http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/trustmissy/P1010505.jpg

Dear plantlady, I did what you suggested, but this is the same as the first link I posted. I works for me.

Thanks for your input. The odd things is, some of the blooms are fine. And I don't understand what you mean by growing too few or too many?

You can use the photobucket link with "less than" sign and img src at the beginning to embed the photo right into your post. Otherwise, cutting and pasting your url into the address window and hitting "go" worked just as well.

I've heard of growing "8-up" etc- dahlia lingo for the number of laterals allowed to develop on a plant-I think. Too much fuss for me. But I've never heard of growing a dahlia "down" and would like to learn more about that.

I would love a confirmation on whether or not these are curly petaloids on a flower center as I've got some tubers new this year doing just that. Every single bloom is cut and immediately tossed because they are awful looking and very similar to the photo below. Are these curly petaloids?
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Poochella, were you able to see my picture? I have tried for 20 minutes and I can't get the photo to post.

Yes, Missy. I saw it both times by copying your posted Photobucket URL, pasting it into the address window (must use view/toolbars/ and have navigation window checked off there) and hitting the 'go' icon at the end of that window. It all sounds so cryptic, but it's easy.

May I post it here, or try? There it is. All I did was type the sign for 'less than,' no space then img src= and paste your entire http posted above to get this to display. Photobucket will create the same code for you on any photo uploaded there. You just hover over that code, it's automatically copied and you paste it here for the magical photo appearance. I think under options in Photobucket you can dictate what is displayed with each photo. Just check off where it would automatically give you the display codes for email, IMs, forums, etc.

I think your bloom has a little second bud (with darker pink petals visible) that divided off somehow as Plantlady explained above. The more I see it, the cuter it becomes. I know I had a lot of open centers or green centers with our very unusual July heat. Settling back to normal now.
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Here is what the dahlia is supposed to look like. Thank you Poochella and Plantlady for being so helpful.

Well, that's a big improvement isn't it!???? It reminds me of a no named dahlia I've had- very similar, about6-7" across and very fluffy/full.

Here's one view of it. I thought maybe Kenora Frills or perhaps some other no named similar bloom.
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Poochella, that does look like mine, which is actually called Philothea.

I've had Philothea before! Lost it, but not before I passed on a tuber to a gal whose mom, unbeknownst to me, was named: Philothea! What are the odds? It was creamier in the center here, but that doesn't mean anything. It's nearly impossible to guess an ID when there are many flowers so similar and that show up differently under different conditions. Here was my Philothea. I'm still waiting for my version of the pink and white LC to bloom here. Will post a photo if and when the torrential rains stop long enough to allow some more blooms ;(
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What state gives you the longest blooming time for dahlias. I think I may move there.

YIKES, trustmissy- that's one nasty looking center. If it doesn't straighten up on the next few blooms, give it the old heave-ho! That can be caused by extreme weather or by the stock just being no good any more. If they all have looked like the second picture for long- ie- a dahlia that's supposed to be fully double but has an open center then I'm tempted to say it really has broken down & needs to be replaced. If that's a picture that you took late in the bloom's life & it was closed in the center (like poochella's picture) when it first opened then it's OK.
poochella- yes - those are curly petaloids- but our weather has been so weird this summer that I'd give it until the end of Sept to see if all the blooms are like that. Hopefully it's straightened up by now.
Growing for eg.- 8 up --means to allow 8 laterals to develop on a plant.
If you grow too many up on a plant the blooms will suffer as they won't put enough petals in each bloom so you get early open centers. Your blooms won't be as large either. If you grow too few up- that is-- if a dahlia has a really high petal count- like Wyn's Sensation or Wyn's Aztec Gold-- for instance, the centers are pushed into ovals as they try to crowd a lot of petals into a small space.

pdshop- usually the Pacific NW is dahlia heaven- they grow better & easier here than anywhere else in the country-- & there's a load of dahlia societies from Canada to Oregon so you can move here & get your fill of wonderful dahlias every year! Right now, the weather has settled down & the dahlias are spectacular!