Topic of the week: Dahlia species and related Genera

Robert Hamilton roberth6@mac.com
Mon, 14 Jul 2003 05:10:07 PDT
Hi Uli ,

Thanks for the  introduction.

I am  very  fond  of "Tree Dahlias" which    to  me  means the  single  
pink form of Dahlia  imperialis  which is  grown  commonly  in gardens  
   where I  live. It  grows  to  about  3 metres and  flowers in  early  
winter before heavy  frost and  tends  to  be  quite  an  open  leggy 
plant. I  also  grow a semi double  white form which  is not  so  tall 
- about  2 metres and a  much  more dense clump  -  to  my  eye a  much 
  better garden  plant . Unfortunately  it  flowers several  weeks  
later than the  single  pink and  therefore  is  not  often  enjoyed. 
This  year our  winter  was quite  mild  until   June  21 (our  
shortest  day) and  I  had a  nice display of  flowers almost  ready  
to  photograph. We then   had  -2C  and  -1C two nights in a  row  .  
Next  weekend I  cut them  all down (saving  plenty of  cuttings.)

I  grow them in  full sun and  wind in  our new  garden  hoping that in 
years  to  come  as  trees and  shrubs  grow they  will get  more 
protection from  frost.

I  also  grow  Dahlia coccinea var palmeri thanks  to  Uli and  find it 
  flowers almost  continuously  from summer  to  frost. For  me  thus  
far  it  has only reached 1 metre tall and is  also a   wonderful 
garden  plant.

I have  raised 4  seedlings  of  Dahlia merkii this  year  so  should 
be able  to  share my  experiences with this  next  summer.

Cheers,

Rob in Tasmania
Zone 9




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