Dahlia imperialis question/more
Susan Hayek (Mon, 17 Oct 2005 08:14:11 PDT)

**Thank to all of you who responded to my question about growing
Dahlia imperialis in the UK.
I have it in my garden; we are on the north coast of CA about 15
minutes south of Eureka, overlooking the Eel River with a peak of the
ocean (on a clear day) from the end of our property.
Tree Dahlia is easy to propagate simply by planting a stalk or
rooting an end shoot. I have tfour or five different clumps this year
trying to find the proper location to encourage flowering. Mine will
take frosts, but we have wind here and the plant is brittle. Usually
just about the time the buds form (now) the winds will come up and
blow down the plant. My biggest clump is at least 10 feet this year,
and I did a lot of pinching.

I have a friend in East Sussex, Hailsham, in the UK and we were
trying to figure out if the Dahlia would grow there. I also have a
large common Brugmansia growing against a southeast wall which
thrives, but this year the winds already got it and since I had to
prune off the broken parts, new growth will be stimulated. That new
growth will, of course, be susceptible to the frosts that will hit
next month. We were looking at both plants for my friend's garden.

Sigh....

--
susan hayek, North Coast of CA, USA, zone 9b