June 2026 Newsletter

See the full original newsletter pdf with photos here: June 2026 Newsletter

NEXT MEETING:

Tuesday, June 9th at 7:30 at 9th and Lincoln.  Some parking available at 10th and Lincoln. 

Program: Brion Sprinsock will teach us how to take better cell phone pix with examples, physics, logic and tricks!   This is such a stunningly brilliant lesson for all of us!  Bring your copies of the book Kristine Albrecht wrote and Brion provided stunning photos for if you want him to autograph them.  Our June meeting is the last opportunity to donate tubers and dahlia plants for sale.  Good news:  they’ll be half off!  Who will bring yummy comestibles to staunch our faithful members hunger?

SARAH’S PROPOSAL

Do you know the name for the tiny road off JFK that makes a loop around our Dahlia Dell tear drop?  Very few people do.  It’s called Pompeii Circle.  Why?  Who was Pompeii??  Why do we celebrate him/her/it?  Instead, Sarah proposes  to change the name to Dahlia Dell Circle!  She started the petition to that end and hopes for good news soon.  

HE JUST GETS BETTER!

Erik educated us about sizes, shapes, fertilizers and pests.  He delighted us with comparisons of wolves evolving into teacup poodles and species dahlias wielding their amazing octoploidal gene versatility to produce basketball sized AA’s.   

Who knew that the Dell filled with Teepee tents after the 1906 earthquake to accommodate the dispossessed.  Jenn T marveled at $15 prices for a single tuber in the 20’s and 30’s.  Erik made this figure meaningful by explaining that Ford had just raised his line workers to an amazing $5 a day.  Imagine paying 3 day’s wages for a single tuber! Marissa loved learning about the early meaning of “Outside Lands.” Before Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival was known for headliners, “Outside Lands” referred to the western edge of San Francisco with windswept dunes that eventually became neighborhoods filled with backyard gardens and fiercely proud flower growers. In the heyday of the dahlia shows, entire city blocks would collaborate to enter exhibitions together, growing and submitting 50 matching blooms as a community effort.   

Anyone who would like to hear Erik’s amazing talk, check it out:  https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/wpB2IN5jC0CTE3AOm_7JazAqKOO2KR5CtAg3DfzsCJPNQzpJNHC6uOzxMnplVDYq.lTYpzt6lBiter65n

TUBER TREASURES AND PLANTS GALORE

Anita donated colorful boxes full of sought after tubers including  Fuzzy Wuzzy and Blomquist Jean. Deborah shared handsome gallon pots from the Dell including Pennhill Watermelon, Envy, and KA’s Peppercorn.  Not only did he kill as our keynote speaker, Erik also overwhelmed us with 4 flats full of “iffy” tubers. Using his”lasagna” technique, Erik layered flats of tubers and wet towels in his spare shower stall:  warm and moist.  And Voila!  most sprouted!  Peggy found some real keepers.   Having nursed them since our Tuber Sale, Erik re-offered cuttings of Eden Patricia, Sandia Icicle and Fusion.  Tim beautified our meeting with BLOOMING DAHLIAS including a luminous Pam Howden and a purple Sandia Paragon along with new seedlings.  Soooo beautiful!  

GOODIES FOR GOOD GARDENERS

Peggy cooked us a bundt cake whilst Allison and Alex brought BOTH Lemon and Key Lime bars.  Len, thank you for the Rocky Road bites.  What  great cookies from Pat.  Jenn brought butter waffle cookies.  Ah!  Anita, you can’t go wrong with chocolate bonbons.  Thanks to Francis for the popcorn.  Oh, Maggie—TJ’s peanut butter cups?? Deadly!  Sooooo tempting.  Thank you all for treating us to such fine confections.  Whether bringing plants, tubers, goodies or buying  them, thank you for contributing to our Dahlia Society of California community.  

FRIDAY COUNTDOWN

How to transfer a veritable jungle from the greenhouse to the auditorium without damaging delicate dahlias?  Under Lou and Tinnee’s supervision, Karen, Alex & Allison, Colette, Teresa, Gene and  Brigid, Sarah, Aileen and Joe, (from the GGP group....with a van, he took the really tall ones) carefully carted over 1500 cuttings, many already blooming!  Deborah debouched an Element full from the Dell.  From the Edna Maguire School, Anita unpacked bags of tubers.  Tara bestowed our sale with several milk cartons of real   treasures including Irish Glow.  Allison, John and Brigid used our traditional signs to designate AA through MS sites. 

Marissa and Sarah began distributing early  tubers into cardboard trays.  Jerrod, Tim, Mini and crew completely alphabetized all 850+ Premium baggies from Aileen’s Alexflowerfarm along the back wall.  After setting up tables, Mary and Pete carried plants hither and thither.  While putting together the  MERCH section with Mini and Paul, multi-tasker, Jenna,  also gave an interview to radio reporter, Shannon, who gave a  very nice plug for our Tuber Sale on air.  Simultaneously, Aileen interviewed Deborah about tree dahlias and the many double white tree dahlia sections the Wardens had donated.  Who knew that her Instagram would whet so many buyers’ desires for looming dahlia trees!  Hearts beat a little faster, marveling at the sheer NUMBER, the superb QUALITY, and the NEW varieties tempting buyers. 

