The digging & dividing are over!

plantlady2008

15 years ago

The last wagon load got dug & divided on Monday.

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This is Walt's discard pile- 3 pickup loads.

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Now the storage area is PACKED full! I couldn't get a picture of all of them but you can get an idea-- we probably won't be using the ping-pong table or shuffleboard this winter.

These are in the NE corner of the cold room

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Then we go to the E shelves- all of them are full now- I had to move everything off of the bottom shelf.

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This is where Walt is working on putting all the tubers into vermiculite in the trays. Three trays go into each milk crate. These are all seedlings in the smaller trays. The named dahlias go into blueberry flats or in milk crates- one variety to a crate.

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It might not look like it yet but Walt is really very organized down there! When he's finished we'll probably be able to at least walk around the tables.

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Comments (8)

pdshop
15 years ago
That is mind boggling! It takes a great love of the dahlia to go through all that. You have to be doing it right to know that all those tubers are going to produce next year. I love it. I might add some more vermiculite to the bags today.
vikingcraftsman
15 years ago
Wow, the throw away pile even looks good. I have wine barrels painted, one new flower box made and two more in some what finised state. Many more to go before spring. The garden has been tilled. Still cutting down trees so more light gets into the garden. It is wet and cold out there today so saving my energy.
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Glad I'm not alone. I was going to grab a quick shower the other night but my tub called out to my screaming back. Ahhh! Having passed the 50 milestone this year it appears my metabolism has slowed right down resulting in me carrying a little more around this spring than I'm used to but I'm sure all this spring work will make it disappear. I was out earlier in the spring pruning trees and shrubs so when the snow finally melted I went through like a dervish cutting back grasses and perennial stalks. It's taken so long for spring to get here I've been working like crazy the last few days to put into effect all the plans and thoughts I had gazing out the windows all this long winter. Moving shrubs, defining pathways and in the farthest corner of the yard, hidden by the spruce and surrounded by trees and shrubs, carving out a spot for an arbor and a comfortable chair that can be used for moments of solitude. I got most of it done yesterday and am so looking forward to resting there. I didn't even get the leaves up last year so shredded them with the mower this year and then de-thatched the lawn so hopefully that will be a good mulch. Does anybody see a problem with applying that mix directly under my bark mulch? Speaking of mulch I thought I had researched enough when I selected shredded cedar bark mulch as the best because it didn't attract bugs and didn't blow away but now I'm slapping my forehead as of course cedar doesn't break down! My plan is to over time rake that mulch into where my paths are and put Foothills premium on the beds. Now I need to edge some of my beds and wait till my orders come in to plant. I love spring! Kate
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i am of the opinion that hosta come up on stored energy .... if you interfere with such too much.. yes... you may set them back ... if you are simply talking about halving a large clump ... probably little or no set back ... if you are talking cutting it into 100 pieces.. then they will probably be stunted ... i tend toward late summer.. when they are already looking ratty .. others here seem to like spring ... 6 of this.. half dozen of the other ... but ...hosta never really need to be divided... which leads me to think you have a plant that is too big in a space that is too small ... why not just get rid of half of them.. and buy some smaller plants... that you dont have to dig up repeatedly??? upgrade one might say ... i dont understand why you want to divide a plant that is already too aggressive ????? so you have twice as many to divide next time????? but as always.. whatever rocks your boat is fine with me .... good luck ken PS: if you a few extra .. try growing them on the driveway ....
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That's the best time to dig them up. By then the bulbs would have received additional nutrients that had been used for the spring/summer growth. However, if I have plenty of the same I sometimes divide them and given some away mid-season. The recipient would have to be very careful not to break the stalk, that's all, because that would set them back a bit the following season.
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Although there are different techniques used to divide daylilies, the goal is to separate the fans with as little damage as possible to the fan and it's roots. A tool is needed to pry or cut apart the fans at the base or crown. Many use a screwdriver, serrated bread knife or a hand saw. Some slice between them with a shovel, while others use two screwdrivers prying apart in opposite directions. It will be easier to see what you are doing if you cut back the foliage by at least half. This will also allow the newly divided and replanted fans to adjust more easily. Dig up the entire clump, including about 6 - 8 inches of soil surrounding the clump (many of the roots grow out from the center). Wash off as much dirt as possible. Find where the fans are connected at the crown of the plant - that is where you carefully cut or pry them apart. Some fans are not connected, you merely need to disentangle their roots. Breakage or cutting of some of the roots is inevitable, but try to preserve as much as possible. If a fan snaps off of the crown, the leaves will not grow new roots. But it is possible that the crown, if the roots are attached, will sprout new leaves. Replant each fan at least a foot apart. Dig a hole that will accomodate the roots, and make a mound in the hole so that the crown sits on the mound, just below ground level, and the roots spread out and down from the crown.
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jroot
15 years ago
A well deserved rest is in order. Wow!
plantlady2008
Original Author
15 years ago
No rest, joot- I don't think he know the meaning of the word. Today he's cleaning off the Gazebo roof & hanging the Christmas lights up there & tonight he'll be down in the dungeon-- oops--cold room, adding vermiculite to all the flats of tubers. Meanwhile, between cleaning up all the gardens around the house & raking leaves, I've been working hard at getting the flyer finished so I can go to the printer tomorrow & run them off. Also been getting all the seedling lists updated-- will have a total tuber count sometime this winter. Who'd have thought that one little dahlia in 1965 could have started all this?! (I might have sprayed it with Round-up had I known >:) )
Poochella
15 years ago
Tubers, tubers, everywhere.... Nice to see another ping pong table put to such good use, Cory! Mine is looking like a greenhouse bench from last Spring yet LOL, but nothing like the volumes you have there. Walt gets an "A" in farming, for sure, and you too for organizing it all.

Do you remember what little dahlia started you out in 1965?
plantlady2008
Original Author
15 years ago
Poochella- the dahlia was Miss Rose Fletcher-- she was introduced in 1948-- even before our time! A really pretty baby pink color, not a wonderful cactus form by today's standards, but a great garden flower-- blooms it's head off & puts out a ton of tubers every year. We haven't had it since we got rid of all the small named ones in 1985 but you can still see her in shows after all this time.
vikingcraftsman
15 years ago
I grow Miss Rose Flectcher,if you look at my garden shots you will see her right next to Sunny. I got 6 months of blooms out of her.
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Poochella
15 years ago
Miss Rose Fletcher! I still have it too, Viking. Lovely pastel pink. It amazes me that a variety can stick around and be enjoyed so many, many years later.
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The digging & dividing are over!

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The digging & dividing are over!

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