Dahlia Society of California |
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NEXT MEETING:
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Who will bring treats? |
With autumn underway, many of us are beginning to think about improvements for next year's dahlia garden. One of the most fundamental concerns for every dahlia grower is maintaining healthy soil. This usually means providing adequate levels of N, P, and K as well as ensuring that our soil pH is correct. Surprisingly, correcting the pH should be done in the fall/winter. Lou Lombardo will give a short primer on low-cost soil testing and the corrective measures to be taken. | ||
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DAHL-MAZING! DAHL-NIFICENT! Congratulations to the 8 great novices whose blooms challenged judge Tinnee & apprentice judge Joe. John showed Glenbank Twinkle, remarkable for being grown in a 6” pot. DJ won with his signature Sean C. Frank nabbed blue with his stunning Fern Irene. Kim scored with both Scarborough Brilliant & Glenbank Twinkle. |
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Bill’s Swan’s Sunset took A honors, despite a glaringly large un-disbudded sprout, which Lou niftily plucked for his potting bench. Queen of the big boys, Barbara cleaned up in the AA’s with Hanna Hitosji. (Where does she discover these terrific tubers?) |
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Barbara’s Steve drilled holes near the top of 5-gallon buckets where she twisty tied stout dowels to keep her big bruisers erect and safe during transport. Very clever. Melissa claimed double blues with Franz Kafka & a fabulous x3 Mingus Whitney. Wow! |
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Defending his perfect record, Lou Lombardo added yet another best Novice Bloom with a lovely Camano Pet topping off his five other firsts: Al Almand, Kenora Fireball, Crossfield Ebony, Be a Sport, & Bishop of Llandaff. |
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THE SAN FRANCISCO
DAHLIA SHOW - 2004 |
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Deborah nailed Amateur Sweeps with Best Novelty, Shinkyoku; Best BI, Jessica; Best AA, Fantasia; Best BB, Pink Suffusion; & once again Best Anemone, Blue Bayou. Given 25 extraordinary Hamari Accords to choose from, Roy Stier crowned the show with the Best of the Best to win Open Sweepstakes. Every one ooohed his Simon’s Honor, a big AA. |
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Clinching Best x5 WL for the fourth time in a row, Tinnee reprised her exquisite x5 Bea Paradise. Who dangled the rosette for Best Novice Bloom from his rearview mirror, but Lou Lombardo for Camano Messenger. Coming down from the hillside, Erik G. & Shelley won Best WL, Pam Howden. |
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By inputting all evening, Jytte produced brilliant spreadsheets Sunday morning. Gerda typed in the early dawn so all the winners displayed clear labels, including team Juul for Best 2003-4 Intro, Sorbet; Smallest, Mi Wong; Peony, Brenda Sue; Dahlia Hall of Fame, Kenora Clyde; & winning form with Matthew Juul for Best MS, x5, & x3. How did Gerda ever get 13 Taratahi Rubies so well organized? |
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Lou Paradise almost single-handedly decorated the risers with: x3 BI, Jessica; Paradise Intro; Juul Intro; O, Juul’s Star; Best disc Matthew Juul; Stellar, Camano Pet; P, Mi Wong; Second year seedling; Best A; potted MS; x3 double, Camano Pet; x5 colors; & x3 Flower of the Year as well as sweeping Arrangements, despite challenges from Kim with a darling Chinese theme. His new tricolored seedling attracted People’s Choice. Despite the debilitating heavy morning dew, Lou wrested 7 magnificent Pink Jupiters for a mass display. Wow! Special thanks to Lou for arranging for the lunch for the judges & clerks on Saturday, and set up so professionally done by Mary. |
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Congratulations to Team Marr for their Flower of the Year, My Robynn & a stunning Creekside Volcano. Bill Bagley practically had to lead his snarling Spartacus in on a chain. Barbara staged 2 giants: Bodacious & Penhill Watermelon. DJ’s Rolf & Show ‘n’Tell caught the crowd’s attention. Melissa had another dainty Skipley Spot of Gold as well as a big Pink Jupiter. |
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Diana’s San Francisco Sunrise & Franck’s Robin Hood took blues. What beautiful color Kim’s x5 Scarborough Brilliants displayed. |
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What a chore faced the photo judges; more pictures were entered than ever before. Janet Thelan captured Snapshot with an evocative “Ageless Beauties.” Joan House shot Flora & Fauna with Mrs. Wienano wielding a huge Creve Coeur. DJ depicted the Dell for Garden Division & new member, Franck Avril mounted Best Single Variety. |
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Click here for many more pictures of
the DSC 2004 Annual show |
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HEAT WAVE, BUGS, RHAPSODY: All DSCer’s who attended the National Show, rhapsodized about the wonders of the Pacific Northwest National Show, hospitality & gardens. Incredible congratulations to Franck for snaring 3 photo prizes from amongst almost 400 photos: Third & honorable mention for Single Bloom; Third for macro. Franck deployed a massive 24” long lens screwed to an industrial tripod to hold steady for his slow film. See more details and lots more pictures.
