Bees Love Flat Flowers
And so do butterflies — a big vote for single dahlias, is why I mention it.
This is one of the Bishop's Children, more about them soon
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We grew our children from seed and have enjoyed the variation that only seed-grown plants can give. They are now snug in the basement for the winter. Every year they get planted in large terra cotta pots that line our sidewalk. And yes, when they finally get around to flowering ( usually just before the first frost, or so it seems) they are a major bee-magnet.
Hi RW
Delighted to hear you’ve had success w/the Bishop’s kids.
Surprised to hear they flower later than your other dahlias… or do you just mean that dahlias are rather withholding in your climate?
Have you tried starting them early? I put mine in a couple of weeks before the last frost date and just count on well-drained soil to keep them from rotting in what are admittedly cold, damp conditions. Soil itself protects them from frost and if shoots are up reemay does the job.
Hi Leslie,
We’ve only grown Bishop’s Children since we’ve lived here so I don’t know if Dahlias are withholding in our climate or not. I can say that we have a somewhat harsh climate-tends to be windy, doesn’t really get ungodly hot except for a few days a year and we have very rocky soil. Which is great for drainage but tough to garden in. We take bucket loads out every year but like the flies that invade our house every winter, there are always more. The tubers never leave their pots so when the weather warms up enough, the pots come up from the basement and out into the Spring. We did plant a few in the prerennial beds this year and they did fine-again, I think it is the lack of heat that makes them slow.