Dahlias are another type of flower that I have never really been into and have only grown when they were freebies given away with other plants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahlia
They are half-hardy and have to be lifted in the autumn then stored over winter and replanted again in the spring. I remember that my Dad used to do this (remember it from the 60's - old roots being in wooden seed trays in the shed) but I don't remember seeing them in the garden. Perhaps he stopped growing them quite quickly because of the work involved. Until recent times they seem to have been the preserve of the rich probably because dahlias are natives of mexico and Central America - Dahlias were first raised by the Aztecs - so they needed glasshouses to be raised successfully and for cross-breeding. It is only comparatively recently that greenhouses have filtered down to the likes of me and my working-class chums.
I didn't realise that dahlia roots were edible - hmm I wonder what they taste of.
maybe I will try again but with them in pots that can be lifted and brought in over winter - like we did with the fuchsias.
Certainly the flowers are spectacular and they are now real hobby plants - all these photos are taken from the RHS Aberdeen show in Hazelhead park last month - and I will try to give credit where due - i.e. where I remembered to photo the card too.
There are nine different sorts of dahlia blooms according to the national Dahlia Collection. The ones above that are visable are not actually dahlias but chrysanthemums so now I'm not even sure if I can tell the difference between a chrysanthmum flower and a dahlia flower. I can usually tell the difference between the plants (not least because mums have fibrous roots while dahlias have tuberous roots) but theflowers? How do you tell the difference between the flowers... mmm Well, I've never really been into Chrysanthemum either so I wouldn't know. I guess the leaves and stems would be a good clue - but they don't show up well in the photos and I didn't really think about the difference at the time.... gthe scent? The scent of chrysanthemums always reminds me of florists and of funeral wreaths. One of my ma's relatives (a cousin I think) was a florist who made up funeral wreaths and we only ever went round there when someone died. Perhaps this is why I'm not into mums and dahlias.
We used to have a neighbour in Seaton who would not have cut flowers in the house for that reason - she always associated them with her husband's death.
Then again an ex-girlfriends ancient aunt's attitude to death and dead bodies was that the person never did her any harm while they were alive so she was certain that they wouldn't harm her when they were dead. that has always carried through with me on the very rare occasions I have seen bodies or been involved with funerals - both times I was involved in collecting the flowers and putting them in the room - both time for my mother's parents - my maternal grandparents - my dad's parents died when I was too young to be involved (not even at the funeral as I remember) one maybe before I was birn, one when I was barely a teenager - and childrfen weren't involved with funerals (or weddings) in my family in them days. In fact I never went to a wedding until I was 21 and an wex- got married because, in my family, kids and weddings didn't mix.
Very different to now, and very different to my wife's culture.
Anywho - I'll just have to show the flower photos and call them compositae which covers both sets of flowers and a whole lot ,ore (asters, daisies, thistles, dandelions etc).
Here are the chrysantemums which were in for the Dr Lain trophey at the RHS show - round and perfect.
Great pictures, my gran grows these although not as colourfull as these ones