So pretty!!! I apologize but I honestly don't have any input on this. Maybe digging it up and separating tubers during winter would help & possibly doing it once a year ? just as if it were any other dahlia is my guess. Your garden is beautiful ! I had to check your post out bc of your pic :) what flowers are growing in the front, right, bottom of the photo ? Looks pretty !!

Where r u located ? I c u posted it but not sure exactly what area this stands for ? Where ur located prob has a lot to do with how big & fast your dahlia will grow too .

The rose Graceland is to the left and a Restio Thamnochortus insignis is to the rightt. The Restio is overwhelmed but you can see its small but stunning brown flowers just above the Dahlia, though be careful not to confuse the Douglas Fir cones with the flowers. In the foreground are Echinaceas, Agastaches, Penstemon Sour Grapes. Just out of sight to the left are Panicum Heavy Metal and Panicum Hot Rod and a wonderful Ratibida pinnata and some Heleniums that have really put on a show too, the perennials blooming all summer.

i will definitely move out the two Restios that are between the three Dahlias. I have two young Panicums that I wanted to replace them with, but as I said above, it just isn't going to work! I think at least one Dahlia will have to go :-(. Or more realistically, leave the one in the middle and discard two :-( :-(. I do so wish I had a larger garden!

Zones are misleading in my area, but I'm in Zone 9a or b, can't remember which. I'm in Sunset Zone 15, but a cold microclimate of that zone because I live in a low spot in a hilly area. We had an unusually hot summer after an unusually cold and lengthy spring.

Where at in Florida ? California?

I can see the Restio is beautiful ! And the purple down below your dahlia is echinacea seed heads ? They look a deep purple almost - so pretty

Restios are unique and interesting! My idea was to provide an evergreen backdrop for the perennial bed and the Dahlias with their unexpected size made that a bad idea. But besides most evergreens tend to die out where they're crowded so I will have to go back to Panicums. They are good for 9-10 months of the year here, so that's not too bad.

Here's a peek at that crowded Restio. You can see it's tight base, how it wants to be very vertical and then a little of the top which tends to spread gracefully with the weight of the seed heads.

As for the purple you ask about, all I can see are dried seed heads of Echinaceas. There is an Agastache in the right foreground but it's definitely all done for the year. The only purple would have to be Penstemon Sour Grapes and I can't seem to pick it out in that photo. This is my favorite Sour Grapes.

Oooohhh!! I love the restios !! And your sour grapes!! It is your dried echinacea seed heads I was talking ab. The seed heads are pretty (in my opinion. ) They're definitely brown but have a purple huegh to them in ur pic. I love it ! It's all very pretty. None of my beds go as planned. There's always a few plants that want to steal the show & not cooperate. Mother Nature can b sassy ! It's usually the plants I don't care for as much that go nuts & the ones I want to grow strong, slowly fade out. Being in Florida most of my gardens are " test" gardens. If it's not a fla native or tropical plant. It normally doesn't grow well here or isn't supposed to anyways. I'm always pushing the boundaries of Mother Nature trying to get plants to grow well here that more than likely won't. It's challenging and can be depressing at times. I do enjoy it though! I've learned so much already from doing this. Your gardens beautiful!! I can sense your enthusiasm about it and its very contagious ☺️

Hi,

I am growing a Dahlia coccinea 'True Wild Form' here in 9a Sacramento. Got it from Annie's Annuals and Perennials (SF Eastbay Richmond where they know plants!) and planted it about a month ago. It's about 14 inches tall. I planted it in a huge pot a little bigger than a wine barrel half. Yesterday it had 2 hard looking buds on it and today one is opening. Wow! I imagine it's going to get huge and be a big pollinator attractant. That with the salvias, verbenas, etc. we should have tons of honey bees, mason bees, B-flies, and hummers next year. And actually, they are already coming, thankfully. The sages are still in bloom. Lousy (wet and yes I know we needed the water) Spring here but a great Fall so far. Garlic planting time.

Kevin

Kevin - Good idea to put it in a huge pot! I got mine from Annie's Annuals also. What a great place! It's a too long drive for me now, but luckily one of our local nurseries carries their plants and ordered them for. me. They are just now showing the last of their flowers. What a fabulous show!. My initial problem remains - how to manage to keep all three of them. One would be better but the thought of shovel pruning is impossible.

