Each flower and tree is interesting to see ~ watch closely as each unfolds.
 

Dahlia
Great for planters spring to mid-summer. Late summer heat causes plants to decline in planters. Plants in ground bloomed all season wonderfully. Do not let the information below cause you hesitation in selecting dahlias for your garden - they bloom continously and are showy plants. De-head for longer bloom period.
Dahlia Classes: Most commonly cultivated - Formal Decorative, Informal Decorative, Semi-Cactus, Straight Cactus, Laciniated, Ball, Waterlily, Anemone, Collorette, Orchid, Single.

Notes: 2002 pulled up tubers for winter. 2003 left in ground through winter, covered with mulch - came back in 2004, 2005, 2006 just fine. Divided plants in 2004 - all survived. The only ones not to return the following year are the dwarf annual variety - which is why they are annuals and not perennial!

New variety spring 2006: Low growing dahlia - Sweetheart. Full sun.
Bloom: May - September
Height: 15-30 inches

CULTIVATION: Grow in humus rich, well drained soil, in full sun. Use a high nitrogen liquid fertilizer weekly in early summer, then a high potassium liquid fertilizer weekly from midsummer o early autumn. Bedding dahlias need no staking or disbudding: just pinch out the growing point to encourage bushiness, and deadhead as the flowers fade. For taller dahlias, insert stakes at planting time. Moderately pinch, disbranch, and disbud, and deadhead to produce a showy display for three months or more. Dahlias thrive in cool, moist climates of the Pacific Coast where the blooms may be an inch larger and deeper than in hotter, drier climates. Plants grow 4-6 feet tall, except for the low-growing, bedding type, but careful grooming can produce shorter, bushier plants.
In mid-autumn preferably when the foliage has been nipped by the first frost, cut back stems to 6 inches and lift tubers. Gently brush off the soil, and leave upside down to dry naturally. Dust with fungicide, then pack in boxes of vermiculite, and store over winter in a well-ventilated, frost free location. Check periodically for fungal infection, pare out any damaged tissue, treat again with fungicide before returning to storage.

PROPAGATION: Take basal shoot cuttings from tubers started into growth in late winter or early spring in a greenhouse, and root under plastic cover or in a mist tent, with bottom heat. Alternately, start clumps into growth in early spring, and when shoots are 3/4in long, divide clumps into 2 or more pieces, each with a shoot, and plant out 5 inches deep after all danger of frost has passed. Sow seed of bedding dahlias in trays in early spring, in warmth; harden off, and plant out when all danger of frost has passed.

PESTS AND DISEASES: Aphids, stem borers, spider mites, caterpillars, earwigs, cucumber beetles, capsid bugs, flower thrips, planthoppers, and slugs may be troublesome. Also prone to powdery mildew, impatiens necrotic spot, dahlia mosiac virus, smut, fungal leaf spots, soft rot, crown gall, blossom blights (especially gray mold), and tomato spotted wilt virus.

Dahlia

Zone: 9 - 11   -    12 - 1	Full sun.
Height: 1 - 3 feet (some higher)	Width: 1 - 2 feet
Bloom Time: Summer	Bloom Color: Varies
Location: Pots, various beds	Planted: 2003 and 2004