May Digest 2024
Dear Dahlia Friends,
Happy May! Please read below for a note from our President, information about our upcoming plant sale, and profiles of DSO members..
Meg
If you'd like to be featured in future issues of the Digest please email me at digest@dahliasocietyofohio.org.
A Note From Our President
May is such an exciting time for us dahlia lovers! It's when we really get our hands dirty and start planting those beauties. I already dove in to my planting frenzy, and fingers crossed, by the time Meg sends this out, my dahlias will be all planted for the season. I try to get mine in my raised beds as soon as I can to get early blooms. This year I’m taking a bit of a chance but I do have frost cloth waiting should things get chilly still. I think Meg’s question for this issue of the Digest is so timely because I’m sure we all plant at different times and it’s fun to see when everyone else is planting theirs. For those who exhibit their dahlias, they often wait to plant until later this month or early June to have the best blooms they can in time for the shows.
It was great seeing everyone at the events this past month, and so fun to catch up with everyone. We had a great auction (my first time participating), in addition to a successful tuber sale. A big thanks to all who donated tubers, as well as those who helped to put on the sales. I hope you all know how thankful I am for your help with everything.
If you missed out on the auction/tuber sales, we do still have the upcoming plant sale where you can snag some of your favorite dahlias. See the details below for the upcoming sale.
We will also be back on zoom for this month’s regularly scheduled meeting with our speaker, Don Landek touching on Pest Control Without Chemicals. I was late to the game with this last year but ordered some Amblyseius swirskii to clean up some of the thrips I was seeing and had great results with it. I’ve already put out some ladybugs to hopefully get a head start on all the aphids that seem to be around my roses, so I’m excited to see what else Don can teach us.
The other event that I want to remind members of is the Celebration of Life being held for Tony Evangelista on May 18th. I’ll send out a separate email with details closer to the date. I hope to see some of you there as we remember this extraordinary friend and grower. ❤
Jess
Digest Question of the Month
We reached out to the membership to ask you when you will be planting out your dahlia tubers and plants. Most members are planting Mid May, weather permitting, while a few members have already started, and a few are waiting until around Memorial Day. See below for some of your comments about planting out!
Would love to have gotten them potted, and to get them planted, earlier, but there are too few hours in the day to do it all, and work, home and kids have to come before dahlias (at least for now).
I just don’t trust the weather in northeast Ohio. Even though I’m sure I could plant a little sooner, the cold and rainy weather makes me nervous.
Last year I didn’t plant till Memorial day and had lots of blooms from Aug- October. This year I am planting early to get more mature seeds.
Don't rush to plant to early. i know we are all anxious to start our 2024 dahlia season. good luck to all.
The later the better in a (feeble) attempt to be show-ready for mid-September.
The middle of May is usually safe for all plantings.
My soil temp is currently registering around 65 and I have lots of sprouts....these babies are ready to GROW!!
Relatively warm April weather has allowed me to plant tubers earlier than in the past. The somewhat dry weather also ensures that the tubers won't rot.
I have lots of frost cloth (just in case) and a very well draining spot for them. And remember, we had a hard frost at the end of May last year!
The temperatures have been very warm so I think it’s safe to plant. But even more than that, I missed digging parts of two tubers last fall and they have been up for more than a week now. To me that says the soil is warm enough to plant.
Waiting for the DSO plant sale. :)
Plant Sale
The plant sale is scheduled for May 11th-12, 2024 with pick up on May 19th at Willoway Nursery, 4534 Center Rd, Avon, OH 44011.
The list of what tubers/plants that will be available for sale will be posted this week before along with instructions for the sale.
Ideally you pay for your purchase via the website, but we will also be accepting cash/checks at the plant sale.
DSO Merchandise
Want to get some DSO swag and donate to the club at the same time? You can check out our online store where we have a number of clothing & accessory options for you. The DSO gets a small portion of each sale.
Member Spotlight!
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.
This event will be on April 19th, in person, at Furnace Run Metro Park, 4955 Townsend Rd., Richfield 44286 at 7:00 pm.
We will have a list of dahlias available for auction posted the Monday before the event.
If you have dahlias that you’d like to donate specifically for the auction, please let Tammy or Jess know.
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 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. If we have extras we may open to the general public.
DSO Merchandise
Want to get some DSO swag and donate to the club at the same time? You can check out our online store where we have a number of clothing & accessory options for you. The DSO gets a small portion of each sale.
Member Spotlight!
Make it stand out
Name: Milli Morrison
City/Town: Kingsville
Tell us a little about yourself: I am Director of eCommece at a local Cleveland based arts and crafts company and live in Ashtabula County with my husband, Craig. I am a hobby gardener and grow mostly flowers, but some vegetables too. I am a Master Gardener and enjoy spending most of my time outdoors gardening or admiring our beautiful pollinators. I currently manage the social media accounts for the DSO and have enjoyed meeting so many new flower friends through this group!
Number of years growing dahlias: 4 years
How did you get into the world of dahlias? I moved to a house that the previous homeowner left a dahlia in one of her flower beds and I absolutely fell in love with this magical flower. The layers of colorful petals the endless number of varieties convinced me that I did not just need one dahlia, I needed as many as I could fit in my garden. This has quickly escalated to about 80+ dahlias this year!
What is your favorite dahlia to grow? My favorite dahlias (at the moment) are Caitlyn’s Joy and Coralie, although I have a feeling KA Cinder Rose may win my heart this year.
Social Media: Instagram:@milli.morrison
Name: Jerry Moreno
City/Town: Chagrin Falls
Tell us a little about yourself: I am a statistics professor at John Carroll University, 40 years full-time, the past 15 years part-time. Also, for decades I have been involved with mathematics education for grades k-12, primarily giving workshops in mathematics and statistics for teachers. I have been a presenter nationally and internationally. It's been a wonderful career, winding down but still not over.
How did you get into the world of dahlias? My main hobbies are dahlias in the summer and model railroading (HO scale) in the winter. But it seems like dahlias have taken over most of the year! Ron and Barb Miner with my wife MaryAnn and I used to play bridge. One evening around 1990 Ron asked if I would be interested in growing dahlias. Grow what I asked? He brought 5 tubers, one of which was Manor Sunset as I recall. Soon thereafter, I built eight raised beds that contain six dahlias each. And so I continue to grow 48.
Regarding DSO, I was Secretary when Ron was President. Then I became the Dahlia Digest Editor for many years and was talked into being President, a position I held for 15 years with Mike Weber interspersing six years. Since Jess has thankfully taken over the presidency I have found myself coordinating our four shows when Dave Cap suddenly passed away. Thankfully to several wonderful dahlia friends, each show now has co-chairs in an effort to make my job much easier. Speaking of dahlia friends, that's the real beauty of growing dahlias. The friends I have made in the dahlia world have made my life wonderful. Thanks to all.
What is your favorite dahlia to grow? All dahlias are my favorite but perhaps Kenora Wildfire sneaks to the top of the list. The problem is that my yard is very shady so growing large blooms is problematic.
