Explore every episode of the podcast Dahlia Hotline

The conversation revolves around the experiences and challenges faced by two dahlia growers, Christin and Danlye, as they discuss their current activities in the field, including tagging, photographing, and preparing for winter growing. They share insights on plant care, mislabeling issues, and the importance of proper tagging to ensure successful blooms and accurate identification of their dahlias. The conversation delves into the intricacies of growing and storing dahlias, emphasizing the importance of understanding plant behavior in relation to seasonal changes and environmental factors. It also highlights practical experiences and lessons learned from gardening, particularly in managing tuber production and storage methods. The conversation focuses on the best practices for harvesting, storing, and preparing dahlias for the end of the growing season, emphasizing the importance of proper techniques to ensure healthy tubers and successful blooms in the following year.

Takeaways

• Importance of proper tagging
• Challenges of mislabeling plants Understanding seasonal plant behavior
• Effective dahlia storage techniques Proper storage techniques for tubers
• Importance of frost protection

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Dahlia Farming
• 00:56 Current Activities in the Field
• 03:00 Seedling Development and Breeding
• 04:45 Tagging and Identifying Plants
• 09:04 Weather Monitoring and Plant Care
• 12:57 Best Practices for Tagging Dahlias
• 17:05 Overwintering Dahlias and Experimentation
• 21:53 The Insulating Power of Snow
• 25:18 Learning Through Gardening Experiences
• 30:01 Fertilizing and Plant Care in Late Season
• 35:13 Storing Dahlias: Best Practices
• 41:44 Trial and Error in Gardening Solutions
• 47:08 Harvesting and Storing Tubers
• 52:36 Preparing for Frost and Season End
• 01:00:18 Dealing with Plant Diseases and Galls

Danlye Jones of Vynehill (zone 5a) and Christin Allen of Black Penny Farms (zone 6b) kick off Dahlia Hotline with an honest look at a brutal late-season dahlia year: flooding, drought, wind, spider mites, and rodents. Then they get practical about the decisions that still need to be made before digging season.

Whether you're a hobby grower with pots on a patio, a suburban farm, or running a full-sized flower farm, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• How to adapt your dahlia growing plan when the weather takes over
• Why the same variety performs differently in different soil, and why soil and leaf tissue tests matter
• Spider mites in drought and heat, plus rodent and raccoon damage
• A drill-and-auger method for planting dahlias and bulbs
• How to photograph and label dahlia varieties before fall changes them
• When to dig dahlia tubers, and why there's no single right date
• How to store dahlia tubers: peat moss vs. potting soil vs. coco, and basement, barn, and garage storage
• How to decide which cultivars to cut from next year's list

Timestamps:
01:29 How the season has gone
01:43 Flooding and damage control
04:52 Zinnias as a sanity saver
07:32 Soil differences and watering
09:05 Why soil tests matter
11:03 Spider mites in drought and heat
12:09 Rodents and raccoons
14:20 The drill-and-auger planting method
18:30 Tulips and daffodils
23:46 Photographing and labeling varieties
28:25 Cutting cultivars from next year's list
31:29 Creating a premium tuber unboxing experience
35:42 When to dig dahlia tubers
38:22 Storage: heated barns, basements, and garages
42:39 Peat moss, potting soil, and coco
45:31 Using Brix readings to compare plant health
49:35 What's coming next on the show

Have a dahlia question? Send it in and we'll answer it on the show. New episodes every week.