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Post by Moonlight on Sept 9, 2013 23:19:21 GMT
I am going to do a post about the dahlia show in the dahlia forum but I haven't had time and I want do a proper post. Been working today and I've got work Tuesday and Wednesday, so I am hoping that I can put a proper post Thursday.
Also because I'm not v.good at staging HH has said that I can buy some bikini vases. Then I can practice. I am a lucky woman, my Husband loves me so much and I him.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 10, 2013 20:49:17 GMT
 
My Dad did really well in the show. Didn't have room in the car to take all his dahlias home but I took his Trooper Dans, Alfs and Hillcrest Candy which he won best Horticultural exhibit in show. Think he won the Dahlia cup again. 5 1st prize, 6 2nd and 1 3rd. He didn't take his leeks and beans like he grew last year, he ran out of time with his dahlias. Looking forward to going to the awards night for this year.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 12, 2013 12:06:21 GMT
Penny has just dropped, it's my last show next weekend. The 2nd of the mini shows where you can enter as many times as you want and just one exhibitor fee. Time is whizzing by. I've attacked my Mary's Jomanda has been seriously cut back. The only part that I haven't attempted to be ruthless on the chop are the buds off of the same part as my little lilac sport. I'm going to try and collect seeds from there anyway but not any non-lilac seed heads. So I have cut quite a lot of the seed heads, so that the plant can put most energy into the young blooms. I had to cut it back because it was just going everywhere and some stems had bent over. 
I need to do the same with my Spanish Dancer the stems are really thin and floppy over all over the place and I am not going to let it do that into my Eastwood Moonlight. Eastwood Moonlight seems to be getting going now but I doubt not quick enough for the show but it did get planted very late. Better luck next year. . The problem with cutting the Spanish Dancer is that a lot of the heads are fully open with their centres showing and I'm feeling guilty to the bees that are buzzing around. If I chop down their dinner, they will be hungry.
Dad asked me what I want to grow next year and I told him 1 Sir Alf Ramsey (because my family like it) Trooper Dan (which I've promoted to 'it's ok' rather than 'don't like the way that the petals stick out - can't explain in words. Dad asked me why I wanted to grow Trooper Dan, well partly because I can't enter any of the Intermediate classes next year for large and giant. Dad said 'Good because it is easy to grow' Hmmm maybe for him but he's probably put the mockers on that one for me now. ;)Even if I had 3 perfect Sir Alfs I wouldn't dream of entering them because of the stress of moving them. It will be 1 if I'm brave but if in doubt I'd rather they stayed at home on the plant where we could see them.
I also want to grow Small semi cactus / cactus and my Westons especially  .
I'm going to have to grow Gurtla Twilight. I want to grow Moor place and Lismore Moonlight and maybe 1 large pom. I'll also be growing Eastwood Moonlight and Downham Royal but that was always going to happen. I also like Red Balloon so I am going to try and save that tuber and feel that as I won with Jomanda I should also grow that again.
Ought to go back out but it is nearly lunch time and I am hoping that HH will come home for lunch.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 12, 2013 19:21:20 GMT
I've done my Spanish Dancer and feel guilty about the pollen but the stems were so flimsy. I've only left a few young blooms. Weston Flamingo isn't so bad but it still spread everywhere. Been hunting for rogue side shoots on my Downham Royals. Need to do quite a lot of petal plucking or the seed heads will rot.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 13, 2013 8:40:51 GMT
2 more blooms from the show:
Clearview David one of the dahlias that we ordered from the US.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 13, 2013 8:42:03 GMT
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 13, 2013 8:56:53 GMT
It's raining again Time for a coffee then I'm going to go out and do some more trimming. I would like to rediscover my Jomanda from all Flamingos that are in it's way. I wouldn't mind if they shared the other side of a bed but there is supposed to be a path between them.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 13, 2013 10:16:31 GMT
It is times like this that I feel that I am not really going to be a very good dahlia grower.
The blooms are heavy and some even the thicker ones like Downham Royal have bent. Only 2 of those but of the few Spanish Dancers that I left up and dancing have bent. Something is eating my Eastwood Moonlight. My Staleen Condessa is just giraffe necked caterpillar bait but at the same time if I cut them down a, I would be slaughtering 100s of potential butterflies and I have had the tendency to leave the poor bloom that is being attacked in the hope that it occupies the eaters from eating another.
