National Dahlia Show

I received this copy email from Sion Jones today and pass it on to my dahlia friends.

Hello all.

Happy New Year.

If you aren't aware already, the National Show at Shepton Mallet has been cancelled due to the closure of the Show with which it was held in conjunction.
At the moment there are two potential alternatives on the table. Both will involve the NDS with a similar amount of additional expense, namely the space in which to hold the show and the set up of tabling etc.
The alternatives are Wisley RHS gardens in Surrey just off the M25 on the A3 or a Garden Centre near Atherstone in Warwickshire.just off the M42 and A5..
I think that most of you will understand where I'm coming from with this e-mail, namely that the EC need to get this right, otherwise our already flagging 'National' willl die a death altogether. I know of several exhibitors who have said that last year's Shepton was to be their last, and have subsequently stated that their feelings are just as strong about not attending if the Show goes to Wisley.
As I am not fully informed as to the ins and outs of the two venues, I cannot offer any sway other than to the Geographical advantages that Atherstone holds over Wisley.
I write this e-mail to you, to try to circulate it amongst your Dahlia contacts, as many will have no idea of the events of the past few weeks, and will have no opportunity to comment on them until the AGM in March.
The problem with this is that the decision meeting has been set for the 13th February, so basically if you don't know someone in the know, you don't have a say. (what ever happened to the sporadic newsletters ?)
The more of you who can respond to this, and air your views one way or another, the better as far as I'm concerned, given the lack of information afforded to you all by the Society.
I hope you can find time please to pass this round as much as possible, and dare I ask you send me your opinions so I can forward a file to the meeting in February.
I'm sorry to lump all the e-mail addresses together, but if you know someone not on the list, that's our target.
Once again please help with this, otherwise moaning afterwards is no use.
I look forward with trepidation to the 'flood' in my inbox.

Best Regards

Carl Hamnett NDS Harrogate Show Secretary

Summary of 2012 so far

What a year it has been for dahlia growers!

We complicated the weather issues by moving to a new piece of ground as we needed more space.  On top of that we moved house as well to be nearer the new nursery which meant moving the dahlias mid-propagation, not the easiest task.

We took the land over in mid-March when it was very wet so had to wait for a dryer spell before getting it ploughed; this happened on the 14th April.  It then rained for the next 4 weeks, every day.  We could then able to get it rough cultivated in mid-May, fine cultivated a couple of weeks later and planted out during the first two weeks in June.  Running late already!

June and July did not provide good growing weather either, our plants are running about three weeks behind any normal season.  However, our contacts in New Covent Garden Flower Market still demand our blooms so we expect to have a good season overall.

A selection of images of this year's first delivery to the Market and a collarette seedling that the bees like!

January 2012

It seems no time at all since I began this occasional offering about growing dahlias generally targeting those of you that are new to these magnificent plants.  But is is a year now so to find out what to do with your dahlias in January please look back to the very first post!

December is a quiet month for the commercial grower, although these terms are relative!    During December I was interviewed as a contributor for an article for Flower Arranger magazine edited by Judith Blacklock.  This magazine is the standard journal of all flower clubs nationwide and promotes the use of British Blooms.  

2011 was a fantastic year for us as it was the first year of serious, commercial operations.  We established a link with a top wholesaler in New Covent Garden Flower Market, Alagar Limited, and through them reached top designers such as Simon Lycett of "Four Weddings and a Funeral" fame who took our blooms on to the "Alan Titchmarsh Show" and Shane Connolly who designed the arrangements in Westminster Abbey for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  They both became firm and valued customers in 2011 and we look forward to supplying them once again this year.  Twice a week from August to the middle of October we transported our few hundred blooms in buckets to the market in the 4x4 and then parked between huge pantechnicons, with trailers, from the Netherlands!

We were visited by a number of photographers Helen Jermyn being the notable guest, Helen was kind enough to write a nice blog article about us back in August.   

As for trial and tribulations; we learnt never to use Royal Mail for sending our plants.  In 2011 we used Royal Mail for delivering rooted cuttings but 30% of the packages we sent were either lost or damaged.  The fact that we were fully compensated by them is of no real value as we not only needed to find replacements but the time and effort required was time we could have spent more productively!   We sent all our plants - 'garden ready' so to speak, that is, matured plants ex-9cm pots - using City Link courier with a 100% success rate.  As a consequence, for 2012 we are only offering plants and not rooted cuttings.  These will be available from mid-April onwards for people with greenhouse facilities and later until the first week in June for those without greenhouses.

Looking forward; July 27th is the start of the 2012 London Olympics, I do hope that the florists selected to provide the arrangements and bouquets buy British!

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!