December jobs with dahlias

Obviously a bit of a quiet month but well worth inspecting the tubers and removing any that are diseased or broken.  When storing the tubers it is so important to keep them away from any moisture, especially the stem.  Pack in a dry, fibrous compost - dare I say peat :(  -  and keep in a dry, frost free place.

December is a good time to consider next year's planting plan and getting your order in to your nurseryman as most will dispatch in the order that they are received and it is so helpful to the nurseryman to know what the likely requirements are going to be.

Our own tubers are now well on the way to being dried, we shall be cleaning and trimming in a week or so ad preparing the benches to begin propagating in early January.  Starting early enable us to have very well established plants for early planting giving us an early start to the cut flower season.  We then have late batches of plants prolonging our cut flower season as those later planted later obviously are well behind the early ones.  These, by the end of September will have produced up to 20 blooms each so are getting weaker producing blooms that are not to the quality we are happy sending to New Covent Garden Flower Market.

Tubers, when to lift?

It is best to wait until the plants have succumbed to frost as the sap is driven into the tuber making it nice and solid aiding long term storage.  However, if you intend propagating then the tuber needs time to rest before being started off again.  As I'll be starting mine off in mid-January I'll be lifting now although they are still in full flower; damping off quickly and colours faded though.

To lift or not to lift?
Tubers will survive the winter cold, unless it's permafrost! if they are well mulched.  However, this raises the question of whether one grows from tubers or plants.  We raise all our premium cut flowers from plants; the stems are stronger, the colour is better and the bloom is a better size.  So, if your are exhibiting you should be raising your plants each year.  However, if you want a colourful display in the border then using tubers is good as they will produce a profusion of blooms all summer long; as long as they are dead-headed regularly.

I would caution against leaving tubers in the ground year after year though.  After time the plant will weaken, lose colour, lose stem strength and revert to type.  We have all seen those plants with faded, daisy eyed blooms on drooping stems; old tubers.  It is better to lift and split them, this will prolong their life.

Dahlia jobs in November

November is a tricky month lately; last year deep in snow, this year still in full bloom, although getting a little tired.  If your dahlias, like mine - see photos - are still in bloom and untouched by the frost, it is as well to leave them for a while in the hope that there will be a frost soon!  Frosting of the foliage kills the capillaries forcing the sap into the tuber both swelling them and enriching with the sugar content.  (Remember about the sugar content?  It is why wasps eat the stems)

Two images taken a week ago, the filed looks pretty much the same today.  I am still cutting selectively, a number of cultivars are still going well with fully formed blooms and good colour.

If you lifted your tubers last month it is time to check that the stems have drained, face them upwards and remove as much soil as possible.  When dried, lay the tubers in shallow boxes, dust with flowers of sulphur and keep in a frost-proof room.  When the weather is suitable burn all the foliage to destroy any possible disease being carried.  Ground preparation: manure and dig over roughly to allow the frost to break the soil down.

October jobs in the Dahlia garden

October is a time for house-keeping your dahlia garden and preparing to lift the tubers.  I am hoping that we can continue cutting for 2/3 weeks into October as the plants are still strong and robust, probably because they had a delayed start.  There is now no need to water the plants.  Look out for the onset of Dahlia Smut; this occurs in cold, damp conditions and appears as paler spots on lower leaves that may spread to all leaves. To control culturally, if at all possible remove all affected leaves.  To control by intervention use a fungicidal spray such as Bordeaux Mixture.  The fungus may lay dormant in the soil so clear away and burn all affected leaves.  However, there should be no long term damage to the tuber if dealt with promptly.

If you have been cutting frequently, as well as dead heading, you will see that stems have the remains of the main shoot and the two primary side shoots, see image 1.  To promote continued strong growth prolonging the flowering season as long as the weather permits these should b, in effect, pruned back.  That is, cut the stem back to the leaf node below that has side shoots showing, See image 2.

Image1: Before pruning back. 

Image 2: after pruning back, the side shoots can be seen by the leaf node.

All plants that are to be discarded should be either removed now or clearly marked to prevent any mix up should they be frosted.  If your bed is to be used for spring bedding it would be time to cut back and lift the tubers in the middle of the month.  However, ideally one can wait until the frost blackens the foliage forcing the sap back into the tuber.  Cut the stems back to 12 / 13 cm before lifting.  Trying to lift before cutting the foliage back may result in the stems splitting and damaging the crown of the tuber.  Label clearly, bring inside and place upside down to drain all the sap out.  

