RESCHEDULED DUE TO WEATHER
Date: Saturday, January 18 25, 2020
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Bloomfield Twp. Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd.
First SEMDS meeting of the year. See new ADS Dahlia introductions and learn how Dahlias are Classified. Bring friends interested in growing dahlias.
If you are lucky there will be a few final Dahlia blooms in your garden this season but it is time to plan for digging and storing your tubers for winter.
Check out SEMDS YouTube video on DIGGING, DIVIDING , and STORING Dahlia Tubers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0icqxGVnOlI
Preparing/Storing Tubers over Winter Tip Sheet http://www.semds.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preparing-and-Storing-Dahlia-Tubers.pdf
If in doubt, throw it out! Learn more about Dahlia viruses from ADS https://dahlia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/VirusBrochureJune2015.pdf
https://dahlia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ADS-DMV_Symptoms_Slides.pdf
Discourage disease by keeping dahlia foliage as dry as possible. Water deeply once or twice a week, allowing the top inch of soil to dry out in between. Clip off the bottom 12” of foliage to encourage good air circulation.
Slugs and snails love eating young dahlia foliage. Sluggo Plus is an effective organic control when it is applied early and refreshed often. Earwigs are another troublesome dahlia pest. Like slugs and snails, they prefer cool, moist conditions and can damage buds, flowers and foliage. Keep the area around your dahlias clear of spent flowers and foliage, and avoid using leaves or straw as mulch. This will give earwigs fewer places to hide and breed.
February Meeting
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2018
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Location: Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
Meeting Topic: Learn about starting your Dahlia tubers indoors. Gary Polenychko and Mary Lynn Cook will show you the methods they use to start Dahlias indoors to get an early start on the growing season. Discussion will feature warming up the tubers you have in storage, getting the tubers you ordered this winter ready for planting, potting indoors, and getting ready to plant outside.
