Dahlia Season: Plant, Support, Irrigate & Groom forum: Planting Out the Dahlias 2020
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| One 50 foot row planted a few days ago. I parked the tractor and the next day and the next day and the next day it would not start. Today the new starter motor was delivered to go along with the new battery I put in the second day.but that was not the problem. It was 7 years old so a new battery was due anyway. Hopefully, today it will be running again. . My father and I bought the Kubota new in 1976. The first year seedlings are ready to plant. “Flowers are like friends; They bring color to your world.” – Unknown |
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| Well, here in Pennsylvania it's May 13 and it's still in the 30's at night. 😬 Aphids are out destroying every tender plant. The forecast is showing 5 straight days of rain. This year is going to be grrrreeeat. Meanwhile, my seedlings need potting up but I don't have a greenhouse and I'm out of space and so I'm just trying to manage until it warms up and the rains recede. I may lay the irrigation header line tomorrow and start putting in support stakes ahead of the tubers. |
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| I recorded what I have planted out so far, and then inventoried everything that is left so I could be sure and get the ones I most wanted into the limited space. Some I made far too many rooted cuttings of, just because I could. I had to stop mid afternoon and help Mr Islander lay out the planting spaces for the blackberries and raspberries. I got artistic with an arched orchard behind my arched rose bed and that totally threw the engineer out of sorts. He likes straight lines.  . Its going to be amazing, especially with the arbor gate that will be the entry into the front lawn and rose border. I am sure it was no fun digging to plant the trees in our clay. |
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Islander wrote:I recorded what I have planted out so far, and then inventoried everything that is left so I could be sure and get the ones I most wanted into the limited space. Some I made far too many rooted cuttings of, just because I could. I need a photo so I can show my Engineer. 😉 Sounds beautiful. |
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Cosey...so you have one of those Engineer husbands too?! Mine had a great deal of trouble following my concept because I was working on a curve and as an engineer he likes straight lines  . I had to literally have him stand and move the plants by my direction in inches..."move that toward me 2" ..now downhill 3"..." "Can't you see the curve we are working on?!" Then there is the deer fencing that doesn't do curves  It will however go into sections that can change angle where ever a post is. And the deer fencing almost disappears from view when it is up. There will be a wood and wire fence behind the rose border so that I can anchor the pots to it and that will keep critters from my roses . I would really like to work a bed for my collarettes into the rose garden...far enough away hopefully from the back yard dahlia patch to minimize bee transfer of pollens. I really enjoy the collarettes and get nice seedlings from them. It may have to wait for another year. We will see what space is available with enough sunlight when the fences are in. We have tall trees along the creek on the southeast/southwest side of the property and in the arfernoon their shadows reach wayyyyyy across the lawn.One more improvement will be a ramp up to the front door with handicap access. Right now it is a weird triangular semi spiral of steps that are too steep...even my arthritic old dog has trouble with them. Arthritic old gardeners do too, as do engineers in need of a hip replacement. I want to invite my son in law's mother over and right now she wouldn't be able to get into the house.Half the fun of a beautiful garden is sharing it.  , If you line the rose pots up in the two photos it will give you a better idea. "I will take a "before" shot of the area to the left where the arbor will be. The fnced orcahrd lies in a band beyong the roses. The street runs through where th trees are at the top of the photo. The creek takes a little inward swirl there at the top right. You can just see the driveway at the left side of the first photo. NOw where to put those Collarettes? |
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Planted out the majority of a 46ft row a couple of weeks ago. Still waiting on some tubers from a Midwest farm and a small wholesale order. Not sure how well they will make tubers this year, they got quite squished when I overbought.  Crossing my fingers for the best, the voles/moles have found the dahlia bed despite using the vibration and sound machines in the ground, pretty sure they ate my Parkland Tribute tuber, but the other 240 seem unscathed as of today. Between the youngest shadow and dog trampling through the patch, I am hoping they grow fairly well. Right now Diva is the tallest with a thick stalk the size of a quarter, Hilltop Lost Treasure is also rather bushy right now. I will take pictures tomorrow. I am thinking of putting up some shade cloth, the summer heat in Virginia can get intense and cause my vegetables to really suffer, only makes sense to treat my dahlias the same way. |
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| I think you will be much happier with shade cloth up. |
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Islander wrote:I think you will be much happier with shade cloth up. I agree, the only problems is what design I should use since we rent. Something removable that I can take down during a hurricane. |
