Gardening
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From Tuber to Bloom: Tracking My Indian Summer Dahlia (& Why You’ll Want to Track Yours)
If you’ve ever flipped over a dahlia tuber package or scoured the internet hoping to find out how long it takes dahlias to bloom, you already know the answer is somewhere between vague and useless. Dahlias can take anywhere from 45 to 120 days from planting to bloom, depending on variety, weather, and how happy…
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Dahlia Obsession: Beautiful, Mysterious, and Slightly Unreasonable
A few weeks ago, while working on my never-quite-finished mystery novel, I found myself stuck on a plot problem. I needed a character who was beautiful, dramatic, and could inspire obsession, poor decision-making, and financial ruin. Then I looked out the window at my dahlias. Problem solved. As a self-confessed dahlia addict and aspiring mystery…
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My Dahlias Are Thirsty (And Honestly, So Am I)
Every summer there comes a moment when I stop fantasizing about the flower farm life and start feeling like a volunteer firefighter on hose duty. The dahlias are thirsty. The zinnias are thirsty. The hanging baskets are thirsty. Even the weeds somehow look thirsty. And honestly, so am I. By late June, I’m dragging the…
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My Ugly Garden: Why I’ve Stopped Apologizing For It
There’s a strip of garden that runs along the side of my house, right next to the back door. You pass it every single time you go outside. Which means I have seen it approximately ten thousand times this season, and every single time I have thought: I really need to deal with that. Multiply that…
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Just One More
A few weeks ago, the planting part of the season was officially over. The budget was spent. The pots were full. Well, almost. To be honest, I still have five tubers sitting in my little urban greenhouse, waiting to be planted. But those just arrived. Black Satin, Shadow Cat, Ferncliff Midnight, and Gypsy Midnight, I…
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3 Ways I’m Staking My Dahlias This Season
All dahlia growers eventually learn the same thing: those big beautiful blooms need support. The first year I grew a dinnerplate dahlia, I learned this the hard way. Between summer storms, heavy flowers, and plants that seem to grow taller almost overnight, staking is one of those jobs that may not feel so important in…
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Protecting Dahlias From Heavy Rain
How I baby my newly planted dahlias through spring storms, and when I finally stop worrying There’s a particular kind of stress that only plant moms (and dads) understand: standing at the window watching the heavy rain roll in right after you’ve planted your dahlias. The weather app says three straight days of soaking rain.Your…
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Growing Dahlias in Containers: A Realistic Guide for Small Gardens, Patios, and Flower Lovers
Yes, you can grow dahlias in containers. In fact growing dahlias in pots brings it’s own special magic to the backyard. For me, it’s the way the patio changes over the season. It starts as this mix matched collection of potted dirt and a few hopeful little sprouts. Slowly it turns into corners overflowing with…
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My Simple Dahlia Fertilizing Plan
I started growing dahlias more than ten years ago. Back then, I’d pick up a few tubers from the local garden center each spring and, I hate to admit it, I treated them like annuals. Once I learned you could dig them up, store them, and replant them year after year, it completely changed the…