Later in October bring into the greenhouse all pot tubers lying them down on their side to dry off.

Remember to pay your National Dahlia  Society subscription due in November!

Dahlia jobs in September

September is a month when the jobs are a continuation of August; keep feeding and well watered until the end of the month as necessary.
Keep dis-budding as required and maintain the dead-heading; this will stimulate and speed up the growth of more flowering side shoots.
Make sure all plants are labelled while in flower!  It is so easy to forget and identification when frosted is difficult.  Keep the routing hygiene going and stay on the look-out for the dreaded insects; wasps, earwigs and caterpillars.
If you have the opportunity do visit dahlia nurseries to see exactly how the different cultivars grow in terms of height and habit.

We've had a terrific August as we are now supplying New Covent Garden Flower Market with blooms twice a week and am getting great feedback from both the market and the market customers.  When we scaled the operation up there was always that doubt that we would not be able to get all the blooms to the consumer, through New Covent Garden we are.  The real barrier for British cut flower growers is getting the florist trade and consumer to insist, where possible, on British grown cut flowers.

£2.2 billion is spent on flowers in this country, that is more that the music industry, over 85% are imported.  Flowers are flown in from Africa, South America and Asia; just think what that does to the UK carbon footprint!  Not only that but it has over the past 20 years as imports have risen, put many British growers out of business.  However, do not expect British cut flowers to be cheaper because they are British!  But you do get a quality product that is supporting the local horticultural industry and it will, over time, reduce the carbon footprint.

Dahlia jobs in August

Tie all shoots and disbud plants as required.  Keep the watering going if at all dry and hoe if the surface is hardening up to prevent it "panning" otherwise water will run off rather than soak in.

Remove all dead flower heads as soon as possible, especially in the case of all types of bedding dahlias.  This promotes new flowering shoots to keep your dahlias blooming well into the Autumn.

Keep the hygiene programme going, looking especially for caterpillars and earwigs, the evening is a good time to do this.  Feed with a balance fertilizer in the early part of the month and change to a high potash content towards the end of the month to promote tuber growth and to retain and improve colour.

I have sent off a batch of postcards and a few dozen blooms to the Chicheley Hall Flower Festival as a proud sponsor of this event, occurring Friday 5th August until Sunday 7th see http://bit.ly/mZmeYn co-organised by 
Judith Blacklock. 


We have now begun our cut flower season, a little later than I expected as a result of slow growth through July.    However, the blooms coming on now are very good colour and formation so I mustn't grumble!

Dahlia jobs in July

All plants should be growing well now and showing signs of budding up, indeed, some will be showing colour.

Now is the time  to place all plants being kept for pot tubers in the garden frame.  If at all dry, and we are certainly not! start watering to prevent the newly growing shoots from hardening.

Keep hoeing in order to keep weed free and to keep the soil from becoming panned; this aerates the ground and enables the roots to 'breathe'.  Dis-bud shoots as soon as buds are large enough to handle.  For full details dis-budding techniques see the web site "How to Grow" pages.

After hoeing mulch around the plants as this will not only allow nutrients to trickle into the soil but will also retain moisture and keep weed growth down.

Keep the outdoor hygiene programme going to prevent disease and pests.

Dahlia jobs in July

All plants should be growing well now and showing signs of budding up, indeed, some will be showing colour.

Now is the time  to place all plants being kept for pot tubers in the garden frame.  If at all dry, and we are certainly not! start watering to prevent the newly growing shoots from hardening.

Keep hoeing in order to keep weed free and to keep the soil from becoming panned; this aerates the ground and enables the roots to 'breathe'.  Dis-bud shoots as soon as buds are large enough to handle.  For full details dis-budding techniques see the web site "How to Grow" pages.

After hoeing mulch around the plants as this will not only allow nutrients to trickle into the soil but will also retain moisture and keep weed growth down.

Keep the outdoor hygiene programme going to prevent disease and pests.

Dahlia fields

We have had pretty good weather the last 2/3 weeks, plenty of light rain that has soaked the ground well, now nicely moist with the underlying clay well soaked and retaining the rain.  Looking forward to a few weeks of sunshine and warm nights to bring them on!

All my dahlias are now planted with the later ones in yesterday which will start blooming a little later and, hopefully, bloom on a little longer in the late summer / early autumn and giving a flowering season lasting from mid-July through to end of October, frost permitting.