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| We cheated this year. We covered with tarps and only planted a few replacements, as well as some we moved around in the garden. So far, so good. Less loss than digging and overwintering. Only issue were two late freezes. I let the first one kill them back, because it was still before last frost date - not by much though. Not for this last one, though. We feverishly pulled stakes and covered anyrhing above the ground with nursery pots & tarps Saturday and Sunday when they called for the possibility of temp falling to 20°. Had a "pot garden" for 2 days. I'm just thankful we had that many pots sitting around. Mr. DG is usually against anything that looks remotely like hoarding, so it's fortunate that he somehow didn't consider 600 pots of various sizes to be an abomination worthy of trashing indescriminately. We came through without any problems, and now all the pots are stacked, very specifically, according to size and shape (but not color), in the greenhouse where Mr. DG can appreciate their orderliness while out of direct view. C DG All gardening is landscape painting. - William Kent |
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| Islander- I know the curved versus straight lines debate all too well. 😂 It looks beautiful and will mature wonderfully. We just planted a wind break with 19 evergreens. I wanted a more organic planting pattern. He wanted a straight line. (There's not a straight line anywhere else on our property.) So we compromised on a offset planting plant. Trees 8' apart but are planted at 8'/12' (every other one) off the property line. I suppose this appealed to his sense of order. |
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 A friend came over and helped me run the first two rows of twine on almost all the dahlias today, since they're currently growing like polite weeds. At an appropriate social distance, of course.  Opposite ends of the rows counts as more than appropriate, I think.  C DG All gardening is landscape painting. - William Kent |
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DahliaGardener wrote: since they're currently growing like polite weeds. "polite weeds" - what a wonderful poetic description! |
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Thank you, Steve!  C DG All gardening is landscape painting. - William Kent |
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| Yes, I can social distance by counting dahlia rows! I put a little blurb in a Neighborhood on-line newspaper about having extra started dahlia plants left once I had mine planted out. I got 2 responses so far that were quite excited to have the opportunity to buy my extra plants. And excited that I moved to the neighborhood...I feel the same about their responses! I am inviting them over probably next week once I have my beds planted. I will set the plants out on a table in the driveway and I can sit on the deck and talk to the people. I will have it set up so only one person or couple comes at a time. And hope they tell their friends who tell their friends! I got a lot of seedlings set out today. I'm still waiting for the neighbor kids to come move dirt for me into the last 2 beds. |
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Islander wrote:...I put a little blurb in a Neighborhood on-line newspaper about having extra started dahlia plants left once I had mine planted out. I got 2 responses so far that were quite excited to have the opportunity to buy my extra plants. And excited that I moved to the neighborhood...I feel the same about their responses! I am inviting them over probably next week once I have my beds planted. I will set the plants out on a table in the driveway and I can sit on the deck and talk to the people. I will have it set up so only one person or couple comes at a time... That's a great way to get to know people, Nonie! Good for you!  C DG All gardening is landscape painting. - William Kent |
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| I do not like to post a lot about the obstacles that occur every year when planting out the dahlias. But now that the tractor starter is fixed, the rain has made the soil too wet to till. And perhaps they have a new starter for my 73 year old body also. When rain happens sort, your tubers. “Flowers are like friends; They bring color to your world.” – Unknown |
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| It's raining here also. Glad I got a little planting in yesterday! But I've got no excuse about the soil not to go out and get sprinkled on while I work. Here's hoping that these are the last of your obstacles, Ted. |
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| I am totally loving my new raised flower beds. My neighbor kids came and filled Bed 5 today and will be back tomorrow to fill Bed 6 if it doesn't rain too hard. It was just a slow sprinkle while they were working. So as soon as they left I started planting up that bed. I got the incurved cactus dahlias, and on the far end I put in the few A's and AA's I ended up with.(Most of those were ""Bonuses" tucked into orders of smaller flowers. I did bring Islander and Penhill Watermelon and Scaur Swinton with me. KA's Cloud was a bonus with another order and I maintained stock of the Cafe Au Lait that a gardening friend gave me that grows pretty well. I think I have most of my seedlings planted now also. |
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| KA’s Cloud was a very generous bonus from your seller! |
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I was surprised to find it in my package of starts! Either someone likes me or they didn't get as many orders as they were expecting. OR maybe they just have this odd compulsion to take cuttings and start plants..wouldn't know anything about that one Anyhow, I was delighted to get it just because I really loved it when I had it before, even if it was rather large for a cut flower. Actually I ended up with 5 giants that I didn't really plan to plant..I did bring Penhill Watermelon and Scaur Swinton from the Island with me. Scaur Swinton is not a favorite but I had good Ferncliff stock of it. Islander I HAD to bring  Also got bonus tubers of Otto's Thrill and I forget the other one... |
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