Cold, right?
I wasn’t used to it anymore, these freezing temperatures. The combination of sharp wind and cold, wet snow is one of the worst kinds of cold, and exactly the type you get in a coastal town like ours. All of this wouldn’t be quite so bad if it meant that we could skate, but the temperature wasn’t low enough for that, either, so it kind of felt like we got all of the bad parts and none of the fun ones.
But that’s enough whining for this week, let’s get back to the Dahlias! Last week, I was so distracted writing about the Daffodils, I totally forgot to also tell you something about the Dahlia, my other favourite. At the office, everyone was asking me why I’d skipped them, because there were a few days without many people ordering Dahlias. But honestly, I get that: whenever the temperatures outside are too cold to allow gardening, people are ordering less bulbs. Gardening needs to look like an attractive activity for bulbs to actually, well, sell, and right now, even I don’t really want to go outside.
It'll probably mean that when the weather finally improves again, people will look out into their gardens and be reminded about their flower bulbs. I’m looking forward to that moment, not just for myself, but for everyone to be able to enjoy going outside again!
But back to the Dahlias. This week, I visited grower Pepping in Egmond. At first, we wanted to talk about the Actaea Daffodil, but soon, the Dahlia entered the conversation. Jan has a warehouse where he has all of these Dahlia tubers laid out together. When they start growing, he will use them for cuttings.
These Dahlia tubers are here to grow the variety. At the beginning of February, they are moved to a warm environment to use them for cuttings. Around halfway through May, those cuttings will be planted outside to then grow into the Dalia tubers you can order during the spring of 2027. Last year, I wrote an extensive blog about this process. If you are interested, you can find it on the Fluwel web site, with the other blogs!
I saw some very pretty varieties, and naturally, I wanted to know if they were for sale yet. Jan promised me to send me a list and to keep a few of them apart for me, so I could see which ones we might want to have. Sometimes I think I know a lot of different flowers, but on this list, there were a couple of varieties I’d never seen before. One of my favourite things! The number of Dahlias out there in the world is so large, I don’t think anyone really knows every single one of them, but I am still always pleasantly surprised when I encounter the varieties that are truly new to me.
So next year, you can definitely expect new introductions from Jan in our Dahlia assortment. For this year, the 131 varieties that are currently live on the web site will have to do. Not exactly a small number, but there are worse hobbies to have :)
This year, 50 varieties are new introductions in the Dahlia collection. I hope even the most dedicated Dahlia enthusiasts will be able to find something unique.
Speaking of beautiful Dahlias… look at Lava Glow. Pictures never really do her justice, and for this variety, that is especially disappointing, because she doesn’t sell in large numbers. If you are still looking for your Dahlias, I really do recommend her, she will look so much more beautiful in real life! And the number of flowers this Dahlia produces is also amazing.
Our best-selling Dahlia mixture this year is Bee Friendly, and that is a well-deserved position. Years ago, Eric Breed selected the varieties that are included in this mixture. Then last year, something went amiss with the mixture when the grower added varieties that didn’t belong in it. It wasn’t ugly, that would probably be impossible, but it was not what we promised our customers. But now, we have found a new grower who doesn’t change things unexpectedly, so the mixture is back to how it was always meant to be. I’m happy to see that after this incident, the mixture is back to her best-selling position, because she really deserves to be there, and as the name implies, bees also love it when you plant this one in your garden!
One more thing, then. Crinum powellii Album: an unknown flower bulb that is definitely worth a shot if you’ve never heard of her before. They are enormous bulbs, strong and reliable, and they can come back for many years when they like their spot. Plant them in a slightly sheltered, sunny spot, like against a wall facing south, and every year, this plant will come back bigger and better. They are really something else.
Time to go again, more next week!
Kind regards,
Carlos van der Veek
Carlos van der Veek
