Russ, Check out the growing article in the August 2008 edition of the DS of Georgia newsletter. It discusses disbudding in detail with pictures. See link below.

Dis-branching is the removal of extra laterals that take the energy away from the blooms you want. Rule of thumb or guide is to grow 4 up for AA and A, 8 up for B sized dahlias. Some limit BB to 12 up but that is a matter of choice. Here in the South we must cut those values in half and only grow 2 up to get an AA/A sized bloom.

John

Here is a link that might be useful: dahliasocietyofgeorgia.org

John, I bet people are wishing you would define "4 up" "8 up" etc etc. It's dahlia lingo that not everyone understands. I had to email some nice person in the UK to get my answer, but don't have any personal knowledge of the practice.

Thanks very much John, that was really helpful.

So it seems that I've been removing laterals that I shouldn't have been removing. Shame I did that, but at least I only did it to a few branches on a few Dahlias.

Since I'm 20 days away from the competition, another interesting tidbit in the article was the time-to-bloom from pea sized bud averages. 28 for A and above, 24 for B, and 21 for others. So the buds I have now will be my show winners...;-]

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Russ

Poochella I would be glad to explain what is meant by growing 2up, 4up, 6up, etc. By the way, I really enjoyed your post concerning the Plantlady. I can't wait for the National Show next year in Everett so I can visit their beautiful garden and meet them in person.

The numbers refer to the number of stalks (laterals) that you allow to grow and come to bloom on each size plant in order to get the size flower it is known to produce. Example: AA sized blooms 10" or larger you must restrict the number of laterals to 4 in most parts of the country but in the South (except in Western North Carolina or other mountainous locations) we must restrict the laterals to grow only 1 or 2 up in order to have an A or AA sized bloom for our shows. In the Southern States shows, GA, TN, AL we group our AA & A flowers together.

Some of you are probably wondering... all that work for only one or two blooms per plant per season? I guess it depends on how much of a hard core grower you are and how much you want to compete in the shows. Some of us are crazy about DAHLIAS!!!!

It works right on down the line for B sized flowers by limiting your laterals coming to bloom to no more than 8 up and BB flowers to 12 up. Local growing conditions can influence those numbers either way and of course your own personal desires as some growers would rather have more flowers, and don't mind them being smaller.

Hope that helps.

John

Now don't take this the wrong way, anyone, but if the only way to get a prize winning Dahlia is to restrict it to one (or significantly less than most of us would see bloom if we didn't do all the work to restict it), is it really fair?

I mean, if we think we're going to get 10" blooms, but only if we restrict to plant to a few blooms, should it really be advertised as 10"? Should it win at 10"?

After all, what's the point of a winner...and I'm honestly asking this question. Is a winner something that's extremely rare, or something that's been done well?

I would pay more for a Dahlia that would bloom prolifically, consistently, and early...than one that might produce a 12"-14" bloom if I tended it daily. Others might very well disagree, and perhaps that explains everything.

Cheers,
Russ

Here on the left coast the AA's & A's grow bigger than anywhere else & most of our big ones grow 10-12 up & more for the season. Right now we have some Wyn's Conquistador with 8 blooms up & 10 more buds on them & they're still a big A.
... & I think I'd be afraid to limit Wyn's Conquistador to 2-4 blooms-- it'd take over the whole 62 acre farm >:)
Different conditions will limit the size & performance of your dahlias. That's why it's good to send them to trial gardens all over the country to see what they will do in different climates- & the size is based on the average of what it did in all the gardens. So if it's an AA on the left coast & a B on the right coast & a A in some of the middle of the country, chances are it'll end up classed as a B with the NW suppliment classing it as whatever size it grew in the NW. Also, if a cultivor is entered in shows all over the country after it's been introduced & is consistantly smaller in other parts of the country, the classification committee will re-classify it to agree with the majority.
Also- it's not as if the AA's & A's are just smaller blooms that have been forced to grow bigger. They have been bred for size & have the "big dahlia" genes in them. If it's not supposed to be big & you grow it big it'll be course & not a good bloom or it'll pop it's center too soon if it's grown bigger than it's capable of growing. I guess you just have to realize that an AA or A is not the same as growing a smaller one- it would exhaust itself if required to try to get as many AA blooms on it as a BB or mini gets- something's gotta give & it'd be the size.

Thanks alot, that's very reasonable and understandable, and I'm glad to hear that's how its done.

Cheers,
Russ

Thanks for that good info Huey and Plantlady. I'm sure coming from experienced and dahlia-savvy growers, that it is as much appreciated as it is confounding to some.

National Show is back in WA! Whoo hoo- count me in.
Huey, you will drop a jaw when you visit Wynne's. It's well worth the short trip north.