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Post by heirloomfan on Aug 12, 2019 10:22:22 GMT -5
I was happy this morning to find one of the Unwin's Dahlia had bloomed! I ended up with about five plants after the problems early on and one of them grew much taller than the others and has lots of buds! The other ones are coming along, they are shorter but the plants look good and I might see some flowers from them once it cools down a bit. I figured if nothing else I would be able to save the tubers from them but seeing one finally bloom was a real bonus!
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Post by binnylou on Aug 12, 2019 11:52:52 GMT -5
heirloomfan, is it pale yellow or creamy white? It’s funny that the Unwins are on the same blooming schedule as the tubers in my flower garden. I have two in pots and one in the ground. One of the potted ones is a soft peachy orange/coral. The other potted one is about a day from bloom, but I think it is going to be a purple/red. I’ll share pics once it opens. thanks for sharing...I’ve been wondering...
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Post by heirloomfan on Aug 12, 2019 14:45:38 GMT -5
The color looks to be a soft white, the center though is a lemon yellow but I think that is just the color they remain until the open to their true color. I took the picture when the morning sun was bright on it.
That is very interesting that the plants from the tubers and the ones in your pots are on the same blooming schedule.
Yours sound really pretty, I hope you get a nice collection of colors.
On the one that just bloomed, I was surprised that it had the rolled petals. The picture on the seed packets showed a wide variety of types of petals and colors.
Thanks for asking, there wasn't much I could do to speed up the blooming! Once all of the plants got past the problems with the slugs and rabbits, then the best I could do was hope that they could put on more foliage and keep going. If I get more of the plants blooming I will be very happy.
Our county fair was last week and I was watching the buds to see if possibly one would open. I always seem to have something that blooms very nicely right after our fair. Some of the other people in our master gardener group have complained our fair is too early for our climate to get a lot more things producing, but one of the ladies who runs the program said that they push for earlier fair times so the 4-H kids can get their projects done at the county level and then on to the state. But just one week later would really work well for a lot of us!
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Post by binnylou on Aug 12, 2019 21:56:08 GMT -5
heirloomfan, These are the two Unwins that I have blooming. The pink one reminds me of one I have grown called Brushstrokes, which came from Swan Island. I've included a pic of the backside also. Look at Brushstrokes and tell me what you think.
The other pic is of the first to bloom Unwin. I think it is a little more peach than the pic shows.
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Post by heirloomfan on Aug 31, 2019 16:07:10 GMT -5
Those are very pretty. I had another one bloom and it was another soft white. I have a couple more forming buds so will see if a new color shows up.
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Post by heirloomfan on Sept 11, 2019 11:23:18 GMT -5
Got a pink one, that's three white and the pink. One more forming buds so will see what that one produces. Happy overall with this type, will start more next spring to add to the collection.
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Post by binnylou on Sept 13, 2019 12:34:57 GMT -5
heirloomfan, are you going to save all colors/tubers gown this year? When I planted my starts, I put three plants per pot. I’ll be trying to save the tubers from the peach one and the pink striped one for sure. Now there is a new pink/white one but different from the other. I also put a start in the flower garden...planted late and neglected, but blooming anyway. It’s red with yellow center. It’s nice that the dahlias and zinnias provide color when perennials have grown tired and done their job for the year. Mums will be flowering soon.
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Post by heirloomfan on Sept 16, 2019 13:54:31 GMT -5
Yes I plan to save all tubers of any color and then plant more from seed next spring. That’s great you have some interesting colors! This seed mix is supposed to have a wide variety of colors so should be fun to try more next year. I’m just glad they all survived the slugs! The bees are still enjoying them too.
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Post by heirloomfan on Sept 30, 2019 12:03:54 GMT -5
The last of the three dahlias bloomed about a week and a half ago and is a bright lemon yellow. So of the five that survived the animal and slug problems, I got three white, one bright pink and one yellow. I will dig the tubers this fall and I will try to start more from seed. The bees love them and they are hanging in there with all of the ups and downs of the weather. Hope to get a few more colors next year.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 9, 2019 11:46:06 GMT -5
Hamilton Lillian, tuber purchased from Summer Dreams I do hope it made lots of tubers. DSCF0429 by BLou, on Flickr
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Post by binnylou on Oct 9, 2019 12:02:19 GMT -5
Brushstroke Dahlia, originally purchased from Swan Island. This plant is grown from a tuber produced in 2018. DSCF0428 by BLou, on Flickr
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Post by binnylou on Oct 22, 2019 19:41:07 GMT -5
As nights get colder, the need to start the great dahlia dig gets closer. I dug just one this afternoon. I was surprised that even though it didn't bloom, it made nice tubers. The more tubers, the bigger my storage problem. I'll accept the challenge, though. I do love those blooms.
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Post by binnylou on Oct 28, 2019 12:25:14 GMT -5
Finally, the last of the dahlias have been dug...some are cleaned and ready to pack away. Others still need a bath and dried a bit. Since I started growing dahlias, every fall, I agonize how I'm going to store them for the winter. I mixed a bunch of sphagnum and cedar shavings a few days ago. I'll pack each variety in a bag of the mix and tuck them away in the garage. Then, along about January, there will be a night when I fear the temps will drop too low in the garage and I'll be dragging them down the stairs in the wee hours of the morning.
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Post by binnylou on Jan 6, 2020 13:23:54 GMT -5
heirloomfan,, have you received dahlia catalogs...and if so, did you buy any new tubers? I get the Swan Island catalog, and I did order a few . And I still have Unwin seed from last years purchase. I had planned to save some of those tubers, but when the time came for harvesting tubers, those pots got dumped on the compost. I could kick myself for not saving the tubers from that peach colored flower. Spring is on its way. Might be time to dig out those seeds and give them an earlier start.🌺 lilolpeapicker , have you checked your tubers since you put them in storage? That’s something I need to do. I have mine in paper grocery bags stored in a trash can in garage. So far, fingers crossed, we haven’t had temps cold enough that I needed to drag them in to the house.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Jan 7, 2020 12:03:10 GMT -5
binnylou , that is something I need to do but they are are my sister's house in a cool part of the basement just outside the exterior door below ground level.... Meant to look last time there. Thanx for the reminder
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