With such mild fall temperatures here in Bedford, New York, my dahlias continue to bloom with gorgeous colors and forms.
Dahlia is a genus of tuberous plants that are members of the Asteraceae family and are related to the sunflower, daisy, chrysanthemum, and zinnia. They grow from small tubers planted in the spring. And from July through October, these flowers give off a stunning show with blooms ranging from small to giant dinner-plate size. Many of my dahlias are from Swan Island Dahlias in Oregon, from Floret in the State of Washington, and from The Flower Hat, a flower farm based in Bozeman, Montana.
Enjoy these photos.
This week is expected to be rainy here in the Northeast, but last week, my dahlia bed was bursting with fresh blooms. There are about 42 species of dahlia, with hybrids commonly grown as garden plants. The genus Dahlia is native to the high plains of Mexico. Some species can be found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica as well as parts of South America where it was introduced.
I have decorated my home with so many different dahlias this year, but there are so many still to enjoy.
Dahlias are among my favorite flowers. They begin to bloom with great profusion just as other plants pass their prime, and they last right up until the first frost.
Dahlias were first recorded by Westerners in 1615, and were then called by their original Mexican name, acoctli. The first garden dahlias reached the United States in the early 1830s. Today, dahlias are grown all over the world. This is a cactus type dahlia which features a double flower and long pointed ray petals that revolute or roll back along half their length giving it a spiky appearance.
Dahlias vary in height, leaf color, form, and shape. This is because dahlias are octoploids, meaning they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two. Flowers come one head per stem. The blooms can be as small as two-inches in diameter or up to one foot across.
The Dahlia is named after the Swedish 18th century botanist Anders Dahl, who originally declared the flower a vegetable, as the tubers are edible.
Dahlias come in white, shades of pink, red, yellow, orange, shades of purple, and various combinations of these colors – every color but true blue. In the 19th century, a London newspaper offered a pound, or a little more than a dollar, to the first breeder to create a blue dahlia—the reward was never claimed, but there have been many attempts that are near-blue.
Here is one in dark burgundy. Like many flower varieties, there is also no pure black variety—only dark reds and dark purples.
There are some 57,000 varieties of dahlia, with many new ones created each year. This is another cactus dahlia.
Dahlias are borne from tubers and are popularly grown for their long-lasting cut flowers.
The majority of dahlia species do not produce scented flowers or cultivars, but they are brightly colored to attract pollinating insects.
Dahlias thrive in rich, well-drained soil with a pH level of 6.5 to 7.0 and slightly acidic.
When planting dahlias, choose the location carefully – dahlias grow more blooms where they can have six to eight hours of direct sunlight. This dahlia garden is behind my vegetable greenhouse where it gets lots of sun and protection from strong winds.
This is a single with just one row of petals surrounding the center yellow disc. Experiment with varieties – dahlias look great arranged in different colors.
To prevent wilting, cut only in the early morning or late afternoon. And only cut them after they open to mature size – dahlias will not open after cutting.
And always strip off all leaves that would be below the water line in the vase. This is true for all flower arrangements, not just dahlias. When leaves stay underwater, they decay and release bacteria that shorten the vase life of the flowers. And change the water daily so they look fresh and last longer.
Dahlias are common wedding flowers, not only for their looks but also for their symbolic meaning. During the Victorian era, dahlias were a symbol of commitment and everlasting union. They are also used to represent inner strength, creativity, and elegance.
Another fact – before insulin, the tubers of dahlias were used to balance blood sugar due to their high fructose content. The petals were used to treat dry skin, infections, rashes, and insect bites.
This dahlia is light peach with a dark yellow center.
This dark magenta bloom is one of the bigger dahlias – these blooms can reach nearly 12-inches in diameter.
By early November in this area, all the dahlia flowers are gone. Always wait until the foliage has turned brown before digging them up. This is important so that the plant can gather energy for the following year. It will store starches in the tuber which will fuel initial sprouting in summer. The best time is a couple weeks after the first frost when they’re well into dormancy yet haven’t been harmed by the cold.
There are so many different kinds of dahlias and every one of them pretty. If you don’t already, I hope this inspires you to grow your own. What are your favorites?
One of the best times to visit the Northeast is during autumn when one can enjoy the glorious colors of the season.
Cheryl DuLong and Wendy Norling, who work up at Skylands, my home in Maine, love the outdoors and nature. They often keep me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. Here are some wonderful fall images captured while walking around Skylands.
Enjoy.
It’s always nice to see the photos taken by others at my homes. Cheryl took this photo leading to the main driveway at Skylands. The changing leaves look so beautiful mixed with the evergreens.
This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The trees cast such interesting shadows on the wall. The small tree on the left is witch hazel. Witch hazel is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae and is closely related to the sweet gum. Most species flower from January to March and if given enough room to spread and grow, they will display a beautiful and fragrant border of spidery blooms when everything else is still winter gray.
From this location at one of the natural pools of Skylands, one can see some of “Rockefeller’s teeth” at the top – large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails.
Below the evergreens on the woodland floor are lots and lots of pine needles. I like to collect some of the fallen brown colored pine needles and use them to cover the footpaths around my home.
The leaves are turning everywhere. These stone steps lead to the lost pool.
This is what the lost pool looks like in fall – now drained of water and cleaned. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
On top of the Western Terrace, one can see the kiwi vines on the lattice pergola. All the kiwi vines are original to the property.
The kiwi vines show such beautiful autumn color. These are at the corner of the Living Hall window. Growing hardy kiwi vines requires extensive space – they can grow more than 20 feet tall.
This is the view of the dining room windows below Terrace 1. The large maple tree, Acer, overlooks the newly trimmed scented geraniums. Scented geraniums, Pelargonium, are grown for their fragrant leaves that can mimic rose, pineapple, or even chocolate mint.
