I finally got blooms from one of my tardy dahlias. As the tuber for this one was purchased during an end-of-season sale, it wasn't actually all that slow to sprout - it simply got a late start. However, the dahlia tuber I ordered was 'Akita', purchased because the 'Akita' tubers I'd saved and divided last year failed to sprout. As the replacement tuber's first buds opened, it became clear that it wasn't what I'd ordered. What it is still isn't entirely clear. There are a LOT of red and white dahlias and, if you look them up online, there seems to be a degree of variability among all of them. It could be 'Catching Fire', 'Duet', 'Rebecca's World' or something else altogether. As blogger friend Hoover Boo of Piece of Eden said the flower reminded her of her own 'Catching Fire' and that's the first in line alphabetically on my list of likeliest candidates, I'm going to call it that for ease of reference.
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Much as I love Dahlia 'Akita', I'm already very fond of this striking imposter as well
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', Dahlia 'Catching Fire' (maybe), Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', and Prunus caroliniana
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Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' came through with three more huge blooms this week and those ended up in my second arrangement. I planted two 'Lavender Ruffles' tubers but, when one failed to sprout, I bought a plant already in bloom at my local garden center. I cut off most of the original blooms as it was clear that the plant hadn't been pinched back before it flowered and it took a protracted pause before bouncing back. The surviving tuber has sprouted and looks healthy but I'm still waiting for it to produce buds.
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The dahlia's flowers are a pinky-lavender. I had difficulty finding flowers in compatible colors so I relied on white flowers.
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I dressed up the back using a couple of Cosmos blooms and a stem of the very interesting Pelargonium graveolens 'Colocho'. Both the Pelargonium's stems and the leaves are twisted. It has a delicious scent.
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: more Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Cosmos bipinnatus, Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', Eustoma grandiflorum 'Balboa Blue Rim', white Eustoma, and Pelargonium graveolens 'Colocho' (known as 'Bontrosai' in the UK). The bi-color Lisianthus (Eustoma) mostly threw in the towel in response to summer's heat over the past 2 weeks.
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Growing dahlias this year has been a mixed bag. A couple of my tubers rotted and a few others failed to sprout or produce roots. I may have planted some too early, when the soil was still too cool to promote growth, or allowed some of the tubers in temporary pots to get too damp, promoting rot; however, even the remaining tubers took longer than expected to sprout. It's also possible that some of the tubers I divided and saved were "blind" (i.e. missing the eyes required if a tuber is to sprout). Eleanor Perenyi, author of 'Green Thoughts', recommended giving up efforts to divide the plants if lifted at the end of their season, preferring to plant intact clumps the following season. I think that's what I'm going to do next year as I noted that two clumps I saved and cleaned up but didn't cut up were among the first to bloom and most vigorous. At present, I have two plants with buds that haven't yet bloomed ('Pink Petticoat' and 'Mikayla Miranda'), another that produced just one bloom earlier and currently has several buds ('Karma Prospero'), and four plants that appear healthy but have yet to produce buds (two 'Fairway Spur', the aforementioned 'Lavender Ruffles', and 'La Luna'). Meanwhile, 'Calin', 'Enchantress', 'Iceberg', 'Southern Belle', and 'Summer's End' are stars. 'Break Out', apparently left over in 'Calin's' pot, paid a surprise visit but it's yet to be determined whether it will provide more than a cameo performance.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Such beautiful dahlias! I've got some of the Lavender Ruffles too. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you're enjoying them, Nikki! The flowers are huge.
DeleteThe "not Akita" Dahlia is gorgeous, easy to love. So is the ruffled one: it's practically glowing! The Alstromeria coloring in the first vase is such a good match to the Dahlia, as are both Eustoma in the second.
ReplyDeleteLarge Dahlia blooms often have such a strong presence that they don't require much support from other blooms.
Chavli
So true, Chavli. I was tempted to stick with just foliage to accompany the dahlias this week but then I like the challenge of hunting down suitable companions ;)
DeleteOh that 'Catching Fire' arrangement is hot! One could almost say it was on fire...
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a keeper, Loree!
