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Post by Moonlight on Oct 26, 2013 20:27:23 GMT
More seed picking for me today. With the bad weather rapidly approaching I thought that I needed to collect as many seed heads that I could find before the storm gets here.
I've now got 206 Staleen Condessa seeds from the one plant. Imagine a bridal bouquet of dahlia seed heads and that is what I brought up from the dahlias today. Thick long straight stems. Staleen Condessa still has flowers and is still about 7 or 8 foot high, way above our garden fence and in the storm they are going to be torn to shreds.
I forgot to mention that the 22 Eastwood Moonlight seeds came from a single seed head. 
So all the Staleen Condessa seeds, my 1 Willow's Violet seed and quite a Red Balloons are going to go to Dad. I do like the Red Balloon so part of me would like to try some of those but I haven't the room.
The seeds that I am currently keeping are: Eastwood Moonlight and Downham Royal - no brainer on those 2. My 5 Weston Pirates and loads (too many for me) of Weston Spanish Dancer seeds.
Off to do a bit of counting....
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 26, 2013 20:38:02 GMT
More seed picking for me today. With the bad weather rapidly approaching I thought that I needed to collect as many seed heads that I could find before the storm gets here.
I've now got 206 Staleen Condessa seeds from the one plant. Imagine a bridal bouquet of dahlia seed heads and that is what I brought up from the dahlias today. Thick long straight stems. Staleen Condessa still has flowers and is still about 7 or 8 foot high, way above our garden fence and in the storm they are going to be torn to shreds.
I forgot to mention that the 22 Eastwood Moonlight seeds came from a single seed head.
So all the Staleen Condessa seeds, my 1 Willow's Violet seed and 34 Red Balloons are going to go to Dad. I do like the Red Balloon so part of me would like to try some of those but I haven't the room.
The seeds that I am currently keeping are: Eastwood Moonlight and Downham Royal - no brainer on those 2. My 5 Weston Pirates and loads (too many for me) of Weston Spanish Dancer seeds.
Off to do a bit of counting....
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Post by sweetpea on Oct 26, 2013 23:08:06 GMT
Blimey ML you are going to need an allotment or two to grow that lot on  Methinks you will have to be a bit picky but good luck all the same. |
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 27, 2013 0:34:55 GMT
Blimey ML you are going to need an allotment or two to grow that lot on Methinks you will have to be a bit picky but good luck all the same.
I think that I my husband would divorce me if I said that I wanted an allotment. I'm not good at gardening, would have to catch a bus to get there and I really wouldn't have the time. I wouldn't be able to give an allotment my full attention any and family comes first. I know that there have been times this year when it has been perceived that the only thing that matters are the dahlias. Not so - family comes first.
Dad said that if I'm lucky I could get 5% germinate which potentially could mean just the 1 Eastwood Moonlight. I will sow all 5 Pirates and am seriously tempted to sow all the Downham Royals but I would be seriously mad if I tried to sow 60 Weston Spanish Dancers. Maybe half? I'll talk to my Dad about that one.
I am going to look at the Mary's + Jomandas tomorrow weather and mud allowing. If I get any of those I'll give them to my Dad if he is interested. Dad plants his seedlings very close together for that 1st year. As soon as any appear that he doesn't think are up to his standard then they are binned. They don't last the season. He marks the ones that he likes and will keep with red wool. I am not sure how good I would be at making decisions like that.
Whatever happens this is my 1st year at growing dahlias. So many mini achievements. I took my 1st cuttings this year from tubers that I had bought. I had some rooted cuttings take and I have a few of those cuttings grow into flowering dahlias. With the seed collecting I'm a big girl in a sweetshop searching for a hidden treat. The fact that I have had any seeds is great but I do worry about the random cross pollination with my Happy Halloweens but maybe a random dna combination might come up with something special and then there is Colerado Classic...  |
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Post by Tel on Oct 27, 2013 7:08:32 GMT
Moonlight, to say you are growing in a small space, you have done brilliantly in your first year. Your Dad must be very proud of his little girl. I know I would be. |
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 27, 2013 19:10:30 GMT
Dad asked some very important questions.
What are you going to do with your tubers? They are not going to be cut up little pieces like the ones from the America. What are you going to do with the tubers that you are going to dig up or were you going to cut them up into little pieces like the Americans?
erm Don't know.
Do you know where you are going to store them?
erm Even bigger Don't know.
 eek.
Did a few more seed searches today and mentally said Goodbye to my dahlias with the storm looming tonight. 
I guess that this it now just wait till tomorrow when I have to try and pick up the pieces.
Altogether now:
Hay Hoe!
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 28, 2013 13:48:19 GMT
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 28, 2013 14:22:48 GMT
Stump. |
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 28, 2013 21:45:18 GMT
The tree was here when we moved in and had already been established. It has thorns on it. I asked what it was but I tried looking up the name that I was told and I obviously didn't remember it right. Think I was too distracted with everything that was going on. Ribula???
Parts of the tree stopped developing leaves etc. and the bird feeders that we put up were too heavy for the branches to take and snapped off.
Once they had sawn down to the stump you could see that half the tree was rotting. So in a way the storm has done us a favour. We would have just left it. We wish that it hadn't slumped down with it's full weight leaning on the fence which had it given way would have smashed next doors swimming pool.
Looks sad :-(
On the plus side I've actually gained a bit more garden................ 
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Post by sweetpea on Oct 28, 2013 23:13:31 GMT
Lucky it didn't fall on the g'house which would have been worse.
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 29, 2013 0:08:59 GMT
Lucky it didn't fall on the g'house which would have been worse.
Or a good reason to buy a (bigger) new one! |
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 30, 2013 9:28:46 GMT
Today the tree in our front garden is going to be removed and I feel sad about. Well more than that guilty about it but it has grown so big that it's branches have got amongst the power cables. It over hangs the pavement but we do cut that back (as far as we can reach). It over hangs next doors garden as well. It is not a tree that we planted but I quite like the way that it sways in the breeze and that is the problem. It is a constant worry that it could fall and do damage. After the storm when we lost the other tree, this tree has become more stressful but I can't help feel guilty about it.
At dinner last night when we were talking about it Fairy Pink Wellies said "Oh they are going to come back and cut down that tree?! Oh! That tree always freaks me out!!" I've asked her why and she told me "Because it looks like it is going to fall on me every second."
So I felt a little better but I still think it is sad.
On the plus side I think that I have aquired a bit more dahlia growing space but the dahlias do have compertion with the Magnolia that we had planned to put there originally..... Now I'm torn.
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Post by Tel on Oct 30, 2013 9:40:56 GMT
I wonder what you will decide on lol
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Post by Moonlight on Oct 30, 2013 10:23:28 GMT
 Well I am going to need to find a space to squeeze my seedlings... 
Then there my new dahlias coming my Ruskin Myra, Ryecroft Zoe, Trooper Dan, Sir Alf, Lismore Moonlight, Moorplace................. |
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Post by Geranium on Oct 31, 2013 7:04:48 GMT
Your tree was a 'Robinia frisia', ML. They're lovely, but if it was in the wrong place, it isn't now!!!  I think you're probably well rid of it, as they have a nasty habit of dropping branches unexpectedly - and that isn't good with young children around. |
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