The first top dressing of a 7.7.7 fertiliser is down and will repeat in around 4 weeks time.  Then, in mid August, a top dressing of bone meal will go down to strengthen the plants, maintain the colour and help the tubers develop.  

All grass areas and pathways mown, time for a little relaxing before there is a need to concentrate on dis-budding.

Dahlia jobs in June

Is it nearly June already?

If you haven't planted out now is the time to do so, just check there are no late frosts forecast but I'd say that for this year they are now past.  Begin the outdoor hygiene programme by keeping the ground well hoed to prevent weeds and to keep the ground aerated.  Stake all dahlias if not done before planting.

7-10 days after planting the first top dressing may be applied.  A good general purpose fertiliser, fish, blood and bone is used at Withypitts Dahlias.  Tomorite is also good, not just for tomatoes!

Sending emails to xx@btinternet.com

Let me start with a simple question: If I send you an email how do you know that you haven't received it?

I send emails from a number of different email accounts, both personal and business, and have learnt, only recently, that there are people with @btinternet.com accounts that are not receiving mail from me.  It is only later when it has become apparent that they should have had an email that they realise they haven't.  After a little research and a conversation with the btinternet.com support desk that the reason starts to become clear.

I understand that if an email sent to a btinternet.com account is "from" an account that is not in the recipient's address book it is very likely that it will be stored in a central, server based Spam folder and not downloaded to the email client.  It is the account holder's responsibility to check this server based folder and retrieve any mail that is not spam, educating the spam filter in the process.  It is only when an email client, Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird for example is used so using the webmail facility avoids this issue.

I agree that spam is the bane of our online lives and that BTInternet/Yahoo are striving to block it, but surely there must be a better way?  Because if an email enquiry is sent to me and I reply, the chances are you will not get the reply without going through this process because it is very unlikely that you will have added me to your address book when sending the enquiry.

So, a message to my customers on btinternet.com, check your server spam folder and add me to your address book please!

Dahlia jobs in May

All your plants should be in 5 inch / 125 mm pots by the middle of May.  Stop plants when 5 to 6 inches, 125 mm 150 mm, tall or after 4 -5 pairs of leaves depending on the number of main flowering stems you wish to have.  Plants, whether seedlings or cuttings, should now be in your cold house or frame hardening off; do protect from frost!, if real chill threatens a fleece covering will do a great job.

Take any late cuttings should you need to produce more plants.  These will grow on but not begin flowering until, probably, mid-August but will consequently go on longer if there are no frosts in late October / early November. Keep your hygiene programme going.

In the south and south-west start planting out dahlia plants when the weather is suitable and there seems to be no risk of a late frost.  As things are at present with the weather I anticipate beginning the planting out around the 3rd weekend in May.

Nursery Update

Back in January I posted a video clip of the nursery, - http://bit.ly/lyeK6i - that showed it to be a bit overgrown!

I weed killed in March and the first picture shows the results, this is the "before" cultivating last week.

I under estimated the hardness of the ground and over estimated the capability of the rotavator;  result, instead of taking two days it took four.  Still; job done!  See below

Could do with some rain on it now before planting out begins, probably around 3rd weekend in May.

Rooted cuttings preparing for dispatch

We are now in our busy period of packing and dispatch.

We put rooted cuttings in polythene sleeves before packing in the cartons.

 Here are rooted cuttings in the propagating trays before being transferred to the polythene sleeves.

Now in polythene sleeve ready to be packed into the carton.

Both rooted cuttings and the more mature ex 90mm pot plants are packed tightly into the carton and air pillows/bubble wrap is used to fill the voids to prevent any movement during transit.  

Rooted cuttings are sent by Royal Mail in flat cartons.  Plants are sent by next day delivery courier in larger, but essentially flat, cartons.

Just heard that one package sent on April 7th by Royal Mail First Class recorded delivery still hasn't arrived, they say "Your item is still in transit"; words fail me.

Demand for Dahlias

Demand for dahlias appears to be up this year.  I have already sold out of a number of cultivars and, speaking with other growers around the country, they seem to be in a similar situation.

Another pointer to the increasing popularity of the dahlia!

Alternatively, of course, it could just be that many dahlia lovers have now checked their tubers and found them to be damaged beyond redemption by the severe weather in November and December!

New web site for Spring 2011

If the Spring time is not busy enough with cuttings, potting on, preparing orders for dispatch and so forth I thought that  a spring clean of the web site was due, so there is a new one!