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Our nasty heat wave provoked clouds of ghastly spider mites. Barbara has ordered predatory Persimilus mites from Harmony Farms Supply in Sebastopol to see how well they can control this pest. She’ll report next month. Marty delighted us all with a PowerPoint slide show of Dahlia Dell pictures shifting to the strains of Louis Armstrong. Too fun. Marty used a Nikon 70 digital. |
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Coming up from San Jose, new member Lakshimi, displayed many of her outstanding photos. Thank you to Baker Bill for the lemon cake, to Rose for the chocolate cream cheese cake and to an unknown benefactor for the chocolate chip cookies. Not only did Steve whip up his exquisite artichoke quichettes, he even served them to gourmands who might have otherwise missed them. |
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MAGNIFICENT MONTEREY: Whoever thought of Dahlia Topiaries? Bettie Crandal’s trees startled veterans & novices alike. Congratulations to Dean Barns for Novice Sweeps; to Roy Stier for Amateur; to Kevin & Karen for Open; & to Bettie Crandall for arrangement sweeps. Roy scored Best AA with a stunning Hana Hitosuji. The Juuls swamped the Court of Honor: Best Disc Centered, Matthew Juul; Pom, Mi Wong; Peony, Brenda Sue; Col, Alpen Cherub; Orchid, Juul’s All Star; & smallest Willo Surprise. |
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Lou Paradise brought lots of San Francisco magic down south: Best Large in show, Pink Jupiter; Best Small, Franz Kafka; Min, Pink Paradise; Stellar, Camano Pet; Ann, Alpen Fury; x3 Taratahi Lilac; & Best large seedling. Wow! | |||
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SAN JOSE SHOW: Sue Evanicky whipped up snazzy artichoke casseroles & other snacks for those staging all night in a special exhibit room including dressing rooms. Yummmm. Bill Teubert aligned the photo contest up on glittery walls. One of his, a composite called “All Season’s Work” merged photos of five stages of the garden’s progress. Steve Gruver captured even the bee’s wings in flight for Flora & Fauna winner. DJ immortalized the Dell for yet another “Garden” triumph. |
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What a lovely Camano Messenger Barbara brought. For the fourth show in a row, Tinnee scored with waterlillies: Best WL & floater Pam Howden; Best Col, Parkland Moonlight; Best Large x3 Hamari Accord, & Largest, Show ‘n Tell. Once again showing Best Novice Bloom, Lou L’s Chimacum Julia, joined Camano Pet (Best Stellar) & Pooh (Best Novice Flower of the Year) on the Court of Honor. |
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The Juuls graced the head table with Mi Wong, Elvira (Best Peony), Matthew Juul x1 &x5, Juul’s All Star x1 & x5 as well as Seedling of Merit award with 91.2 for their M FD Lav. However, Lou Paradise set a new record by winning BOTH Amateur AND Open Sweeps: Best A, Hollyhill Electra; BB, Ruskin Myra; M, Weston Pirate; MBA Franz Kafka; S Juul’s Buttercup; Second yr Seedling; x3 small with his WL Y seedling; x5 color; & Best Large, Hamari Accord.
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Roy Stier staged Best x5 small, Wildwood Marie, a darling Alpen Pearl, and the best stems I’ve ever seen on a beautiful April Dawn. We all coveted Roy’s Simon’s Honor 047—maybe better than Creve Couer? I particularly liked Ken Masurat’s Hannah Baker 390, BB LC cream/orange. Newcomer Mildred Marchi garnered Novice Sweepstakes.
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GUADALUPE PARK: Tinnee, Kevin, Karen & I visited the San Jose public display of dahlias located near Colman & Taylor. 408 277-5998. What a great spot, near the Rose Garden & the airport. The hot weather & reliable water are just some of the challenges Sue Evanicky & volunteers face. Good luck! |
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PHOTO CREDITS: If you have enjoyed all the pictures attached to your email version of this newsletter please let our great digital wizards know your appreciation: Tinnee, DJ, Rudy, Franck, Joan, Deborah & Ted. |
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OCTOBER ORCHESTRATIONS: Get your labels correct NOW! I tie my labels to the base of each plant so they will still be in place when I lop off the tops in December. Toss out any questionable plants NOW. I have replaced a few nasty virused messes with a couple milkcartoned favorites just to get a few extra tubers next spring. Collect a few seed heads. Wait until the petals have fallen off & the head has turned brown. Cut & store in dry spot at home. Label with seed parent’s name. I like to plant these seeds in January or February under lights. Fertilize one more time. Cut back to vibrant growth. If October proves warm, we may get a final flush. Don’t worry if your lovely flowers start popping center or getting a bit scraggly; they are responding to the waning light. As your plants slow down, cut back on water. |
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eNewsletter of Dahlia Society of California, Inc., San Francisco, CA Editor: Deborah Dietz. Web-Layout Editor: Ted Marr Please address your editorial questions to Deborah@SFDahlia.Org Please address your layout, circulation and other web questions to Ted@SFDahlia.Org |