Terrified of Topping DahliasThe scariest part of growing dahlias
When you’re a first-time dahlia farmer (like me), few things are as terrifying as snipping off the center bloom — or “topping” — your dahlias.
In early spring, you check every tuber for signs of growth while they are waking up. Then, you plant them carefully in the soil, praying there is no damage to the neck of the tuber. Next, you wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the first signs that the dahlia made it through the winter and could become a gorgeous, strong flower. By the time the first teeny green shoot pops through the soil, all you want to do is surround it with bubble wrap and spend the month of June in a sleeping bag next to your highest accomplishment.
Tough love is stressful
When my friend and dahlia mentor told me it was time to top my teenage dahlia plants, I wanted to cover my ears and yell, “I can’t hear you because that feels crazy!” I didn’t care that they were a foot tall and had at least four sets of leaves on the stem. She promised me this is the perfect time to top flowers so they grow fuller and have more blooms. But what if I made a mistake and killed the plants I had spent so much time and effort tending? Though I trusted my friend completely because the proof was row after row of gorgeous blooms in her garden, I still needed internet reinforcement. So I dragged my laptop outside and watched no fewer than 20 videos, clippers in hand hovering over each dahlia to ensure I wouldn’t mess it up. Someone definitely needed a glass of wine or three after that stressful day of snipping!
The payoff
In the end, my friend (and the internet) was right. I topped all but two of my dahlias and was rewarded later in the growing season with more robust, bushier plants and more blooms than I could fashion into summer and fall bouquets. The two I skipped were pretty wimpy and not nearly as bloom-filled.
Now that I’ve done it once, I won’t be as nervous to top the dahlias this year. And I’ve realized something important about why I adore the gardening community. There are many ways to grow things, and chances are, I can learn something from someone else’s experiences. Listen to the experts, even if it seems like topping a perfectly healthy plant is a recipe for disaster and will ruin your garden forever. Turns out, they’re right: Topping does make dahlias have more blooms!
https://www.gardengatemagazine.com/articles/vegetables/in-the-weeds/terrified-of-topping-dahlias/
I have 4 dahlias ... zero tubers I bought came up. When I took them out of the packaging, they were ‘papery’ & seemed to have no solid insides. $10 wasted on 2 tubers (Kelvin Floodlight & Creme de Cassis). What I do have are the 4 dahlias from seedlings my niece gave me. I got them at Easter & they didn’t really start growing until about 2 weeks ago. One of them got really weird, wrinkled sort of leaves & I almost got rid of it, but the new growth seems to be normal. I’ll likely top them & see what happens.
I FINALLY got the grass cut (entire acreage) yesterday. It’s been close to 100 this week & actually got to 101 on Wednesday plus we got a big T-storm fairly early in the afternoon, so mowing was a no go. Wednesday was also the 2 week mark since the place was mowed & some weeds were knee high (grass, not so much). The plan was to mow over last weekend, but circumstances kept me 30 miles away Saturday & Sunday.
So yesterday, at 2:00 and 98 degrees with a heat index of 104, I got on the mower. The front yard is about 2/3 shaded so I spent the first hour or so there. After that, it was full sun until the last 45 minutes or so when storm storm clouds were spinning up. I quit at 6, 92 degrees, 98 heat index. At 7, a storm with heavy rain came through, but unlike Wednesday’s storm, no heavy winds/lightning. The raised beds got a nice watering.
While I was mowing, a movement caught my eye and when I looked, it was a doe deer streaking across the back/side field and into the front yard. I have seen a lot of deer, but I have never seen one run so fast. She was a vertical streak of brown ... no upwards movement at all. I guess I scared her, but most of the deer around here are ‘ho hum’ about the mower ... until you get off. This deer was running like she had a pack of wolves after her. I think she stopped when she got to the big bank at the road. I could see just her head/ears next to the fence and I suspect she jumped the fence into the brushy, overgrown lot next to us.
Yesterday, the paving company arrived and took the asphalt off the part of the driveway that goes up the hill from the road. He left some paving at the end of the road in the event we did get a storm - didn’t want gravel washing into the road. It’s a good thing he did that because the road bed did wash ... gravel went sideways into the culvert. He’ll likely be smoothing out the rough road bed and putting down gravel today. The new loop to the front of the house was prepared last fall & just had to be driven/rained on to settle it ... one more layer of fine gravel & it’s ready for paving. All paving should happen next week. We’ll be stuck for 24 - 36 hours unable to drive on the straight driveway & 3 to 4 days of no driving on the loop. The paving contractor (in business for 69 years, father now son) is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s also a ‘perfectionist’ and does a really good job.
Today, I should be back on the barn lean-to project. It looks like I’m going to have one board left (of the 18 I brought from the old house). So far, I’m pleased with the way things are turning out - mom said it “looks nice” as well. Once the grass dries, I need to do some trimming, too ... the mailbox is across the road & we can hardly get to it.
Speaking of the mailbox, I ‘should’ be getting two cookbooks today: ‘The Victory Garden Cookbook’ (I have a copy packed up somewhere, but need Marian’s carrot cake recipe) & ‘The Best Casserole Book Ever’ by Beatrice Ojakangas ... it has 500 casserole recipes! Both are ‘used-good’ so didn’t cost much (free delivery, too). One friend from the Boston area, 2 couples from our old town & 2 repeat guests are going to be visiting over the next 2 to 3 months so I need ideas.