I hope you find this easy to navigate and welcome any comments that you may have.

Dahlia jobs in April

Keep on taking cuttings until you have made sure that you have sufficient for your needs, although, the back end of April is getting a bit late for the plants to mature fully when planted out.  (However, I shall be taking late cuttings this year in an experiment to see how I can further the flowering season by planting out very late in a poly tunnel).

Pot up the rooted cuttings into 90mm pots using a general purpose compost or John Innes No1.  Prick out dahlia seedlings as soon as they are big enough to handle and put into trays or pots.

By mid-April some of the early cuttings will now be getting well ahead in their 90 mm pots; it's time to pot them on into 125 mm pots so that their  growth is not set back.  Especially important if you have bought ex-pot plants from a commercial grower.

Keep the hygiene programme going!  Any plants found to be diseased should be destroyed (burnt) as quickly as possible to prevent spread.

Plant out divided tubers about the middle of April.

Wisley Open Day - March 4th

I took a little time out today and went to Wisley Gardens who had an open day to attract new members to the RHS.  The National Dahlia society had a presence there, along with other specialist plant societies, who I met with.

Of course, all the societies were promoting membership which I think is so important for the specialist grower; apart from the wealth of information and advice that one can get from other members it is also important as it helps promote the particular plant type and maintains and, hopefully, increase popularity.

Dahlias reigned supreme through the 60's and 70's and then suffered a decline in popularity.  For some reason they gained an unfair reputation for being difficult to grow, and there was some criticism for them being water hungry.  However, they are now becoming more popular as people realise that they are actually not difficult to grow and, whilst they do require water, can be grown with careful and economical irrigation.  Last year I planted mine out at the very beginning of June, it rained a little the following day (which was a blessing) but then not until late July.  Apart from 2 or 3 plants in one area I did not irrigate at all.  This forces the young plants to put their roots down deeper searching for moisture and creates a much stronger root system.

Now people are seeing them in a different light; the different colours and shades, the different shapes and sizes; there are dahlias to suit everyone's taste.

There has also been a real focus on exhibition cultivars which, in my view, has tended to put off anyone that just wanted splashes of vibrant colours in their garden.  This trend, I believe, is beginning to change with much more publicity on these wonderful plants for gardens and borders.

And don't forget that dahlias are fantastic for cut flowers.  Between the end of July and into October a single plant could produce as many as 16 to 20 blooms; some cultivars are more prolific than others and any supplier will advise on this.  So, a dozen dahlias in the cut flower garden could yield 180 to 240 blooms over a 8 to 10 week period; all from a plant costing just a few pounds, what a return!  The important thing to remember is that once a dahlia starts to bloom they must be either cut for the vase or, as soon as the petals begin to die away, dead headed; the more they are cut the more they will flower.

At the beginning of September why not allow a few heads to die on the plant and collect the seeds?  As soon as the seed head is ripe remove the seeds and spread thinly on sheets of newspaper, or other absorbent paper.  Separate the 'chaff' and, when completely dry, store in an envelope until the Spring.  Sowing in early April will yield plants ready to go out into the garden in early June when all danger of frost has past.  Scatter the seed onto seed compost in a tray and water lightly.  Seedling will start to appear in 4/5 days and by around day 14 should be ready to be pricked out into a 90mm pot.    As dahlia cultivars are all hybrids the plants that grow from these seed will not be true to the parent plant.

Flowering will start in mid to late July and can be quite exciting with the anticipation of what your seeds will produce!

Withypitts - the name

People sometimes ask me about the name Withypitts Dahlias.  Simple really.  When I started selling plants I lived in the area of Withypitts in Turners Hill so called it Withypitts Dahlias.


Withy:  Withy or withe is a strong flexible willow stem that is typically used in thatching and for gardening. Hence, Withy Pitts, the "pits" or marshy areas where the willows grew.


The only commercial Willow for thatching these days is, I believe, the Somerset flats.  


The land on which my dahlias are planted out overlooks Withypitts in Turners Hill so the name stays and remains relevant, in a funny kind of way.

2011 planting zone - update

As some of you know I have just taken 10 days out and spent some time in Dubai; sun, heat, sand etc etc

Not a place for growing dahlias methinks!  Water is prohibitively expensive to use in gardens and it does get hot in the summertime often reaching 50C.

Anyways, I did think that on return I'd get to grips with weed killing the grass ready to rotovate the planting area; it seems to have rained a lot, not only is the grass and weed very wet still but so is the ground, I think it needs to dry out some before weed killers will be effective.  Guess I'll have to put it off for a while longer.