So......, I've moved the Restios out and put the young Panicums in their place, I'll let another year go by and see how it goes,

Here is a good photo of one of the Restios. What a shame that beauty was being hidden most all season! It surely looks better no longer smothered by the exuberant Dahlias.

Here's it's mate, planted in the ground. It looks quite stunning up close; too bad it doesn't have a background that sets it off, a big reason the photo doesn't do it justice.

Rachel - I've heard Florida gardening can be very challenging. I'm very climate lucky and i can grow so many many plants here, but it would be better if I were a better designer. That's my big challenge. My garden is always one big experiment that i never seem to get right. I am always (always!) retrying something because of design ineptitude. Most things in my garden have been moved more than once.

Oh, my wife likes grasses. She planted fountain grass one year and the next year it's babies were everywhere, lol, so that was a goner. Annie's is something else. Too far for me to drive from Sac so they ship it. They come in very sturdy boxes. And I'm a bay area native, born in Palo Alto many, many decades ago. I surely do miss it. But Sacramento is my home now and I am finally used to (somewhat, lol) the summer heat. Cannot wait for the 6 native plants to take root and bloom, bloom, bloom! Nice sharing info with you.

I think it's Pennisetum setaceum that has a reputation for seeding invasiveness. I've grown only Pennisetum alopecuroides or various cultivars for over forty years and I've never seen a seedling.. Both are called fountain grass. Speaking of which, my husband and I had dinner at Chipotle tonight and there was a huge clump of P. setaceum in an otherwise completely barren and neglected commercial space and it looked so pretty I took a photo of it. It must be a real tough plant to survive it's environment. BTW, this is on El Camino in Palo Alto which should ring some familiar bells. The traffic has worsened terribly in this area in the last few years and I hate to drive this way because of it.

What are those natives you are waiting so impatiently for to bloom??

Oh, do I remember the traffic there in the early 80s. It was bad then, I cannot imagine now.

I have planted Verbena, de la Mina and Lollipop, Salvias and one that has already bloomed, Salvia Greggii Burgundy Seduction (wow) is just gorgeous. I've also put in some Milkweed for the butterflies. Asters. Last spring we found less than a dozen "pollinators" so that moved me to action. None of my veggies were getting pollinated so I thought I'd add more flowers and a couple of hummingbirds feeders. Besides aiding wildlife, the views from the house should be great.

How does fountain grass hold up in the vase ?? I love the pics of the rosey purple grass!!! Grasses are one of very few plants that do ok here. I can't get over how pretty those pics are! What's the common name for the grass in the chipotle pic ? Lol

Florida gardening does sound very frustrating! Your gardening challenges make me appreciate my climate even more. Still, I guess there is merit to the modern movement to grow natives. It is certainly strong in my community where I am at outlier, at least among my garden club colleagues where the emphasis is on native plants. My community is a bit of an outlier too in that our setting is not typical suburban; we are more like country where, unlike my small property, large lots blend seamlessly into the natural hills. It makes a lot of sense in our summer dry climate to go native. I'm not sure how long I can sustain my sort of garden which demands lots of summer water and where water has gotten really really expensive.

I certainly share your enthusiasm for Annie's. I visited Annie's once. It's a plant lovers paradise! One day is barely enough to look at all the plants on display for sale. I'd go more often, but my garden is pretty much planted out. I'm left really acrambling for a spot to put in something new.

i hope you realize your dreams to be a flower farmer!

I'm praying ab it so hard. I've always had nursing in my blood- have my CNA license - went to Galen school of nursing- my mom grandma & all women in my family r nurses - my moms an addict too but never got clean (still isn't either) & lost her license bc of it so after I got clean it took me 2 yrs to truly dig deep n figure out nursing is too risky for me! I was so scared to Persue my nursing career being in recovery- If something tragic happens in my life I might relapse & end up facing prison time like my mom. I never cared for gardening & always killed any plant I bought but it definitely found me ! Now 8-9 yrs later of living eating n breathing it, I feel I'm being called to do it ! I'm learning what I can ab flower farming but the root knot nematodes & my climate is very challenging & limits me -I'm still good at growing but I don't have a green house & this would help! i just don't know how to go about it. I've never experienced this before in my life!!! I truly feel a real deep sincere urge that this is what I'm being directed to do in life but I just don't know where to start. Part of me feels like I just need to dive into it & put one foot in front of the other. even tho I don't know why or what but if I do this, the answers will come to me - Florida is big on farming & meat, ect.. but there's not a lot of flower farmers here. If I can work around rainy season & the nematodes- i think I have a chance. It's more of a passion tho not to get rich but it's what I enjoy & making a little income would b a plus !