SATERDAY : D-DAY 

Having left Placerville deep in the night, Amber McDermat and her husband fetched beautiful tubers and cuttings from their commercial Totally Tubers Farm.  Ray, jumping on Marissa’s invitation for volunteers early, drove up from LA to help both Friday and Saturday.  Tim assembled a lovely bouquet from Sisterhood Gardens for our checkout table. Ray and Tim carried huge red dahlias to invite the public’s dahlia questions.  Everyone fell to organizing tubers in cardboard trays:  name, form, size, color. Some people learned how to look these important facts up for the first time.  Tinnee laid out framed photos for our jungle of greenhouse  plants.  Our cutting team was soo successful they had to transport the bigger specimens into gallon pots and support them with bamboo hoops.  Although new to the hubbub, Mary and husband Pete pitched  into sorting, lifting and participating in the crazy enthusiasm around them.   In a surprise guest appearance, Guy helped check tubers for eyes.  So many people donned glorious dahlia shirts; but who wore the dahlia shoes????  And great minds dress alike: Karen and Jared sported darling floral overalls!  As members madly shopped for rarities like Porcelain, Kung Fu Kitty, AC Ben and Hollyhill everything, Erik, Deborah and Lisa walked the longest line of customers they’d ever seen!  Obviously, our publicity team worked overtime!  People drove in from all over.  They awaited this date from year to year and planned accordingly.  They shared stories about previous Tuber Sales and their past scores and wishes for new beauties.  Erik reminded buyers that while AA’s are BIG, they also don’t make as many flowers as BB’s or stellars or balls.  People were so  happy anticipating dahlia mayhem.  And then the doors opened!  EEEEgads!  The hoard descended.  In a twinkling our counters were overrun.  The credit card line wound around the auditorium despite 3 credit cashiers, Joe, Jenn T and her beautiful daughter, Sophia.   Paula  greeted the cash customers.  Our dear Patricia held court with those waiting to pay.  Debbie  accepted memberships; the  Merchandise team took t-shirt orders and sold ADS Classification Books.  New this year was our special Dahlia Holding area.  Melissa and Antoinette guarded purchases so gardeners could go back and check out other things.  Poof! In a short hour 100 tables dwindled to two tables:  one with the last of the tubers and one with a few remaining plants.  Wow!  John K kept cleaning table tops; Tom kept tearing tables down; Jerod kept sweeping.  Tom and Pete finally wheeled out our final tables.   Our MOST SUCCE$$FUL $ALE EVER !!! THANK YOU DSC members!  What a    glorious whirlwind!

DUES DUE

Just a reminder to renew your DSC membership:  $10 individual and$15 family.  Such a bargain!    www.sfdahlias.org/membership

You can pay on line or pay directly to Debbie at our meeting.  To renew your American Dahlia Society Membership, you must go online to dahlia.org

DAHLIA CALENDER

Orchid Show
July 25-26
Hall of Flowers  GG Park

Judging Seminar
July 25
East Bay     TBA

Central Coast Show
Aug. 8-9
United Methodist Church
1515 Frederick StSLO
Flowers of the Year: Misfit Kaleidoscope, Reann’s Tiger’s Eye

DSC Floribunda!
Aug. 15-16
9th and Lincoln GG Park SF
FOY:  Skip to My Lou

M Bay DS Show 
Aug. 22-23
Capitola Mall

SLDC Show
Sept 5-6
JJ’s Eliot
Venus BB NXO

DSC Anniversary Picnic 
Sept. 13         
Dahlia Dell

Sierra Nevada Show        
Sept. 19          
703-228-9860 

National Show                  
Aug. 27-30     
Grand Rapids, Michigan 
ACT NOW!  things are filling up!

MODELS FOR ART

In October 2025, Dahlia Ambassador Jenna visited the art class of botanical artist Mary L. Harden, in Miraloma Park.  She brought a big bouquet from the Dell featuring all varieties of dahlias. The creatives plucked their faves to paint, while learning the history of the dahlia from Jenna and the preferred type to paint from Mary.  Not white!  Curves, shadows and shades, WOW… to see dahlias through an artist’s eye! Perhaps this season there are opportunities for DSC members to explore, to share our flowers and our love of dahlias with the community groups near YOU!  Interested in botanical art? Reach out to www.maryhardendesigns.com and at www.sfbotanicalartists.com

