For the Love of Dahlias!
It’s Dahlia TIME!
The farm season is well underway once again…it seems like just yesterday I was digging and storing dahlias but here we are again! The grow room is, well, extremely messy, but lots of little plant babies are already growing and I am getting very excited about the upcoming growing season.
Once again we will be growing hundreds of dahlias, and while I tried not to buy any new varieties to try, I have already purchased over 60 …so I guess we are expanding our collection! Dahlias are just so addictive, the array of colours and forms make trying a new variety just too enticing! Unlike seeds, which are shipped dormant, dahlia tubers are ‘alive’ when shipped, meaning gardeners are not able to purchase varieties bred in other countries. Tulip bulbs, while shipped ‘alive’ have been so popular for so long there are shipping practices in place to get new varieties from around the world. Sadly, dahlias just aren't there yet and we are often left to search for varieties grown in Canada, or somehow smuggled over the border!
A few companies in the US offer dahlias shipped to Canada with an added phytosanitary certificate, which costs $40-50 CAD PER tuber. This is the government of Canada's only option and is a lot of work for the shipper, and a lot of money just to get a single tuber across the border. While we die hard dahlia growers have done it here and there, it is certainly not an option for most growers or for many tubers.
So, what are we growing this year…well, it's a big list! In addition to hundreds of annuals, bulbs, perennials and foliage we are planning to grow, we will have at least 300 tubers in the ground, which leads to some exciting news, we are expanding! While city space is sparse, we are lucky one of our yard lenders has offered us their entire front lawn so we will be expanding their garden 4 fold, which means more dahlias for us all!
This year we will be selling (and shipping within Canada) dahlia tubers and cuttings this coming May and we need your help! With so many varieties in storage, and 50+ more on their way, we sadly don't have the space to start every variety early to take cuttings. So… I am hoping you can all help us out with a little research on what varieties we should focus on! In return, I will open up our May dahlia sale to all of you who vote FIRST, so you're able to snag the varieties you really want before we open it up to others. Here is the link, it should be very straightforward. I don't have photos of every variety but I hope these dahlia photos I made last summer help!
And now for the NEW varieties we are growing! Below is a list of all the new tubers and cuttings we will be trialing on the farm this season. While we won't likely have any cuttings of these to sell this year, we are hoping to have a bumper crop of blooms to sell in the shop.
April Heather
Barefoot
Back Satin
Baron Wavia
Brindisi
Budapest Blush
Bonaventure
Cafe de Paris
Camano Crash
Castledrive
Chimacum Nadjee
Daydreamer
Esli
Fancy Pants
Ferncliff Carefree
Ferncliff Ebony
Ferncliff Rusty
Fluffles
Gay Princess
Gerrie Hoek
Gitty Up
Glen Place
Greggor’s Mikkel
Hilary
Hilltop Lost Treasure
Hollyhill Miss White
Isalnder
KA Cloud
KA Rosie Jo
Kenora Jeannie
Larks Ebbe
Lemon Drops
Lights Out
Lupin Britain
Lyn’s Louise
Mission Pixie
Molly Raven
Mystique
Raenns Antares
Robin Hood
Rocco
Rogue Starburst
Rose Toscano
Sandia Candy Corn
Shiloh Jazzman
Sonic Bloom
Southern Belle
Strawberry Cream
Sweet Suzanne
Tahoma Stellar Fellar
Take Off
Westerton Lillian
Wyn's Desert Sunrise
Thank you for helping us with the survey, and for being as excited as I am about Dahlia season! Wishing you all a great seed starting season and the best year in the garden yet!
Shannon xo :)