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.