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.
Danlye JonesHost
