I planted a dahlia in the ground today. Should I join Gamblers Anonymous? http://ping.fm/HKOhp
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
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we live @1500ft, have frost ,very rarely is the ground frozen, do i have to dig up my dinnerplate dalhias every year
Twitter: @ChickDigtheDirt
Dahlias are the most amazing thing ever- we went to the dahlia festival at Swan Island Dahlias and it was truly an amazing site. Getting ready to get my own bulbs in the ground!
Let’s coin a new phrase. Frost = ‘A Saskatchewan Pinching’.
Craig @ Ellis Hollow’s last blog post..Nectaroscordum with a monopod
I, too, have planted all of my dahlias– they aren’t doing anything in the basement either, so they might as well be outside. You and I will be the ones laughing at our Dahlia blooms on the fourth of July. As a perennially early planter, last year I picked my first Dahlia on June 27.
Gwendolyn’s last blog post..Pomona, Goddess of Gardens
The soil is still pretty cold: http://met-www.cit.cornell.edu/climate/ithaca/gfr_logger.html
So they’ll just sit there happily until it warms up. It’s that early June frost after they’re up and doing that you’ve got to watch out for. Keep the pots and buckets ready to cover them.
Craig @ Ellis Hollow’s last blog post..Flower bulb labyrinth at Cornell
what do you do if you’ve lost the top 2 feet of a plant to frst on the 10th of June in Saskatchewan? Can you cut back the frozen leaves/parts and have it still grow back?
Taryn, you’re talking about a dahlia, right? (You just say plant.) I haven’t had that much experience with dahlias, but my guess is that it will continue to grow, but blooming might be delayed so long that it gets killed by autumn frosts before it blooms. You won’t know until you try.
Thanks Kathy. Yes, it is a dahlia. It’s the dinnerplate variety and I bought it last weekend for $30 and it’s allready 4 feet tall. The leaves are black on the top 2/3 of the plant now. I guess I’ll cut it back to the green and see what happens. Thanks.
Gee, gardening is tough in Saskatchewan! Are June frosts typical? Cause if they were, I’d keep any $30 plant on wheels until I was sure all danger of frost was past.