It's time to read and vote for your favorite article in the 2013 Write-Off Contest! The four finalist's articles are featured in the May 13 newsletter and can be found through this link. Hurry! Voting ends May 18.
You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Family: Asteraceae (ass-ter-AY-see-ee) (Info) Genus: Dahlia (DAHL-ya) (Info) Cultivar: Kelvin Floodlight Additional cultivar information: (aka Kevin Floodlight) Hybridized by McDougall; Year of Registration or Introduction: 1959
Flower Size: Giant - over 10 inches (250 mm) diameter
Bloom Color: Yellow
Pruning: Disbud
Height: 36-48 in. (90-120 cm)
Spacing: 24-36 in. (60-90 cm)
Foliage: Herbaceous Blue-Green
Other details: This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater Flowers are good for cutting Flowers are good for drying and preserving Suitable for growing in containers
Soil pH requirements: 6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic) 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
Patent Information: Non-patented
Propagation Methods: By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
Danger: Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested
Seed Collecting: N/A: plant does not set seed, flowers are sterile, or plants will not come true from seed
On Oct 26, 2004, lmelling from Ithaca, NY (Zone 5b) wrote:
Beautiful long lasting bright yellow blooms. Mine generally reach about 8" - 10" across. I find mine do best when planted in containers (instead of directly in garden) in full sun with rich, loose, well drained soil. Give a spritz of liquid fertilizer once ever couple of weeks. Plant the bulbs at about 6" depth.
Absolutely beautiful, dependable dahlia that I've grown for the last 5 years. Since I'm in zone 5, I set the bulbs out in May (usually mid month). If frost is possible, cover tender vegetation on those nights with a cardboard box or remay cloth. Blooms generally appear by the end of June/ early July and continue until frost. When frost arrives, lift bulbs, cut off plant close to top of bulb, clean off with water and put in airy place to dry. I store mine in my basement over winter in net bags hanging up. Or put in box with a little peat moss or wood chips and store in cool dark place (45 - 55 degrees).
Because this is a dinnerplate dahlia, if the blooms reach 8+ inches across, you can dry these for use in dried arrangements and they will form a nice fist sized dried flower when fully dried. Color will hold for about 1 year.
To dry: cut (just) fully opened flower and leave a short (4" stem). Poke a 22 ga or 18 ga wire through the flower close to but not in the center of the flower. Loop the top wire into a U and pull down through the opposite side of the flower. Hang upside down in a warm dark place to dry (about 3 weeks). When dry, spray well with a flower preservative or hair spray to seal. I have read that you can preserve the blossoms using silica gel as well, but if you intend to do more than 1 or 2 flowers, air drying is best. Flowers dried in silica gel will absorb moisture from the air and fall apart much quicker.
On Aug 22, 2003, doglover from Lilburn, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:
These flowers were huge! Truly dinnerplate sized. Easy to care for also; I live in Z7 and dont have to dig them up, but should since they always need dividing. They are very vigorous.
On Aug 31, 2002, mystic from Ewing, KY (Zone 6a) wrote:
In warmer climates you maybe able to leave the tubers in the ground with heavy mulch. But for me in Zone 6 I have to dig the tubers before first frost.Clean and let dry good.Pack in dry peat and store in cool dry place.
Regional...
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
Hayward, California Hyampom, California Santa Paula, California Denver, Colorado Grand Junction, Colorado Eustis, Florida Vero Beach, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Thomson, Georgia Indianapolis, Indiana Arlington, Massachusetts Worcester, Massachusetts Arden Hills, Minnesota , New York Binghamton, New York Cayuga Heights, New York Apex, North Carolina Winston-salem, North Carolina Geneva, Ohio Saint Martin, Ohio Springfield, Ohio Woodward, Oklahoma Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Barberton, Washington Poulsbo, Washington Menasha, Wisconsin
6 vendors have this plant for sale.