DeleteHow frustrating to have received the wrong dahlia, Kris, especially if you are unsure what the imposter is. Will you ask for a refund? Whatever it is, you have matched it brilliantly with the foliage. Love that purple dahlia!! Have you truied taking cuttings of your dahlias? Here, they will develop a tuber from the cutting even in the first year
ReplyDeleteI won't bother asking for a refund but I will consider using other suppliers in the future, Cathy. I'm more concerned that so many of this supplier's shipments were badly mangled during shipping (or before shipping) than with the error in identifying the dahlia. I've seen Monty Don on Gardeners World propagate dahlias from cuttings but I've yet to try that myself.
DeleteLove that first vase. I never realized the extent of the Dahlia dilemma! and how often you get the wrong bulb....um, tuber. Amelia
ReplyDeleteI've had only the one error in shipping the wrong tuber but I know many gardeners that have received the wrong tubers, Amelia. However, I'm more concerned with the clumps that are shipped in broken pieces. The failure of some to sprout may lie in mistakes I've made but, when suppliers ship just single small tubers, I wonder if they all have the "eyes" necessary to sprout. Frankly, I find the eyes difficult to identify in some cases.
DeleteThe Dahlias sure make beautiful arrangements--they are a strong focal point.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous by any other name, eh? My 'Loverboy' is probably actually 'Nuit d'Ete', but that doesn't matter either. Blogs are helpful--looked back at old posts of mine and found 'Nuit d'Ete'.
This spring in digging up several failed clumps where there was a single small sprout or two, I saw the awakening "eyes" on the tubers, which were clearly visible. I'd never seen the "eyes" so clearly before. Usually just plant the clump dormant from the package. I just buy the less expensive bagged kind from Holland(?) not the farm-grown.
Your approach is exactly what Eleanor Perenyi recommended in 'Green Thoughts', HB ;) I watched one online video focused on identifying a dahlia's "eyes" when dividing tubers but, per Eleanor, unless those eyes are on the tuber's neck, they may well be "blind."
DeleteI admit I didn't read most of 'Green Thoughts' yet. It's really good, but too many distractions this year. The garden kept calling, the dogs keep barking.
DeleteAs the book is a collection of almost stream-of-consciousness commentaries on unrelated topics, it isn't the kind of book that propels the reader to read it in one shot. It's better picked up and shuffled through on an ad hoc basis. Some topics were more compelling than others in my view. I read about 3/4ths of it ;)
DeleteBeautiful dahlias. ‘Catching Fire’ is particularly striking. It’s amazing just how many dahlias arrive incorrectly labelled! I once bought about 8 all at once (in packs, with photos) and I reckon about 6 of them were nothing like what they said they were. Like your ‘Catching Fire’, some were nice surprises. Can’t wait for dahlia season here.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the difficulties growers may have in keeping all the dahlia varieties straight, especially when there's probably some cross-pollination within growing fields, so I'm willing to give a little on that score so long as the tubers are in good shape and sprout! I've noticed that some sellers always ship in groups of 2 or 3 so maybe that's a useful way of hedging their bets ;)
DeleteDefinitely not 'Akita' but a lovely substitute, nonetheless. The lavender dahlia is a nice soft color and the twisted pelargonium is pretty wild. I thought it was curly kale at first! Hope all is well with you. Eliza
ReplyDeleteI took a couple of cuttings of that Pelargonium, Eliza. It deserves to be grown somewhere more visible than its current location, which is tucked into the background against a fence.
DeleteVery nice! I have several pots of Dahlias planted, but we had tree leaf-out early this year, so they haven't had enough sun. Some have buds. Will they bloom before the first frost in October? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, your Dahlia photo sharing will suffice. :)
ReplyDeleteDahlias do like sun! I have 2 dahlias in half-barrels in partial shade in my front garden. Their foliage is beautiful, unmarred and deep green. They're among my tardy bloomers but they're flowering ahead of some of those in full sun! Hopefully, you'll be lucky in that respect too, Beth.
DeleteIsn't it interesting that we are all having that dahlia experience this year, although we live so far away from each other? Thanks for passing on the tip about not dividing plants lifted at the end of the season (so when do we divide?!!!). Both vases are lovely - that lavender coloured dahlia!!! - but I especially like the way the weight of the foliage in the first complements the colour vase itself and really makes the colours of the leucodendron and dahlia zing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy! For the record, Eleanor Perenyi recommended gently shaking saved dahlia tuber clumps to allow segments to separate naturally into smaller clumps rather than cutting them apart with a knife.
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