I love Annie's!! I'm so envious of her & of where she lives!! She talks a lot ab her being in the "fog belt" but from what I hear cali is actually very dry ! I read it's the best state to grow in bc the air is dry. Roses grow very well in cali & they Don't even have to be sprayed!! Here in Florida, even earth kind roses, will quickly lose all their leaves from black spot it's very sad. Cane canker is another problem. I'm trying to learn organic ways to build their immune systems to help combat this but during rainy season it doesn't matter what I do - everything struggles so hard :( do be thankful where u are!! It's definitely a struggle here. It's so sad to read so many plants do well everywhere accept here & some parts of Texas. I've tried growing astrantia - columbine & hollyhock so many times. they just rot slowly - it's terrible :(

The fog belt occurs at and near the Pacific Ocean and around San Francisco Bay. It's typical of summers here in Northern California. It still means we are dry, meaning we get no rain. But it's considerably cooler because it's so overcast in summer and lots of plants do very very well in this growing climate. Annie's is located almost right on the Bay.

California is full of microclimates, especially around SFBay. When I first moved to California from Illinois I was amazed that I could leave my job in Berkeley at the edge of SFBay to commute home (inland) 25 miles and in summer the temperature differential might be 20 degrees or more. IOW, it might be a cool and comfortable 70F in Berkeley and nearly 100F in Concord. I don't live on that side of the Bay anymore, but it's a similar differential in temperature if you leave San Francisco and drive the 50 miles south to where I live. Even though there is some influence of the fog belt in my community we are still much hotter in summer and colder in winter.

I wish I knew something about starting a business, but I don't. I have a feeling that you're determined enough to find your way. Best of luck to you and kudos for getting clean and knowing how to stay clean.

Forgot to answer your question about Pennisetum setaceum. It is pretty, isn't it!. I am terrible at common names so I looked it up to be sure. It is called Fountain grass, but as far as I know so is Pennisetum alopecuroides and cultivars. That said, I don't especially recommend it because it has a reputation for seeding about. I've never grown it because of this. Here's a link that might be helpful:

Invasiveness of Fountain Grass

I'm so jealous ! The pictures & videos I see on tv & online of cali are gorgeous!! Mountains & thin roadways but also city and beaches with rocks! Ppl often compare Florida to California but even our beaches look completely different ! I don't think we're anything alike! Florida doesn't have mountains & big rocks . We're definitely not dry either ! The west side of the US has dry air compared to the south east - its so humid here! i step outside and my shirts drenched within minutes & i can't cool off bc it's too humid it's horrid ! I love the beaches here but cali has more of a wild look to it - it's so pretty !! I'd love to visit ! .....Annie talks about plants she grows and how well they grow even in the humid fog but I'll purchase these plants & they die within days of being subjected to our high heat & humidity :( I've tried growing many pants of hers that are more native to the west but they hate our climate here on the east. I just got a shipment notification from her! I ordered the California cream cups!! I bought them last year and they literally melted in our humidity within 3 days!!!!! I cried! but I'm praying I get to see one bloom before this happens again just one bloom & ill b happy it's really cool to b able to purchase plants I've never Seen before in my life & get to see them bloom! Half don't make it and it is a waste of money but I don't get to see these flowers otherwise bc they're not common on our side of the US. Maybe I'm crazy but I love seeing new flowers! My first columbine flowers where from annies! Never seen one before - they grow north of us in TN & GA but not in Florida. I have some now I'm waiting to bloom in spring but then out summer rains will rot them & I'll repurchase them again next fall. It's sad but it is what it is! One day -If hubby retires, I'll move somewhere I can grow these flowers without the high humidity killing them off ! I love the fountain grass! It's a mix of tan, purple & a rosey pink - you've got me searching for grasses at lowes!! lol they're beautiful! I want the restios!! Where did u purchase yours from ??! And thanks SOO much for the link!! Ur awesome. :)