Here is a fall scene of some of the changing colors of the ferns at Skylands. These are hay scented ferns, Dennstaedtia punctilobula. The fronds release a fragrance reminiscent of fresh mown hay when brushed with a hand.
More of “Rockefeller’s teeth” can be seen on the right. On the left is Acer pensylvanicum, better known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple – a small North American species of maple tree.
One never tires from this beautiful view of Seal Harbor. Little Cranberry, one of the five islands of the Town of Cranberry Isles, Maine, can be seen on the left. Great Cranberry is on the right. Also out there – Baker Island, which marks the southwestern entrance to Frenchman Bay. It’s a very different view this time of year when most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings.
Cheryl took this photo from the charming Ox Ledge gazebo looking out one of its windows. The gazebo opens to this beautiful large flat garden surrounded by majestic trees.
Some of the trees have already lost all their leaves.
On the ground, Wendy inspects a group of leaves – maple leaves and one poplar tree leaf in the lower right hand corner. Mixed in are the leaves of a blueberry bush and some moss. Moss is a slow growing wild plant that I often love to use to create miniature woodland garden arrangements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
Wendy looks up to snap this photo of another changing maple tree next to an evergreen. The colors change largely because of the changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature. The leaves stop their food-making process, the chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors emerge.
Here, on a moss-covered rock – a moose maple leaf on top and a regular maple leaf on the bottom. The leaves of a moose maple are broad and soft, three to six inches long with three shallow forward-pointing lobes.
This is down by the shop where we cook lobsters during summer. This maple tree looks so beautiful above the cooker.
In Maine, my vegetable and flower garden are together in one large space completely surrounded by a tall lattice wood fence. Here is the back fence with more fall color behind it.
Wendy took this image of the maple leaves through one of the square holes in the fence.
I love the layers of color created by all the changing leaves. The most brightly colored foliage is found in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia, northern and western Europe, the Caucasus region near the Black Sea, Russia, eastern Asia, Argentina, Chile, southern Brazil, Korea, Japan and New Zealand’s South Island.
And here’s another view of the woodland looking from the road to the playhouse. This is peak “leaf peeping” here in the Northeast. Soon all the deciduous trees will be bare. If you’re in the area this weekend, I hope you’re able to enjoy some nature’s gorgeous autumn colors.
Fall preparations for all my potted plants continue around my Bedford, New York farm.
This time of year, my gardeners and all the members of my outdoor grounds crew are very busy - cleaning out the greenhouses, assembling long garden tables for smaller specimens, and repotting many of my precious plants, including some of my camellias. Camellias are highly prized for their exquisite blooms, splendid evergreen foliage, and compact habits. These shrubs blossom prodigiously for weeks, from late fall to mid-spring, showing off beautiful shades of white, cream, pink, and red.
Enjoy these photos.
Camellias are attractive evergreen shrubs. Here is one with a couple of buds just waiting to open.
I love camellias and have a good number of them in my collection. Many are from Nuccio’s Nurseries, Inc. in Altadena, California. Camellias thrive in mild climates from California to Florida and are available in thousands of cultivars. The most common species of camellias are Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua.
Camellias are easy to grow in containers and will thrive with the right care and conditions. Because camellias do not tolerate wet feet, be sure to plant in a container that drains well. I like to place a shard over the drainage hole of all my pots, so none of the potting mix falls out.
Always use fresh potting soil when transplanting as old potting mix tends to be soggy and depleted of nutrients. Here, Brian fills the pot about a third full with the medium.
Camellias prefer well-drained, acidic soil, preferably with a pH between 5.0 and 6.5. We use a well-draining organic soil mix filled with nutrient-rich compost. For camellias, just avoid using fine peat moss in the mix, which tends to quickly become too dry or too wet.
When repotting, be sure to select a container that is at least one size larger than the old pot. This camellia root ball is in good condition.
Using a hori hori knife, Brian scarifies the roots, or cuts some of the old, outer roots to stimulate more growth and promote good aeration.
Brian adjusts the plant in the container, so it sits at the same depth as it did in its original pot. When keeping potted camellias, they will require repotting every two or three years as they outgrow their vessels.
And then backfills the potted plant until just under the rim of the pot, so watering doesn’t get too messy.
Finally, Brian lightly tamps down on the soil to ensure it is well packed.
Each potted camellia also gets a sprinkling of Osmocote fertilizer – small, round coated prills filled with nutrients.
Brian stopped for a quick photo – just one or two more to go…
The leaves of a camellia are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and glossy.
Buds start to form in mid-summer and then open from fall through early spring.
A couple of my camellias already have gorgeous blooms – this one is still unfurling. Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to 12 centimeters in diameter.
Here is another still opening. The beautiful camellia flowers come in mainly white and shades of pink or red, and various combinations.
This is what a flower looks like in full bloom. This photo was taken last February. Camellia ‘Elizabeth Weaver’ has large formal double flowers in coral pink.
Here’s another pretty camellia flower from last winter – ‘Nuccio’s Pearl’ with full double blooms and pure white petals edged with an orchid pink blush.
These camellias will all be kept in my tropical greenhouse for the cold season, where they can be closely monitored. When selecting a spot for a potted camellia, be sure it gets partial shade and protection from hot afternoon sunlight, as container-grown camellias dry out much faster than shrubs planted in the ground. Also water the plant deeply whenever the top two to four inches of potting mix feels dry to the touch and let it drain completely.
Camellias have a reputation for being somewhat difficult to grow, but if one is willing to meet their needs, they’ll reward you with a long bloom season just when you need it most. I am looking forward to seeing all their stunning flowers this winter.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