Dahlia jobs in March

For those of you that are propagating from your tubers, they were, in  February, set down and by March should have shoots long enough to begin taking cuttings (75mm - 100mm).  Cut the stem a leaf axil or two above the "heel", or point where the shoot emerges from the crown; this will encourage further shoots to sprout from the leaf axils.

Before and After images; the cutting will then be trimmed below the leaf axil, the leaves removed, dipped in hormone rooting compound and "dibbed" into the John Innes Seed compost in the trays.

Avoid taking hollow, "pipey" shoots for cuttings as they tend to be more difficult to root.  The shoots that follow from the leaf axil will be of much better quality.  If you do wish to use these cuttings ensure that  when you trim the stem below the leaf axil it is solid with no hollowness at all; this will give the cutting a better chance of growth.  Water as necessary to keep from drying out but do not over-water as this will only encourage damping off.

Start dahlias from seed towards the end of the month in a heated greenhouse or propagator.

If you do not have a greenhouse March is the time to start off the tubers in trays as described in February and the time to prepare the growing area ready for planting out the divided tubers in April.

Taking cuttings

Dahlia season 2011 is really underway now.  I took the first cuttings today 4 weeks after setting the tubers down on the benches (in trays).

The first photo is the cutting as removed from the tuber.  When removing cut below a leaf axil leaving enough stem to trim and leaving a leaf axil on the tuber to produce more shoots.  Use a VERY sharp knife, if you do not have a gardeners propagating knife a modelling blade would be useful.  The knife I use is Victorinox and is Swiss.  The blade can be honed to razor sharp on a very fine smoothing/sharpening stone.  These may be purchased from any good garden centre and cost around £12 - £15 seem to remember.  

Trim neatly below the leaf axil and remove the two leaves.  Dip in water and then in rooting compound, I use Seradix / Strike as this is very reliable.  I did try an organic compound a few years ago and lost 85% of the cuttings I had used it for.

The first tray of cuttings planted in John Innes Seed compost.  If using JI Seed do try to obtain correctly mixed compost.  There are many on the market that may have the correct mix but are not using steralised loam and a good 'grainy' sand.

Dahlia jobs in February

For those with a heated greenhouse who wish to propagate from their own stock now is the time to get started.  Take from the winter store the quantity you will be using.  Trim off the fibrous roots and stems and place carefully in shallow trays on a layer of sifted compost.  Cover lightly, but not the stems or crown, and water well.

For those with no heated greenhouse: carry out routine inspections as for January.

2011 planting zone

Well, this is where the dahlias will be planted out this year; bit of work to do methinks!  Apologies here and now for the rubbish video clip, I'm better at growing dahlias than filming!

The trees stay, so a planting plan to incorporate them is a pre-requisite.  I could plant in traditional commercial style beds, boring - yawn - yawn, or be creative and plant out in shaped beds.  As this will be the "showcase" my thoughts are moving towards the more creative which *could* be spectacular when viewed from the higher ground as there is a large enough gradient to provide a viewing point in the area beyond the fir tree 3 - 4 seconds into the clip.

However, any shaped beds have to work logistically as the blooms will be harvested through the season for the cut flower trade we do.

Next task is to cultivate ... must rush into it though .. delay and procrastinate as long as possible!

Pop back soon for project updates please!  (and leave comments!)

Additional cultivars for 2011 season

I have added a few more cultivars to the list for 2011, a mix of good exhibition and those for garden.  That's not to say the exhibition cultivars are not good in the garden, they are excellent!   It is more that garden dahlias are not good for exhibitions.
Cultivars that are good for exhibiting are those that conform to the criteria for the particular class in form, and size,  They should consistently produce blooms that are well presented on the stem, are good colour and, of course, as close to perfect in petal formation.

The additions:

• Debra Anne Craven - a red Giant Semi Cactus, i.e. blooms greater than 260mm
• Wootton Impact - an orange / cream blend Medium Cactus suitable for exhibiting
• Black Narcissus - an intense dark red medium semi cactus, great in a border complementing orange and red cultivars.
• David Howard - Min Dec, orange blooms on dark, almost black, foliage.  An old favourite, can't think why I haven't grown it before!
• Karma Naomi - a red Small Dec, like all Karma's a very good cut flower that lasts well in the vase.
• Ruskin Marigold - an orange Small Semi Cactus.  A very pretty little dahlia with good enough form to be an exhibitor.

