Plant of the Week
Dahlias are the big, blowzy, look-at-me ladies of the late summer garden. Irresistible in their beauty and ostentation, almost everybody wants to grow them, but it’s not SO easy to grow them well! Here in Virginia, you can take a chance and let them stay in the ground over winter; low temps usually don’t kill them. But these tubers do not like to be moist, so digging them up and bringing them in is the safest bet. Willing to live dangerously, and also quite willing to shop, I leave mine in the ground. And where to shop? Have a look at the large and wonderful Swan Island Dahlias. Oh and hey, looks like they are having a sale… but there are also smaller purveyors, and I have had great luck with Frey’s, family-owned since 1982.
Bev Lacey amongst the bounty
Do you have a good source? Share it with me on IG and let’s spread the word!
Guest
I visited Beverly Lacey of Blue Heron Farm in Nellysford, VA and learned SO much about dahlias, from not planting them out until just the right time to digging them up at just the right time (carefully!) and everything in between. Have a look at this video—we are in one of her fridge rooms with all the cut flowers of the moment, and Bev is talking about how many dahlias she grows. Oh, right, you can’t really hear what she says because that’s a loud fridge room, but the answer is about 50 different types, and about 3k plants.
This next photo shows the initial cut—the first pinch. She doesn’t want a long, leggy thing with a few flowers at the end. She’s trying to make a living here! Lots of flowers needed. Seems to me the home gardener would have the same goal…
She would have made this cut in July. The side shoots will react and take on some substance. But she’s not finished pinching. Check out the video below. Now, she needs 18” stems and you probably don’t, but if you are okay with fewer, bigger flowers, then follow her lead.
If you want to know how to divide dahlias, the last video is for you. There’s something to it, but it isn’t too tough, and it sounds like use makes master—you will improve. Because of being able to see the ‘eye,’ this is easiest to do in spring. Bev and her crew can’t operate then because they are crazy busy. They get it done in the fall. The tuber she uses to show me is almost no longer viable. She literally keeps old ones around to be able to show people how to work the magic.
I had SUCH a fun visit to Blue Heron Farm, and was sent on my way with a beautiful bouquet, a fat yummy tomato, and tons of information and inspiration. Thanks, Bev!
The Play List
Dahlias need LOTS of food and water. Needy little buggers.
Prune low branches off of your azaleas, hydrangeas, and other shrubs if they are crowded at the bottom.
Prune the ‘crazies’ coming off the top of your shrubs like bad hair, if only to remind the neighbors that you still live there.
Pull your Hairy Crabweed, also called Mulberry Weed (Fatoua villosa). It’s a late season annual weed native to Asia with an insignificant-looking flower that has significant self-sowing abilities
Listen
Listen to me next week as I go Into the Garden with Dean Norton of Mount Vernon! But also listen either to a podcast named Tiny Vampires hosted by Raven Forrest Fruscalzo, or to the Joe Gardener episode #222 with her interview. Great information about mosquitos, even if it’s not totally cheerful. We just don’t have as much control as some pest services would have us believe. If you are considering hiring one, maybe ask them these two questions:
How does what you spray on my yard impact bugs that are not mosquitoes?
Does your spray control my neighbor’s mosquitoes too?