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Post by sweetpea on Jul 12, 2014 18:01:23 GMT
re the different insecticides to use, a systemic insecticide only kills the pests which vector the disease/virus so if you think about it the pest is only killed AFTER it has attacked the plant by which time any disease/virus will have already been contracted. It is of limited efficiency imho.
Nowadays I seldom spray anything and rarely get any major problems. (maybe I'm just lucky)
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Post by dahliaperson on Jul 12, 2014 18:08:51 GMT
Just been reading on how Tel got Wildlifefriendly to her show and how the committee came to see if she had actually grown the dahlia's herself. Tel you should have written a book about it. Loved the banter on the dahlia section.  I really was chuffed to bits when she won with her dahlia's, I would have loved to have seen their faces when Wildlifefriendly walked off with 1st prize and their cup. I bet you was. |
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Post by dahliaperson on Jul 12, 2014 18:19:27 GMT
I am pleased you are reading our notes on dahlias. That is a wonderful story and completely true. I think my story about the only time I showed sweet peas is very similar, when I came third to two national exhibitors in our fairly large show. sweetpea took me every step of the way on the forum. Cherry, that is something to be really chuffed with, a 3rd place, against National Exhibitors. Now I know why they call him sweetpea on the forum. Well done to the both of you.  |
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 12, 2014 18:58:38 GMT
Had my best day yet catching earwigs. The old upside down pot with straw in really hits the spot. One pot had 'SIXTEEN' of the buggars in, 42 overall in 11 pots. They definitely prefer the pots placed around the large decs and semi-cactus's. I get real pleasure disposing of these pest. I know, I need to get out more Mark, you do realise earwigs are a gardeners friend? They eat lots of aphids and other pests, including pollen mites, which is why Dahlia petals get shredded. Old time Dahlia growers didn`t kill these garden friends, they prevented them getting to the blooms by smearing Vaseline on the stems. With the EU banning most gardening chemicals we need all the natural predators we can get. |
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Post by markb on Jul 12, 2014 19:02:02 GMT
Can anyone help me with a query? I have plants of 'Leopold Chloe' in bloom but the back petals are falling before the centre is fully closed. Is this a fault in the stock or is there something I can do to prevent it? The centres are quite large and green.
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Post by Tel on Jul 12, 2014 19:02:50 GMT
I find putting a ring of Vaseline on the flower stem between the bud and first pair of leaves down stops them nibbling the blooms.
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Post by Tel on Jul 13, 2014 5:29:43 GMT
Can anyone help me with a query? I have plants of 'Leopold Chloe' in bloom but the back petals are falling before the centre is fully closed. Is this a fault in the stock or is there something I can do to prevent it? The centres are quite large and green. DC dahlia, may know the answer to this one, he grows it Markb |
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Post by scrumpy on Jul 13, 2014 8:32:50 GMT
Can anyone help me with a query? I have plants of 'Leopold Chloe' in bloom but the back petals are falling before the centre is fully closed. Is this a fault in the stock or is there something I can do to prevent it? The centres are quite large and green. Hope mine don't do the same. Trying them for the first time this year. Some varieties can go "daisy eyed" more than others. |
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Post by Moonlight on Jul 13, 2014 12:05:05 GMT
Can anyone help me with a query? I have plants of 'Leopold Chloe' in bloom but the back petals are falling before the centre is fully closed. Is this a fault in the stock or is there something I can do to prevent it? The centres are quite large and green. Hope mine don't do the same. Trying them for the first time this year. Some varieties can go "daisy eyed" more than others.
Is there a way of 'encouraging them' not to be daisy eyed? I am sure some where here someone mentioned something along the lines of ...if you do X then that was possibly the cause of it becoming Daisy eyed.
Franz Kafka - large pom had a lot of daisy'd blooms. Put me off growing it again but I have a couple of random pots around that still have live Franz Kafka plants in them.  Luckily Dad hasn't mentioned it but he obviously knows that they are there. |
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Post by markb on Jul 13, 2014 15:03:51 GMT
Not exactly daisy-eyed blooms, scrumpy, as the centres do colour up and open normally given time. Hope yours will be okay.
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Post by scrumpy on Jul 14, 2014 17:08:25 GMT
Not exactly daisy-eyed blooms, scrumpy, as the centres do colour up and open normally given time. Hope yours will be okay. Maybe overwatering then. It's a bit early for them to flower, so I would say that the warmth, coupled with maybe too much water, is bringing them on too quickly, hence the backs going before the fronts ready. Should settle down as the season progresses and it gets a bit cooler. Anyone else got any other theories? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2014 17:28:10 GMT
Not exactly daisy-eyed blooms, scrumpy, as the centres do colour up and open normally given time. Hope yours will be okay. Maybe overwatering then. It's a bit early for them to flower, so I would say that the warmth, coupled with maybe too much water, is bringing them on too quickly, hence the backs going before the fronts ready. Should settle down as the season progresses and it gets a bit cooler. Anyone else got any other theories? I grew 6 trial plants of this variety last season. Exactly the same problem, green centers, back petals blowing before the front had fully matured. A high nitrogen feed when the buds are early doors solved the problem but the flower still blew too quick for my liking. I dumped it this year. Shame quite nice for a small dec. DC is the man to ask !! his mate Phil Watson bred it so if he doesn't know we are all buggered. |
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Post by markb on Jul 14, 2014 17:48:43 GMT
Thanks woodford and scrumpy. Maybe it's one of those varieties that just doesn't like it down south, being northern bred, lol. Hope it's not overwatering though, we've had rain every day for the last four days at some point in the day and it has been quite heavy. As you say it's a shame because it is a good small dec.
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Post by Tel on Jul 14, 2014 19:44:22 GMT
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Post by scrumpy on Jul 14, 2014 19:59:22 GMT
They are a little behind mine How many are you growing this year? |
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Luckily Dad hasn't mentioned it but he obviously knows that they are there.
