On 5/11/07 09:59, in article
, "Dave Hill"
wrote:

On 4 Nov, 18:25, Sacha wrote:
On 4/11/07 18:15, in article
. com, "judith.lea"

wrote:

snip



The D. imperialis has grown like mad in the garden but no sign of a flower
this year, or not yet. We reckon frost will get it before there's a flower
on it but we can still hope! Here's a pic of it last year with friend.
;-)http://i6.tinypic.com/6asvy49.jpg

How's it done for you this year? We think that horrible June must have
held
it back terribly.
--

I recognise that "friend" Sacha, he looks very huggable :-)

Judith

As my stepfather used to say "He'll go with a push in a crowd". ;-)) A
'huggable horticulturalist' - I like that!



I have used 9ft stakes with cord between them, then 8ft canes tied on
to it and cord around the plants every couple of feet.
They are flowering like mad now.
I am getting a range of flowers shapes now and some colour variation.
I will post some pics in the near future.
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

I think our stakes were probably only 6' but will tell Ray your methods.
The one in the pic I posted was looking untidy because it had been hit by
wind whirling up that path and Ray had tried to restore it to its earlier
glory. It's still flowering well and in summer, it has a Thalictrum
'Hewitt's Double' near it. Together the two leave people just bowled over!
It really is a marvellous Dahlia and while Ray takes cuttings, we leave it
in the ground and put a heavy mulch on it. So far, so good. That one has
the protection of the house wall, of course but the other one, down the
Hydrangea Walk by the church doesn't, although it's backed by a high yew
hedge. It's more exposed there so will probably need a bit of cover with
some fleece but that's still flowering wonderfully.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'