I got three of the 11 shots to show. The others seemed to be stuck, or maybe it is me being impatient. :)

Nice idea for showing though. Thanks Russ.

Hopefully its you...;-] I just tried it again and it works, but I have a pretty fast connection so it could be the size of the pictures on a slower link.

Cheers,
Russ

Russ - when did you plant them out? I was delayed by a back problem - planted out in mid to late June, but mine seem to be as tall as yours. Maybe they are slow this year? And as an aside - my garden is silent this year - no bees - very disturbing. I have become so used to their activity, it's almost lonely without them.

Anna

My earliest cutting was taken on 2/28, for tubers I carried over from last year. Lots, however, came from tubers that were new for me this year. Those tubers didn't arrive until March, and cuttings came from April and beyond.

I know that I didn't give them enough light as cuttings, something I am working on for next year.

I totally agree that they seem slow this year. We've had thunderstorms on a regular (e.g. every couple of days) basis, but I'm also convinced I haven't received much water as a result. Meanwhile, I've kept my sprinklers off, so I do think I have deprived mine of enough water. Hopefully, next week, this will be resolved and I plan on giving them a few weeks of "good" watering in the hopes this will make a difference. We'll see.

FWIW, every one that has bloomed, has gone gangbusters as soon as the first flower was cut off. Not sure what that means, but its interesting.

Cheers,
Russ

Just realized I didn't really answer your question, Anna.

My lakeside beds were planted out the last week of May. (Link to pics)

My roadside bed was planted out the last week of June. (Link to pics)

The only reason for the different dates was because I was selling cuttings up to the middle of June, so I didn't know what I would have left over for the roadside bed.

That being said, my lakeside beds are on the north side of the house, and while they get sun all day, they don't get as much as the roadside beds get. Also, my sprinkler system hasn't been working yet this year, so they haven't gotten as much water as I think they should have. That should be fixed next week.

Cheers,
Russ

I have watered the dahlias every day ( early in the morning) , unless there is a heavy rain. I think that it was the last few days of May that I planted, but I did start them earlier under florescent lamps, and had them outside in pots most of May, taking them back into the garage when cold threatened.