Dahlia is in demand for weddings and eventsRichard Uva, PhDSeaberry FarmFederalsburg, MDMarch 2018

Dahliashave the color pallet for for fall events

Dahlias can give you the trendy colors your customers desire.

They work well with “local” flower varieties as well as roses

And they work with classic as well as green trends

Dahlia Topics Calendar Cuttings Soil preparation Planting Staking Pest control Harvest Digging tubers

Dahlia Origin Highlands of Central

America and Mexico

Grow best in cool, sunny conditions

Not hardy in USDA Zone 7

Named after Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist

Dahlias are horrible plants to grow in our climate…but our customers love them.

Amateur breeding weak stems short vase life Expensive to buy not winter hardy/ suffer summer heat disease and insect prone hard to dig and store difficult to propagate

Summer and fall colors are available in dahlia, maybe too many choices!

Think like Crayola to narrow your choices. Make a small box of crayons!

Choose wisely. Colors you customers need.

Sales Sheet for customers

A picture and description.

We supply 13 varieties in large quantity.

Seaberry Farm Production CalendarMarch—begin cutting production in greenhouseMay—planting on the 10th.June—heavy weeding

--prep customers for fall salesJuly—stakingAugust

--start pest control program--begin harvest

September—harvest--take stock plant cuttings for next year (Sept 1)

October—harvestNovember—dig and store tubers

Cuttings At Seaberry Farm we propagate dahlias by

cuttings in our greenhouse.

Cuttings can also be purchased. The Karma Dahlia Series are the most common cuttings available and are produced in the US by Bosgraff Greenhouse in MI. & Brokered by Germania Seed.

Plantmasters (MD) and Wollam Gardens (VA) are two local growers that produce their own cuttings.

Cutting production requires facilities Greenhouse to maintain stock plants, the

source for cuttings Mist bench, shade, bottom heat, hormone to

aid rooting

Stock Plants

Soil preparation We make raised beds to aid with cultivation and to

account for some low spots in the field. Dahlia needs good drainage.

NUTRIENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL CUT FLOWER PRODUCTION, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, November 2009, Regulatory Citation: COMAR 15.20.08.05

Consider 2 – 3 way split application of N because of dahlia’s long growing season.

Soil pH 6.5

Planting Spacing typically 3ft in the row for tubers

when individually staked or often 2ft with cuttings in paired rows on plastic.

At Seaberry Farm we space cuttings at 1 ft. in the row with 4 ft. between paired rows. Tight in-row spacing to bolster stand establishment for mechanical weeding.

For us cuttings are easy to produce, we grow a lot and space them closely.

Spacing and Trellising

Spacing depends on field operations and trellis techniques.

Staking--Florida Tomato Weave vs. Netting

Tenax Hortonova NetUse synthetic tomato twine not natural sisal

Pest Control Root diseases—keep pots well drained. In the

greenhouse we use Rootshield and Banrot for water mold diseases.

Dahlia get viruses that we can’t cure. Discard symptomatic and stunted plants.

Flowers are eaten by Tarnished Plant Bug, Cucumber Beetle and Caterpillars; we use Bifenthrin and Conserve (Spinosad)

Powdery mildew is a big problem, we use Chlorothalonil and Phyton 35 (Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate).

We use Diquat (Reward), a ‘burn down’ herbicide registered for ornamental use as a shielded spray directed away from the crop.

Virus symptom

Harvest Cut when almost

open. Sleeve for

protection. We pass bunches

through chlorine tablet treated water.

Then hold in low sugar preservative.

Too tight

Too open

Digging Tubers We dig in November. We split the clumps

into 2-4 pieces. Pack directly into

totes and cover with wood shavings.

Store in cooler. We dig with ‘turn of

the century’technology…but which century!

Tuber propagation Most commonly by tubers Buds (eyes) are on the

stem Dormant buds are hard

to see Divide right after digging

or after sprouting begins in spring

Cramer’s Posy Patch (PA)—on white plastic in high tunnel to extend season (June 27, 2012).

Wollam Gardens (VA)– held a dahlia festival in late summer. Grows with liquid fertilizer injected under ground cloth in permanent overwintering beds. Uses net and side support.

Ron Peterman (Salisbury, MD)—credits partial shade from the woods for long stem growth and quality.

Belvedere Farm, Fallston, MD, William Harlan, uses tomato staking method.

Seaberry Farm, Federalsburg, MD

Thanks to Chris Wien for presentation materials. And thanks to my dedicated dahlia harvest crew.

References

How to Grow Dahlias, Swan Island Dahlias. http://www.dahlias.com/howtogrowdahlias.aspx

The Insider's Guide to Cut Flower Dahlias. Kindle eBook, Lane Greer, ASCFG.

Specialty Cut Flowers. Armitage and Laushman, Timber Press.