March Digest 2024

A Note From Our President

Hi all!

It was great to see everyone at the zoom meeting last month. Julie and Ryan from Stonehouse Dahlias gave a great presentation on their journey to provide their customers with health dahlias. If you missed it, you can catch the presentation on our YouTube channel.

March is one of my favorite times of the year. I get out all of my seed starting equipment, prep my dahlia cutting bed and start to clean up the garden outside (pruning my roses and hydrangeas are on my list to tackle).

It’s also time to start to ask members for tuber donations. We use these tubers both for our online sale as well as our new member kits (as of writing this we have 75 new members - welcome!!!). All of the proceeds from these sales fund our events throughout the year.

I hope to see you at the next meeting (will be on Zoom) where Mike Weber and I will show you how to take dahlia cuttings so you can increase your stock and maximize that tuber purchase!

Jess

Membership Renewals

It’s that time of the year again when membership renewals are due. If you are a returning member, your membership is good through 4/30/2024. You can renew on our website with the option to purchase just a DSO membership or an ADS membership as well. The DSO membership will cover all of the local meetings and events and with the ADS membership you will be a part of the larger parent organization and receive The Bulletin, their print publication three times a year.

If you want to mail your membership fees, you can download the application from our site and mail it to Nancy Riopelle.

To shop the tuber/plant sales you will need to be a paid member for the 2024-2025 season.

If you are unsure, please email Nancy at membership@dahliasocietyofohio.org and she can check for you.

Digest Question of the Month

We reached out to the membership to ask you which dahlia you’re most excited to grow this season. We had a number of great responses (and honestly - I’m excited for you and hope you can snag photos to share).

ZORRO
Waltzing Matilda
Saddle Rock Tiny Giant!! Its name tips an eyebrow skyward. Also, I love plum dahlias, and photos of this one weaken my knees
Waterlily Form seems to be so in demand right now and with good reason. I have only ever grown Pam Howden, but this year I am excited to grow some other WL varieties - if I can find them :-)
KA's Coral Sea and Bloomquist Blush
Jowey Winnie (This will be my third attempt at growing it; hopefully third time's a charm! Previous failures were my fault/ inexperience. But now that I’ve made lots of mistakes, hopefully the tuber I have coming will finally take.) The colors are my absolute favorite.
Anything bigger than BB. I've been intimidated to grow the bigger blooms
Hollyhill Black Beauty
Fawn was my 2024 unicorn and I was able to get a cutting this year!
Candlelight - glowing color and long-lasting when cut
Seedlings! To see those 1st ever blooms.
Belle of Barmera- never bloomed last year - will try with another tuber
KA’s Rosie Jo- I have been wanting to try the KA’s varieties for several years and finally snagged one. Curious to see if it lives up to the hype!
Bloomquist Jean; hopeful she will arrive healthy and with a visible eye. Finally succeeded in the dahlia war👍
The pooh dahlia. It did not grow last year for me, so I am ready to try again.
20th Ave for Mom. I was introduced to 20th Ave dahlias last season and loved how well the did. They are bred in similar temperature situations and I feel like that played a huge part in how well they did for me. I also heard that Rich is really excited about this release. It has to be good if it's named after Mom, right!
Peachy Parade
Rock run Ashley, looks like the perfect muted mauve color.
Bloomquist Compare. It will be my first “unicorn “ and I love the pictures.
I really like single dahlias, and I’d love to find the Mystic series but they’re in limited supply, but I like maroon colors and the blush colors like café au lait.
Dahlia Shooting Star, by seed, from Floret Flower Farm. I’ve been growing by tuber for 15+ years, but have never attempted to grow by seed before!
Bloomquist Orion! I'm excited to try this new (to me) variety, I think the form and petal shape are really interesting and I just have falled in love with orange flowers!"

Dahlia Mentors

The past couple of years we’ve had a mentorship program where some of our more experienced growers are paired with newer growers who are looking for help.

If you’re interested in getting a mentor or would like to become one, please email Jess at president@dahliasocietyofohio.org .

Upcoming In-Person Events

Quarterly Get Together

Join us on Apr 4, 2024 for a night out. We’ll be meeting at Slyman’s Tavern in Independence, 6901 Rockside Rd, Independence, OH 44131. There is no formal agenda, just a time to chat about dahlias.

We’ll meet there at 6:00 pm.

Grazing Party

Join members of the MVDS and the DSO for the annual Grazing Party* that is hosted by Jim Chuey and the Swaney’s.

It will be Apr 13, 2024, at noon at the Moebius Nature Center in Aurora Ohio. Bring an appetizer to share.

*Grazing Party - dahlia friends, grazing the food table and talking about dahlias!

