OH man, I need Nenekazi back! I had forgotten it but yours is so pretty! And no, please don't be quiet...I never get tired of seeing the pics!
melissamaeday Aug 20, 2017 7:41 PM PDT
Name: Melissa Omaha,NE
Nenekazi is a gem! I'm growing two and they are blooming non-stop. Previous reviews on it almost dissuaded me, but Melissa does what she wants. I sold my first bouquet today...my neighbor is having his roof redone. One of the roofers said "Mi esposa es enoja conmigo, y no le gusta las floras de WalMart." I used to be fluent in Spanish... I only charged him $10, as his just wanting a bouquet for his wife made me smile. I'm sure I'll become more ruthless as time flies by...
teddahlia Aug 20, 2017 7:53 PM PDT
Name: Ted Oregon We enjoy breeding new dahlias!
HH Gladiator decided to grow well this year. It is an "A" sized flower that we have shared with very few people. Christy Parks asked for a tuber this year and I have not heard whether it did well for her. It is orange and this particular flower was more orange than usual. Usually it has just a bit of graying in the orange that tones it down a bit. It was never shown much but did win best "A" in a small show.
Melissa, I sell a nice sized bouquet for $10 here...and considering that my grocery store would probably charge about $35 for them I am happy with that. MY $10 bouquet might include 5 bb dahlias of smaller, a rose or two, some snapdragons or other "filler" flowers and some greenery.
I was shocked when a person doing wedding flowers who bought dahlias from me told me that roses were at least $3 ea at wholesale! Here I had been valuing them at $1 each. I should check out more of my flowers with her...
melissamaeday Aug 20, 2017 9:13 PM PDT
Name: Melissa Omaha,NE
Good to know, Noni! If I'm going to sell bouquets, I need to work on fillers, and all I have now are Cosmos (many different ones).
I never use my front door, and tonight i opened it and found a florist's card with "Call me" on it. I am stupefied. I grow my dahlias for my pleasure and happiness. I love that my neighbors are cutting down weeds to be able to see my garden...and I hate roses...i have a backyard trellis with them and the boyfriend is going to cull this and give them to his mother, and dig me more dahlia beds! ;)
Oh dear, Melissa...you and Ted can have your little "I hate roses" club, LOL..I happen to love them, but not all of them. I found some that grow really well in my climate with little care, and have lots of fragrant blooms. I don't love the thorns but I do love the fragrance. And they all have their own unique fragrance, too. My climate is probably a lot more rose friendly, with its temperate summer weather, and not usually hard freezes in the winter. I know at one time I was growing well over 100 different roses but I don't have time to give them a lot of attention now. Fortunately by Ggrowing ones on root stock that likes our acid soil and by breeders who work to have fragrant roses with disease resistant leaves, it has been working for me.
But I DON"t love cutting them for market, LOL. I love taking them, and the excitement of my customers but not the actual prep work!
drewtheflorist Aug 21, 2017 4:56 AM PDT
Name: Drew the Florist 14 miles S E of Pittsburgh
I was shocked when a person doing wedding flowers who bought dahlias from me told me that roses were at least $3 ea at wholesale!
Someone is being hoodwinked ! Top quality roses, non-holiday, should wholesale for $ 1 - $ 1.25 ( Rosaprima , probably the best grower in Ecuador ) unless they're talking about the "boutique" garden roses from someone like Alexandra Farms --- They would be pricier ...
blown_dry Aug 21, 2017 6:20 AM PDT
Name: Amanda CA Redwood Coast - Zone 9b DahliaAddict.com
I love Nenekazi, too. Do you remember where you got it, Melissa? My stock got all lame. I tried Kaleidoscope this year as a replacement, but it was sickly.
sylviap Aug 21, 2017 6:34 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
I lost Nenekazi a few years ago and now I remember how much I loved it. Thanks for sharing that.
melissamaeday Aug 21, 2017 7:06 AM PDT
Name: Melissa Omaha,NE
Noni, thanks for making me chuckle this morning with the "I hate roses" club bit! I should probably give roses a chance to redeem themselves...maybe next year!
Amanda, that stinks that your stock got lame. I purchased my Nenekazi tubers on eBay. There is a little garden group from Pennsylvania that sells their extra tubers in early Spring, and I've had good luck with them.
Aw thank you, Sylvia! I loved seeing your Wyn's Pinking of You in bloom!
Drew, thanks for the update on rose prices! Hmmm, this was the Seattle Wholesale Market...
sylviap Aug 21, 2017 8:18 AM PDT
Name: Sylvia West Sacramento, CA Zone 9b
blown_dry wrote:I love Nenekazi, too. Do you remember where you got it, Melissa? My stock got all lame. I tried Kaleidoscope this year as a replacement, but it was sickly.
I got my Nenekazi from Aztec several years ago and it was clean.
CMCramer Aug 21, 2017 8:46 AM PDT
Name: CMCramer Rochester, NY
How different my Honeymoon is from Melissa's !
This bush is why I like Miss Delilah. Very healthy, bottom to top. Lots of blooms.
American Beauty continues to do well.
Envy. My largest to date.
Harvest Moonlight
mandolls Aug 21, 2017 10:02 AM PDT
Name: Geof WI
Wow so many nice blooms since I last checked this thread!!
Mine are finally coming into bloom pretty well, and loving the rain we keep getting.
I purchased my Nenekazi tubers on eBay. There is a little garden group from Pennsylvania that sells their extra tubers in early Spring, and I've had good luck with them. 
