Sequoia Park Garden Eureka, California
Delightful Dahlias....
The dahlias in the Sequoia Park Garden have been a long tradition. Because they are bulbs, they come up year after year. When we first visited the garden in March 2010 we found they were still un-sprouted. In April, a few had come up. We began putting sluggo on them as the tiny little stems were being eaten before they could make an appearance. We were thrilled to see how beautiful they became in a short time.
Some gardeners dig up, divide and store the dahlias each winter. Eureka has such mild winders and the soil is so sandy the dahlias are left in each year. The dahlia bushes are huge and full of flowers. We prefer the look of the undivided dahlias as they create more of a show.
We added them to our watering and fertilizing schedule in June when Eureka actually had sunshine all day. They needed the fertilizer to continue blooming. The city gardener told us a man was going to come in during July to stake the plants and care for them. Later we were told he would only be deadheading them. Many of the plants were upright until the huge blossoms pulled them down. Only 19 were staked but the city doesn't really have the budget to put a person on the job of staking and deadheading all of them. We read a lot about dahlias on the internet and in garden books. They MUST be deadheaded or the blooms will stop coming as all the energy is spent making seeds. Mid-July we began deadheading as it wasn't getting done and many of the knowledgable visitors began complaining to us about the lack of dahlia care. We knew there was plenty of work to go around if the dahlia volunteer came in.
June, July and August were fabulous months for the dahlias. They really put on a show for the visitors ..... We were so happy to be a part of the continuing beauty. It's September now. We see a couple of the plants winding down. We know on the first frost around the end of October we'll lose them. Until then, they are putting out buds that will soon be blooms. We have 4 or so that have not bloomed yet and we are crossing our fingers that they will show us what color their blossoms are.
We asked the parks department for a copy of the name of the plants. We are frequently asked by visitors what the names are as they want to buy one. We were told it was not available to us. On Thursday we saw the weather forecast was going to be rainy for several days. Rain always brings down the dahlias. We decided to measure the bloom size, height and photograph the flowers in case they were destroyed by the rains. (Because we are coastal Eureka's rains are often accompanied by fierce winds.) We spent about 6 hours accomplishing the task.... but the pictures are stunning. We hope to get the names of the plants and post them by the plants next year. So many people want to know the names so they can buy the same ones. It may take a little work to find out the names although it appears past gardeners (Brooke and Darryl) have done schematics of the names and locations. The head of the department may be able to help us later. It will be a good winter project to prepare the signs.
On Sunday September 19, we deadheaded after the rain. The dahlias benefitted from the drenching. They look great! The weather is clearing and it will be great to see the visitors return. A surprising number of people were in yesterday .... it wasn't raining but it wasn't sunny either. A nice Eureka weather sort of day.
We were surprised to see additional dahlias were staked during the week of October 4th. Normally staking is done at the beginning of the season rather than the end of the season. The season will be over when we have a hard frost (maybe at the end of October). Many of the plants were pulled to the ground in July and August by their large blooms. We offered to set the stakes at the beginning of the year but the offer was not taken. We hope staking will be earlier next year.
Some gardeners dig up, divide and store the dahlias each winter. Eureka has such mild winders and the soil is so sandy the dahlias are left in each year. The dahlia bushes are huge and full of flowers. We prefer the look of the undivided dahlias as they create more of a show.
We added them to our watering and fertilizing schedule in June when Eureka actually had sunshine all day. They needed the fertilizer to continue blooming. The city gardener told us a man was going to come in during July to stake the plants and care for them. Later we were told he would only be deadheading them. Many of the plants were upright until the huge blossoms pulled them down. Only 19 were staked but the city doesn't really have the budget to put a person on the job of staking and deadheading all of them. We read a lot about dahlias on the internet and in garden books. They MUST be deadheaded or the blooms will stop coming as all the energy is spent making seeds. Mid-July we began deadheading as it wasn't getting done and many of the knowledgable visitors began complaining to us about the lack of dahlia care. We knew there was plenty of work to go around if the dahlia volunteer came in.
June, July and August were fabulous months for the dahlias. They really put on a show for the visitors ..... We were so happy to be a part of the continuing beauty. It's September now. We see a couple of the plants winding down. We know on the first frost around the end of October we'll lose them. Until then, they are putting out buds that will soon be blooms. We have 4 or so that have not bloomed yet and we are crossing our fingers that they will show us what color their blossoms are.
We asked the parks department for a copy of the name of the plants. We are frequently asked by visitors what the names are as they want to buy one. We were told it was not available to us. On Thursday we saw the weather forecast was going to be rainy for several days. Rain always brings down the dahlias. We decided to measure the bloom size, height and photograph the flowers in case they were destroyed by the rains. (Because we are coastal Eureka's rains are often accompanied by fierce winds.) We spent about 6 hours accomplishing the task.... but the pictures are stunning. We hope to get the names of the plants and post them by the plants next year. So many people want to know the names so they can buy the same ones. It may take a little work to find out the names although it appears past gardeners (Brooke and Darryl) have done schematics of the names and locations. The head of the department may be able to help us later. It will be a good winter project to prepare the signs.
On Sunday September 19, we deadheaded after the rain. The dahlias benefitted from the drenching. They look great! The weather is clearing and it will be great to see the visitors return. A surprising number of people were in yesterday .... it wasn't raining but it wasn't sunny either. A nice Eureka weather sort of day.
We were surprised to see additional dahlias were staked during the week of October 4th. Normally staking is done at the beginning of the season rather than the end of the season. The season will be over when we have a hard frost (maybe at the end of October). Many of the plants were pulled to the ground in July and August by their large blooms. We offered to set the stakes at the beginning of the year but the offer was not taken. We hope staking will be earlier next year.