OVER HILL AND DELL

Tim and Erik have planted cuttings from our Tuber Sale and from Sisterhood Gardens.  They’re already budding up! The top row is full of Tim’s new seedlings to surprise us soon.  Sue has all her treasures tucked into individual gopher cages.  In Sarah’s mid-level section in long gopher trenches, dahlias bloom already, including Elvira and our  flower of the year, Skip to My Lou.  The first week of May, Sarah made sure volunteers took home their first deadheads:  Sandia Lillians.  Ruthless Ruth helped Sarah tear out heaps of weeds from the upper terrace.  Lou’s stakes march in mathematical precision.  He often plants one cutting and one  tuber to a stake.   It’s fun to watch the race as the cutting dashes ahead and the tuber slowly catches up until you can’t tell which one started as which.  Tinnee and Gerry turned a flowering pasture into a budded up dahlia preserve in a couple astounding weeks.  They allow alyssum and poppies to delight the public and to attract  “good” bugs.  Already their Antares orchid and waterlily Maureen Olivia dance for the public.  Steve is determined to rid the Petting Zoo of nasty clover-like insidious weeds. “Just call me the Zoo Keeper.”  Indeed, our Zoo Keeper also educates and entertains strolling public.  Soo good.  Steve loves to see the bunch of pink balls blooming as Eden  Sunday Steve rides the breeze already.  So happy to see Geoff take home a Blomquist Jeff.  Bonnie amazed us with another hike out to the Dell relying on her stand-up walker. Rebecca, who runs the edible garden at the University of Santa Clara, exchanged organic growing tips with  Deborah.  Her most sought after veggie at her Friday market?  Giant Bok Choi!  Becca will grow Park Princess and Pennhill Watermelon down in Silicon Valley.  Nicole—master planter!— spoils a very grateful Deborah with her weekly planting and field dressing.  In her stead, John P, expert planter from yesteryear, tucked in several newly  hardened off treasures.  How to turn weeding into meditation and yoga exercise?  Antoinette practices positions when she breaks from educating the public.  Weeds beware..or aware. Because Antoinette has been practicing identifying various forms, Deborah challenged her with a 5” pink RNX Coho, a fully double cluster of tightly furled orchid petals.  Deborah LOVES novelties!  The  orange/yellow/bronze variegation of Rolf stops people in their tracks.  So gorgeous! 

JUMPING UP JUNE

Q AND A
Q. Adam asked, “Why are some of my dahlias big and ready to go in the ground and some have barely grown since breaking the surface of the soil?  I'm a first time dahlia grower and I went big. I started 55 tubers, almost all in 2 gallon nursery pots. I got them in the pots during the last 2 weeks of March and 47 sprouted. They include 32 cultivars from 4 sources. About a dozen of them are smaller and seem to just be growing slower, but another 6 or so are tiny. Those plants broke the surface a month ago and haven't made any progress since the first few leaves. Should I expect them to pick up as the weather warms or discard them?”
A.   You pose a universal question.  Why do some of us bloom in high school and some of us fail to ever thrive ?  Indeed, certain tubers like to be nudged.  Up their heat; add a little moisture; cajole with a drop of fertilizer. Simply move your pot to a different sun exposure.  Maybe water with a wee bit of calcium nitrate (dahlia viagra).  Lucy says her second story window is about 4 degrees warmer than her main floor.  As I begin running out of spaces to plant, I threaten the laggards with my "insurance" dahlias--happy healthy replacements which yearn to get called off the bench to play in the Big Game.  Sandia Lillian bloomed very early for Sarah on the Hillside, but bloomed with popped centers EVERY ONE.  Her decision:  plant all her spaces, enjoy the color and then put her very last new dahlia in the spot ultimately relinquished by Bad Lillian.  

Disbudding
Disbudding removes all but one bud between the apex bloom and the first pair of leaves.  This yields a longer, stronger stem and a larger dahlia flower.  It turns pretty posies into spectacular specimens.  Kristine Albrecht has at least 2 excellent tutorials on  YouTube.  Check out her #86 and #203.  She shows how to snap off the secondary buds so you don’t leave ugly stubs behind.  Jennifer surprised herself with so many little budlets after disbudding an entire quarter of the TearDrop.  The earlier you disbud, the larger the remaining flower grows.  Try it; you’ll be amazed.

Fertilizing
Did you leave your clumps in over the winter?  If so, you probably should field dress and resupply the larder.  Field Dressing removes at least half the clump, leaving the rest in situ.  But that clump already gobbled up most of the nutrients it could forage last year.  It’s hungry!  In the space where you removed half the clump, add your secret sauce.  Remember that dahlias are like teenage football stars:  they eat ALL the time.   Ideally, leave only a single stem (sometimes I cheat and leave two).  With open varieties and poms, I let several persist since size is not a factor.  Add a little liquid fertilizer to your dahlia cocktail.  Cheers!   

Yours in dirt,
Deborah

Photo Credits:  Dietz, Gaensler, Kaiser, Kurhan, Sanchez-Correa, Tobiasen, Wong

Punctilious Proofmeister:  Zoo Keeper Steve

Webmaster: Mini

Look what Sarah has accomplished!  Please complete this survey by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 8, 2026 to share your thoughts on the proposed renaming. Responses will be reviewed and  summarized as part of the public input process.   This survey is also in the Rec and Park newsletter which just came out.