At the nursery, they start some Dutch dahlias and bring them along until they bloom. Here are a couple of pictures. I was surprised how red the variety Garden Wonder was. It looked every bit as red as the picture. The other one is Pink Star.
It is nice to bring the camera to the greenhouse as I get tired of Margaret taking lots of time to pick out all the plants to buy.
DahliaGardener May 3, 2016 6:17 PM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
I like Garden Wonder. Did it say how tall it is supposed to grow? Nice photos!
Now that is a trick to try with my restless Mr Islander when I visit nurseries...ask him to take some artistic photos ...the technological challenge might be enough to entertain him
FLflowerboy May 3, 2016 7:00 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
I like the Pink Star!
teddahlia May 3, 2016 7:31 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
Both of these Dutch varieties were a little over 3 feet tall in the pot. Pink Star is a very flat flower and has a weak center; the other bloom on the plant was open center. And the Garden Wonder also had another flower on the plant that had an open center. The color on Garden Wonder is as good as a red can get.
PNWGal May 4, 2016 12:05 PM PDT
Name: Linda Portland OR, zone 8b
Tadaaaaa! Okay, it's little Suitzus Julie and it's not in the ground yet, but the 2016 bloom season has started!
mandolls May 4, 2016 1:47 PM PDT
Name: Geof WI
Wow - you are a good two months ahead of me. I have a couple of AC rosebuds that are getting really tall so I pinched them back, but I am not expecting blooms anytime soon.
DahliaGardener May 4, 2016 1:58 PM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
I don't even have a possibility of a bud! I do have looooong sprouts under the house, though!!
C DG
Benny101 May 4, 2016 4:48 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
We have been playing the game of chance with the dahlia at the local nursery for a while now sort of a 50/50 prospect however I do wait for them to bloom now befor selecting one as we still end up doing .
They are purchased pre potted from an outside source is my understanding and you can tell the plants in 3 gal pots were started with small tuber clumps as you usually find it partially rotted in the middle when you dig them up . A mislabeled purchase from there ultimately led me to CC on Facebook and then to here , yes it is Miss Vacations fault I am here
They always have Kelvin Floodlight usually Lilac Time , one Zoey Rey we purchased there did fantastic so has Kelvin and Lilac Time . The Sir Alfred Ramsey I scored there last season was kind of a dud and when I dug that I found the whole crown area infested with that weird growth that looks like it has dozenes of eyes ( forget the proper term )
When I dug Akita I discovered this
Not sure what happened there
The first time I grabbed Sir Alfred it turned out to be this
No humor in that one at all folks
So hard to resist early color but perhaps I would be better off purchasing a couple new 8' T posts instead
At least I know what color they will be
DahliaGardener May 4, 2016 5:10 PM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
At least when playing dahlia roulette the only thing that can die is a bad tuber, and you don't lose your shirt betting on red and landing on black.
C DG
Benny101 May 4, 2016 5:25 PM PDT
Greenville MI - zone 5b
The biggest problem with this nursery is that it is only maybe a half mile away !!
Between here and the farm supply store
its like candy
A fair sized family operation, very nice people whom I enjoy doing business with , I have heard many times that it is kind of spendy but I explain to them that for say 2-$3 dollars more for a perannial is a small price to pay when you get a much larger pot ( root mass ) and a bigger plant when you compare them side by side .
The annuals at Meijer are hit or miss and the annuals at Wally World are sad at best
DahliaGardener May 4, 2016 5:40 PM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
I'm with you, Benny! Support the locals if they'll let you!
We tried to buy several shrubs and trees from a local nursery. Six months later, still no shrubs, and it took over a month to get the tree that they would deliver 'next week'.
Not going there again...
We'll probably end up in McMinnville, TN, to shop the wholesale nurseries.
C DG
FLflowerboy May 4, 2016 8:19 PM PDT
Name: Jon George Gainesville, FL ...crazy enough to grow dahlias in
Opening today...
Precious
RedmondPhyllis May 4, 2016 8:41 PM PDT
Name: Phyllis Stengl Sequim, WA Deer are beautiful if they don't e
Okay, you guys are using gambling analogies, I've got one for you if I can stop my happy dance long enough. Broke open the "S" storage box, and guess what I scored?????? I had 3 very iffy looking Sellwood Glory's put away last . . . .November. Today, one of them has a very nice little sprout started!!!! WHOOOHOOOOO! I will plant all 3 tubers on the remote chance I might get lucky with another of them just being a slow starter.
DahliaGardener May 5, 2016 4:21 AM PDT
Name: Cynthia BG, KY USDA Zone 6b Sanity = Dirt under your nails...