I try and cut down past it stems so that I can take the weight stress off of the stems on the plant and a bee parks in the bloom infront of me. I move to another part and a bee flies past and parks on another near bloom.
I'm too soft. I want the best for my dahlias and hoping for something to show but at the same time I don't want to hurt the bees and butterflies. Yesterday I saw my 1st ladybird on a dahlia or anywhere else in the garden.
I really can't grow Peach Delight, just as another bloom begins to fully open the rain came and the stem has snapped it. I guess it needs protection that I just can't give it in my garden but it is really beautiful. Such a shame.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 14, 2013 15:01:20 GMT
It's started pouring. I think the rain was just on pause to lull us all into a false sense of security that the weather might be getting better. Houses started getting flood again last night. Not as bad as last time. Tomorrow the weather forecast is the 1st of the Autumn storms. Some people here have been so unlucky and I shouldn't moan but I am disappointed. There really isn't anything that I can do. It is really sad to see dahlias that have nothing wrong with them at all, snap at the stem which isn't flimsy. There really isn't anything that I can do about it. My seed heads that I am desperate to pick and peek inside are now sopping wet. I hope that they dry rather than rot. I've been waiting for the nod from Dad to say that it is ok to pick them but he hasn't, I know that he has a couple (not 100s nor all) drying on newspaper. Wish I had more of mine (I've got one seed head). Dad said that the longer they stay attached to the plant the more developed the seeds are because they have had time to mature. So I am guessing better seeds = raises the odds to our favour of getting any seedlings.
I've had to cut down a lot of my tomatoes because the fruit has been heavier than they can hold up.
Time for a rethink on the tomatoes.
Need a big think about dahlias next year. No point in even trying to grow a large if they can't cope with the weather on a Medium. Shouldn't complain just disappointed and a bit worried that I will loose the seed heads that I have gently squeezed.
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 15, 2013 10:44:07 GMT
All I've been able to do is some petal plucking and some 'past it deheading' those dead yucky looking seed heads where the dead petals have been left. Going to pop down and water my tomatoes in the greenhouse before the rain pours. The wind is picking up and trees are waving all over with the wind. Not good. Be back later and I will show my Siamese twins.
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Post by Tel on Sept 15, 2013 12:47:34 GMT
I hope you manage to salvage something for your show, I am in the same boat, no covers this year, the plants are taking a battering now.  |
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 15, 2013 15:46:14 GMT
Fingers crossed for us both eh? Tel
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Post by sweetpea on Sept 15, 2013 19:46:33 GMT
My Dad did really well in the show. Didn't have room in the car to take all his dahlias home but I took his Trooper Dans, Alfs and Hillcrest Candy which he won best Horticultural exhibit in show. Think he won the Dahlia cup again. 5 1st prize, 6 2nd and 1 3rd. He didn't take his leeks and beans like he grew last year, he ran out of time with his dahlias. Looking forward to going to the awards night for this year.
Well I never  That is the first dahlia I have seen with arms and legs  |
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 16, 2013 8:40:22 GMT
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Post by Moonlight on Sept 16, 2013 9:06:07 GMT
On a much sadder note we have suffered a very tall casualty of the storm. Three of the girls sunflowers toppled over in the winds and the one on the end's stem has snapped. Poor Fairy Pink Wellies of course eagled eyed pirate spotted it when we were trying to hurry to school. I looked over my shoulder "Oh yes lovely.... but we haven't got time to look at the sunflowers and see how much hers has opened up. Feel a bit guilty about that.
Moral of the story think of somewhere better to grow them next year.
Strangely enough first thing this morning about half and hour before the alarm went off I woke up and 1st thing I thought of was that a main stem had snapped. Popped down to the dahlias in my dressing gown  to check. I was convinced that it was a yellow one. Everything was ok. Lots of horizontal blooms but no main stems snapped.  Went back in, went back to bed, fell asleep and missed the alarm.
Poor Fairy Pink Wellies and poor sunflower but knowing Pirate she will probably be the one most traumatised by the incident. (If you don't include poor Mr. Sunflower in that  )
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. 
That is the first dahlia I have seen with arms and legs 
)So I've got my 'Downham Royals', my 'Eastwood Moonlights', my 'Happy Halloweens', my 'Spanish Dancer' and next year I am growing a plant of "Sir Alf Ramsey-which-is-nearly-as-big-as-Aunty's-head" with my Trooper Dan.
Went back in, went back to bed, fell asleep and missed the alarm.
)
