Carmen, Yeah, I WSed my Dahlias this year and they bloomed this year (still blooming now, although the leaves and blooms are getting hit with a little bit of frost). I'm no expert, but I thought there were some Dahlias that don't grow from seed?? I dunno. Anyways, I'm trying to leave my plants in the ground for as long as I can so I can collect seeds and let the bulbs get as big as possible. I did dig up bulbs for the Uwins that had unique, "bee-made" colors last year. The bulbs were a decent size, not huge, but not real small either. So they must make bulbs the first year. I would imagine the bulbs get bigger every year you put it back in the ground? Linda (Who thinks her garden will be all Dahlias and Zinnias next year...lol)

It is quite possible that you are having a reaction to wild lime. Limes and all citrus are in the family Rutaceae, along with rue. These plants and many in the family Umbelliferae or Apiaceae produce furanocoumarins. Furanocoumarins are secondary plant compounds that the plants produce to protect it from herbivores. They are activated by UV light causing a severe skin rash. There are documented cases called bartender's rash and celery pickers itch from handling respectively limes and celery. Interestingly, many swallowtails feed exclusively on these plants and search out furanocoumarins when looking to lay eggs. They have mechanisims to deal with these compounds and it has been researched extensively by May Berenbaum's lab (http://www.life.uiuc.edu/berenbaum/). When the young swallowtails look like bird poop they actually use uric acid (the main component of bird poop) to create the look. This compound is a good anti-oxidant when dealing with furanocoumarins. Recently there was a discussion on the board about using parsley vs. dill. Many butterflies will choose plants in one genus carefully based on how much of these compounds (and the types) they contain. This is also true of Monarchs. Which is why certain milkweeds are preferred. In a pinch they will take what is available but do have preferences based on a lot of these secondary compounds. In the future if you handle these plants, stay out of the sun for at least two hours. Make sure you wash. Unfortunately, the compounds do not wash very well according to the literature I have read but it is worth trying. Also, a good dermatologist would probably be worth visiting as I am not a doctor and do not wish to play one :)! Hope you feel better, Elisabeth

I did a soil test late in the summer last year, it showed the soil was very acid. We had the recommended amendments made early this spring. We used a turning plow to make raised beds - it worked beautifully for moisture retention and drainage - but I'm gardening on a slope, which brings on more challenges. For those of you who used raised beds, are they permanent? Or do you till them down at the end of the season. How deep are they? The Zinnias must go - what I do have growing is either riddled with mildew or the Japanese beetles are feasting on them - or they're too short or too small. Time to till it up and start working toward next year. Next year will be better, right? I do appreciate all your responses!! I know I'm green, but I'm learning as I go along and you all are a wealth of information! This is not "Big Business" for me - more of a learning experience for my kids (and me). I'm grateful to you who are willing to take the time to share your knowledge. Thanks!

Annabeth- yes, a seedling is a new variety that we have hybridized. We grew it from seed. The first year I plant the seeds in flats & when they've got 2 sets of leaves I transplant them into deep 3" pots. They grow in our greenhouse until the end of May when Walt plants them out in the seedling garden. We usually have around 750 - we will keep about 150 of them to evaluate the second year. After that we keep evaluating them until they're either 5 years old or we get rid of them if they don't make the grade. In order to get a seedling into the trail gardens it has to be 3 years old-- & some gardens require the seedling to have won at least 1 first on the hort. bench in a show or have scored on the 1-10 in a show. Then it goes to the trials for a summer & then is either introduced or not the 5th year. It's taken a lot of years to figure out what seed parents to use in what combination to get good seedlings. We specialize in the biggies - AA & A sized - but if we get a nice B or BB we're not about to toss it out. We haven't decided if we're going to introduce 0386 (yes, I goofed up on the number- it's 03 not 02) next year or not. We might send it to the trial gardens to see how it does all around the country. It won Best AA in Show at the Fraser Valley Dahlia Show in Canada last weekend- we think it's going to be an AA rather than an A since it seems to want to grow BIG! You're right- there's no AA or A sized FD purple or dark burgandy dahlias- & only a couple of ID ones-- that's why I was so excited when we got some this year. I just tagged some more today-- going to use that combination of parents more for sure! Meanwhile, we have a really nice 8" dark purple seedling that looks like a dark purple Edna C. Walt calls her Primadonna! I was going to post a picture of her for you but Photobucket seems to be having a maintenance problem right now & I can't get in to get the picture. We would ALL like to have a giant with Hillcrest Kismet form-- wouldn't that be wonderful!