All these can be seen on the web site www.withypitts-dahlias.co.uk follow the link under Latest News.

Starting off

2011 season has now really started.  My tubers are now set down in trays, lightly covered in a light, peat-like,  all purpose compost, watered and slugs "fed".

As you will notice the slugs have been "fed" with regular pellets.  A couple of years ago I did try organic slug treatments but they simply loved it and destroyed all the first growth shoots; never again.  As a matter of interest, I also tried organic rooting compounds; no good at all, it just did not work.  So, I'm back to Seradix / Strike, it does work.  Last year I spoke with one of the assistants at the local garden centre and commented about rooting compounds.  He told me they had largely withdrawn the organic as it didn't work but kept some on the shelves for those who really wanted to use it.

If you look closely you will see that the tubers in the right hand tray are already showing growth.  Pontiac, in my view, is one of the easiest dahlias to propagate, it always sprouts quickly, always roots easily and is very prolific.

I expect to start to take cuttings in three weeks time, some good sunny weather would be good as good daylight always helps stimulate the production of shoots and the rooting of the cuttings.
 

Field Mice

You know those bird feeders that have the suction pads to put on windows, we bought a couple when the snow came down to sustain the birds in the garden and fitted them to the kitchen windows.

The field mice have found them, the little scallywags.

Also watched the BBC Royal Institute lecture by Mark Miodownik "Size Matters"

You may be wondering what the connections is, and I don't blame you!

Well, creatures that walk up vertical surfaces or even ceilings, such as geckos, have feet pads covered in tiny hairs that grip into surface irregularities.  Do field mice have feet like that?  Otherwise, how do they get to my bird feeders that are situated 8 feet above the ground and centred in a window?  I am seriously impressed by them, although I guess the birds are not.

And, how do I stop them 'cos I am sure the birds would prefer to eat their food uncontaminated from mice pee.

Over-wintering tubers

I have just read some pretty bad advice on over-wintering dahlia tubers.  Basically suggested putting them in a box with dry compost (OK so far) and then putting them in the garden shed until you are ready to bring them on next spring, that's a really bad idea!

The garden shed (or garage) is a bad place to keep tubers over winter, unless it is heated, as sheds and garages are not frost free and especially so with the intense cold of the last few weeks.

Over-wintering dahlia tubers is the most difficult aspect of growing these fabulous flowers. Too cold and they rot, too hot and they shrivel and dry out; 4 – 8 C is ideal. They should also be inspected regularly and any damaged parts removed. Dusting with flowers of sulphur is a good plan.

Dahlias and stuff

 

Slideshow of some of my dahlias, I hope you enjoy them.  Click on the photo to start.

Dahlia jobs in January

Inspect all the tubers an remove any diseased portions.  Wipe of any mildew that may have formed on the stems. 
Dust again with flowers of sulphur and replace carefully in their winter quarters.
Work out the planting plan for your borders and flower beds.  If you are an amateur exhibitor, plan your show programme nice and early!   Also, if you exhibit large and giant bloomed dahlias start them off now as they generally take longer to mature and can sometimes produce "pipy" cuttings first time around that may be too thick to root well and there is then time to have a second lot of cuttings.

Dahlia jobs in December

Not much to do but do inspect the tubers removing any diseased or broken parts.  Dust with flowers of sulphur and cover the roots, not the stems, with dry soil or sand or peat or ashes.  Pot roots can now be cleaned and cut back.
Prepare the greenhouse in readiness for laying the tubers down to begin propagation.  As a commercial grower I start off in mid-January and advise anyone growing the 'giants' to do the same, they just seem to take longer to develop to mature plants for planting out

About me and Dahlias

I started growing Dahlias 50 years ago.  My childhood was spent growing up on a nursery that specialised in Dahlias, Chrysanthemums and Delphiniums.  I even had a small pom named after me in the mid-50's; I had found a sport on Little Beeswing that was grown on and named Master Richard, sadly now lost.  This was the Grove Nurseries, Kent,  and owned by Stuart Ogg - the "King of Dahlias" who was my godfather.  My grandfather, Edmund (always known as Ted) and father, Peter, worked on the nurseries as Nursery Manager and Office Manager respectively.  The Grove Nurseries were the first flower grower to win the coveted Brockenhurst Trophy Gold Cup at the Southport Flower Show in 1963; I helped stage that show and many others.  You could say that Dahlias are in the blood