The previous winter was very kind to us in West Riding of Yorkshire
apart from one minor hiccup in February and this enabled growers
to get on with the jobs trimming the dahlia tubers, preparing
the propagating beds and eventually plunging the tubers which
had suffered only minimal storing losses. When the planting time
had arrived the dahlia plants had made very good growth.
For one who has been growing dahlias for over thirty years I made
a shocking mistake at propagating time. Having space to spare
and being mindful of saving heating expenses I sowed all my dahlia
seeds at the same time. Although we are told that germination
is erratic I had a mass of seedlings to pot up on top of other
work. The lesson to be learned is not to put down any work that
one cannot easily accomplish and in future I shall ‘stagger’
the sowing of the dahlia seeds into three weekly stages. Timing
the work is also important. It is advisable to plant out the dahlia
seedlings after the standard exhibition varieties are in situ.
When I have read recently that the Midlands have had an ideal
season and that the Scottish dahlia growers have had a wet one,
I get a little envious. I’ve remarked before about the dry
weather in Morley, well this season was no exception. From planting
out time until the first blooms appeared we had only about four
hours rain and this weather pattern continued until the end of
October.
I have always believed that the weather will eventually level
itself out. On an annual basis and at the end of the season come
the inevitable question - when to lift the dahlia tubers? In my
case, because I grow so many, I set a date irrespective of conditions
- this is the last Monday in October. This job usually takes a
couple of weeks owing to variable weather and this year the policy
certainly paid dividends. The tubers were lifted in good conditions
and were dry enough to be taken straight into the greenhouse.
Two days after completing the lift the first snowfall of autumn
arrived - followed by heavy rain. In situation of someone who
only grows a few dahlias it is preferable to wait until the foliage
is frosted before lifting. But I believe in the old adage that
having done the job is better than having it to do.
This year I had about 300 dahlia seedling tubers, grown from the
previous season. which had not, for some extraordinary reason,
produced blooms. This is a real sword of Damocles situation as
all, or most of them are going to be discarded as not being suitable
for requirements, yet there is always the off chance that there
is going to be a good dahlia amoung them. Anyhow, all were planted
and several were marked for further appraisal. It is always wise
to grow again any tubers which have not produced blooms during
the initial season even although the success rate is minimal.
I also planted out 800 first year dahlia seedlings plus six hundred
plants of standard varieties. As the season developed it became
evident that unless the plants were given a thorough soaking the
growth would become ‘woody’ with a subsequent loss of
size and quality. Many early visits to the allotment in order
to have a sole use of a hosepipe were necessary.
Most of the local shows suffered in quantity of blooms exhibited
and a decrease in quality was also noted. The following varieties
were all N.D.S. Silver
Medal winners:- Kiwi Gloria (3); Conway; Sherwood Standard; Ina
Spurs; Suffolk
Spectacular; Hamari Gold; Vino; Reginald Keene; White Rustig and
Pink Jupiter.
A new feature at both the National Dahlia Society Shows at Westminster
and Harrogate was the new Bikini Award for Best Vase of Dahlias
in Show. At Westminster the winning vase was of Ruskin Diane exhibited
by Tim Dale whilst at Harrogate the award was given to a superb
vase of Kiwi Gloria shown by David Boyd. At the Westminster show
an excellent new variety was exhibited in the Phillip Damp Class
for overseas varieties, this was Kenora Challenger, a white large
semi-cactus dahlia raised by Gordon Leroux of the United States
of America. This one, I believe has a very bright future and will
fill a much wanted need in this particular classification if and
when it becomes available.
The National Dahlia Society Show at Harrogate was arguably the
best ever staged at that venue. In the Individual Championship
there were twelve entries and at the end of judging David Boyd’s
winning margin was half a point. Another striking feature at the
Harrogate Show was the magnificent display of giant dahlia blooms,
both from George Tomlinson and also the Scottish exhibitors. The
Scottish exhibitors are now a force to be reckoned with even at
the highest level.
Some fifty varieties were planted at the Bradford trials for exhibition
dahlias and owing to the vagaries of the Yorkshire weather the
first judging date was delayed for two weeks. The head propagator
at Bradford, Eric Furness plus Brian Owen, the co-ordinator and
Martin Turner, the recorder deserve to be congratulated on an
annual event which is now considered to be an essential part of
the dahlia calendar.
The following varieties were either grown or seen this season
and comments may be of interest. Some may have been mentioned
previously and classifications are of a personal opinion:CRYFIELD
KEENE: L.S.C. Another Keene sport and this one is what I would
term a cloudy lavender. Has all the qualities of its relatives
and will be a useful acquisition for large semi-growers.
MY PRIDE: Raised by George Tomlinson. This orange/bronze variety
produced some magnificent blooms in the Bradford trials. Has a
stem like an iron railing. Should do well in a ‘hot’
section.
PINK PASTELLE: M.S.C. dahlia not to be confused with Candy Pastelle.
This one was exhibited with success at both the National Shows
and showed no evidence of ‘fimming’. Has a bright future.
POLVENTON Small Ball dahlia. Yellow. One of the better varieties
in this
SUPREME: section. Has adequate size, petal depth and the centre
was consistently good. Very prolific during the season.
BARBARRY GEM: Min. Ball dahlia. Aptly named this dark red variety
produced a mass of excellent blooms during the summer. A small
bloom for the section but on the basis that quality overides mere
size this one should win many red tickets.
SYMPHONY PRIDE: M.S.C. dahlia an excellent sport of Pearl Sharowean
Pride. This light yellow looked to be a good prospect for exhibition.
FORMBY SUPREME: M.D. dahlia a yellow reflexed variety that will
win its share of red tickets. Has very good form and size and
will be much in demand when better known.
CARSTONE SUNBEAM: S.D. dahlia not many reflexed small decoratives
around but this one is one of the better varieties in the formation.
Reminded me of a yellow version of Keltie.
BRAD MET: S.D. dahlia a delightful mixture of yellow and bronze.
A possibility for exhibition, but an absolute must for the garden
and cut flower work.
HILLCREST ALBINO: M.S.C. dahlia I found that if this variety was
‘pushed’ that the form suffered. Regarded by some growers
as a large but was a medium on my ground. Very prolific.
HILLCREST DESIRE: S.C. dahlia this red variety had excellent form
and size. Looked to be a better variety when covered.
GLENBANK Pompon dahlia. An excellent variety which I believe originated
in
HONEYCOMBE: Australia. Similar in form and habit to Pop Willo.
Produced a multitude of good blooms during the summer.