Dahlia Season 2017

Hi Cat, I asked the same question previously and this was the answer I received from a well known dahlia champion.

Take as many side shoots as possible from the flowering lateral as you can. If they are not big enough allow them to grow on. Prepare the cuttings you may have and reduce the size of the leaves to prevent transpiration and help keep the cutting turgid. Root them pot them up and the hard part is keeping them alive over winter. These plants can then be the mother plants from which you can take cuttings. Only take a few cuttings to see if the sport has taken.

Hope this helps.

I write seasonal jobs for each month in the magazine of the National Vegetable Society. I don't only write about veg though but about flowers as well. This month there is a picture of dahlias on my allotment. A few days ago I had an email from a man called John . He said how much my notes had helped him but he said that he had been trying to grow dahlias without much success. He wanted to know what the varieties were that were on my picture and where he could obtain them from. The varieties were L'Ancresse, Sir Alf Ramsey, Rycroft magnum and Jomanda.( He knew my email address because he had contacted me a while ago because he had read in one of the magazines that I had written a book about flowers and wanted to buy one.). I replied to him saying that I would send him either some tubers or some plants next spring and I didn't want anything for them. When he replied to that, he said tubers would be fine as he had a propagator he could use . He also said that he would like a white medium decorative . I haven't got one at present and I told him that the only two I am familiar with are B'J' Beauty and Alf's mascot because I used to grow them. Have any of you grown any other variety that I could tell him about?. I also sent him a list of the varieties that I have and he replied again saying that he would like the following , and would pay me for the carriage--Elma E, Rycroft magnum, Trouper Dan, Hillcrest Candy, Ruskin Myra, Willos Violet, Taratahi Ruby, Sir Alf Ramsey and L'Ancresse so I will send him a tuber of each.

Hi Derek, I tried blyton Everest this season which is white with a centre lavender flush. However it has sported into a totally white bloom. I will have to wait until next year to see if the sport has stabilised. This is the only time I have grown a white dahlia. The only other all white dahlia I am aware of is white Charlie 2.

JJ you also asked about showing first flush blooms in the main first flush blooms are usually the best blooms second flush blooms tend to lack the quality of the first but still can be good. Most growers who show do not rely on second flush blooms Poms tend to be ok. If you have taken blooms from a plant early n in the season you could manipulate the plant and grow shoots from lower down on the laterals and instead of then trying to grow say another seven then only try growing 4-5 which will provide blooms later on. But my advice would be not to bother and just try to time the blooms better on average 54-60 days from a tiny shoot on the leaf axle. Good luck

Hi Diggie. When you say it sported into a totally white bloom, was the lavender flush evident when the bloom first came out, then disappeared as it got older?