Dahlia's

Well, it is winter and I am going to start a blog about flowers! This is what it looks like outside;

This is what I look like right now;

That's me, my happy light, vitamin D, citrus fruit and a plant catalog- this is how I get by with the NE winter. I have lived here most of my life and I love the seasons changing but if I could spend the winter sleeping and occasionally getting up to eat marshmallows I would. Seriously.

The catalog I am eying in the picture is Swan Island Dahlias http://www.dahlias.com/  If you are unfamiliar with Dahlias- you are missing out- or your not a gardener, in which case I'm not sure why you are reading this. Dahlias are an amazingly versatile easy plant as long as you have full sun. If you don't have full sun- don't waste your money, you will end up with a large green spindly blob. To give you an idea of the variety of sized and colors them come in ( I love pictures- show and tell was my favorite past of school)

 Here is a few pictures from my garden and in an arrangement this summer

Most of these Dahlia's are in the $4-$5 dollar range each so they are pretty affordable and will give color to your garden from July until frost. I mostly grow the "B" size which is 6 inches or less for the flowers, I find they produce more flowers for cutting and the plants don't have to be staked like the larger Dahlias do. You can dig them up and store them in a cool location to replant in the spring, I have had about a 50% success rate with doing this.

A few hints- When you put them in in the spring it takes a while for them to emerge so mark the spot with a bamboo stick- which will come in handy if and when you need to stake them. If you are like me you will plant something else on top of them before the emerge because you have forgotten where you planted them. Blank spaces don't last long in my garden.

You cannot over water a dahlia- if you are hand watering them it is not enough. I am a huge advocate of soaker hoses or sprinklers. You are always better watering deeply less frequently then a little each day- this encourages the plants to create a good deep root system. Watering early in the morning is best, you are not loosing as much to evaporation and the plants are not wet for hours which can cause fungal diseases.

Well, that is it fro my first blog post- if there is a garden and floral design question you want answered let me know- I may not be able to answer it but I will give it a try or make something up that sounds good.