Dahlias of Today

The new publication of the Dahlias of Today is out for 2024. It’s jam packed with a ton of information and it’s always a favorite to read. You can buy your copy on the Puget Sound Dahlia Association website.

In this issue they cover a number of topics but some of our favorites include:

An easier way to grow more dahlias
Leaf cutting update
Breeding waterlily dahlias
Growing and exhibiting big dahlias
The essential dahlia book
Becoming a pulse irrigation enthusiast

Dahlia Auction

The DSO will once again be hosting an auction for hard to get/popular dahlias which we haven’t done since pre-COVID. This will be the day before our tuber sale opens and there will be varieties at the auction that will not be available online. This event will be in-person, we’ll have some snacks and beverages available at the event. This will replace our April meeting.

Our very own Mike Weber will be the auctioneer and helping you part with your hard earned money. We will have a list of tubers available for auction posted the Monday before the event. I can assure you that I’ll personally be donating some KA’s, Coseytown and 20th Ave dahlias for you to bid on.

If you have dahlias that you’d like to donate specifically for the auction, please let Tammy or Jess know.

This event will be on April 19th, in person, at Furnace Run Metro Park, 4955 Townsend Rd., Richfield 44286 at 7:00 pm.

Please bring a form of payment with you, either a check or you can pay via Paypal. More details on the auction are below.

Plant and Tuber Sales

Tuber Sale

Our annual tuber and plant sales will again be held online this year. If you are interested in donating tubers to the sale (or for our new member kits) please contact Tammy May. Tammy will need to have your tubers in hand by Apr 12, 2024. All tubers must have a visible eye.

The tuber sale will be April 20-21st. Pick-up of tubers will be at Petitti’s in Oakwood on on April 27th from 10 am - 1 pm.

Plant Sale

The plant sale is tentatively scheduled for May 11th-12, 2024 with pick up on May 19th at Willoway Nursery.

The list of what tubers/plants that will be available for sale will be posted the week before along with instructions for the sale.

The sale is members only.

New Member Kits

Welcome to all our new members! We’re so thrilled to have you join us and are looking forward to getting to know you better in 2024.

Your pickup for your five free tubers will be on the same day as our tuber pick-up, April 27th from 10 am - 1 pm. Pick-up will be at Petitti’s in Oakwood.

Questions? Reach out to Veronica at newmembers@dahliasocietyofohio.org .

Member Spotlight

Name: Sue Wallin

City/Town: Akron, Ohio

Tell us a little about yourself: Susan Wallin, is a lecturer in Voice at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. She received a B.M., M.M., in Vocal Performance from Kent State University.

For many years, Susan performed as a professional opera singer. Known for her sparkling coloratura, her career includes notable performances as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Oper Der Stadt Köln, New York City Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Carolina, to name a few. Ms. Wallin owns a thriving private studio, West Side Vocal Academy, and is currently serving a 2-year term as President of the board of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ohio Chapter. Her daughter, Kalene, is an intervention specialist for the Akron Public Schools and her 2 dogs, Murray a Shih Tsu/Bichon mix, and Elsie, a Yorkshire Terrier, rescued from being a puppy mill breeder, continue to bring joy to her life.

Number of years growing dahlias: Most likely since 1997 when I purchased my home and started gardening!

How did you get into the world of dahlias? If you grow one Dahlia... how can you resist growing more? I just adore them! My fireplace tiles are custom made and feature a bouquet with Dahlias. And I just found an antique lamp shade with dahlias. They both provide me some solace while I wait with anticipation for summer bouquets fresh from the garden.

What is your favorite dahlia to grow? Any Dahlia... but it is hard to resist the grandeur of dinner plate dahlias. Particularly, the Kelvin Floodlight.

Social Media: Facebook

Name: Sharon Swaney

City/Town: Aurora OH

Tell us a little about yourself: I was born in Akron and have a math degree from the University of Akron. I’m a retired computer consultant (BFGoodrich, and Hewlett Packard). I’m married to Rob, who does all the heavy work on the dahlias. We have no children but four cats. I’m also on the board of the American Dahlia Society (ADS) and active in DSO and Mahoning Valley Dahlia Society (MVDS).

Number of years growing dahlias: Have grown dahlias 40+ years. My dad was an amazing gardener and grew dahlias when I was a little girl. A friend gave Rob and I some tubers shortly after we bought our first house...and the rest is history. Joined DSO about 20 years ago.

What is your favorite dahlia to grow? Choosing a favorite would be like choosing a favorite child - but I like big, floppy dahlias (A-AA, ID).

Social Media: Not a fan of social media...but I do websites, mostly for charities I care about - ADS, DSO, MVDS. Midwest Dahlia Conference. Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, Moebius Nature Center - and others.