anemone corms, and ranunculus tubers didn't go in until late October.  The love-in-a mist, lace flower, and larkspur seeds weren't sown until early December.  Late fall was generally cold but also dry, and our winter rain was disappointing to say the least.  Whatever the reason, floral production has been relatively slow in my cutting garden (if not elsewhere in my garden).  Some of my spring-flowering plants still show promise but I'm already willing to give up on others in favor of space for dahlias and other summer-flowering plants.

Viewed from this angle, you can see some openings, especially in the middle raised planter

As the foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) and Nigella papillosa are only just getting started, I'm loathe to pull any of them but there are 2 raggedy golden feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) that could be replaced by dahlias here

The first foxglove bloomed this week.  Self-seeded Nigella orientalis 'Transformer' is almost done but N. papillosa, sown from seeds I saved last year, is only now developing buds.

Only a handful of the 40 Ranunculus tubers I planted produced buds but the Delphinium planted from a 4-inch pot looks great and the seed-sown larkspur (Consolida ajacis) and Orlaya grandiflora look promising.  I'm guessing I can fit at least 2-3 dahlias into this bed without sacrificing anything other than the poorly performing Ranunculus tubers.

Closeups of Delphinium elatum 'Morning Light' and salmon and yellow Ranunculus blooms

The big issue with this bed is presented by the sweet peas, which generally take up a lot of space once they get going.  I expect the Anemone coronaria will be done within the next month and I'm thinking of pulling Ocimum 'African Blue Basil', which may be better planted elsewhere in my garden.  With those changes, I can probably make room for another 2-3 dahlias in this bed without impinging on the sweet peas, which may not finish up until May.

Plants currently in bloom in this bed include a variety of Anemone coronaria, Lathyrus odoratus, and Cuphea 'Honey Bells' ('African Blue Basil' isn't shown in closeup here)

Dahlia tubers can take well over a month to sprout so there's no immediate need to clear space.  My initial focus will be monitoring the plastic pots to ensure the tubers don't get either too wet or too dry.  Cold, wet soil can cause the tubers to rot but tubers in plastic pots can quickly dry out too.  However, once the tubers show signs of life, the juggling will begin.  I've already identified 8 possible spots in the raised planters for dahlias, as well as additional spots in half-barrels and large terracotta pots.  I should be able to accommodate the dahlias.  Now I need to grapple with the problem of how to give my zinnia and sunflower seeds a head start...

 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party