MAY CLUB MEETING

DATE:              Tuesday, May 17, 2010

TIME:               7:00 p.m.

PLACE:            Olympia/Lacey Church of God

                        5005 Lacey Blvd. SE, Lacey, WA

SUGARLESS SNACK/FRUIT:    J&K Mackey

DRINKS:                       John & Barbara Ensminger

DESERT:                                  William Pittman

DOOR PRIZE:                           JoAnn Mahaffey

BUSINESS:

Tuber Pack and Tuber sales outcome for the 2011 season.  Our tubers are for sale at Bark & Garden.  Discuss plans for July picnic/meeting.

PROGRAM:

Information about planting methods will be available at the meeting. This month’s speaker will be Wayne Lobaugh talking about seedlings and soil.  He will be giving us information on garden preparation and planting for our fast arriving dahlia season.

   The club tubers will be available to those at the meeting for $2.00 each. Each person at the meeting can choose one free club tuber. As you come into the meeting be sure and get you door prize drawing ticket.

JUNE CLUB MEETING

DATE:              Tuesday, June 21, 2010

TIME:               7:00 p.m.

PLACE:            Olympia/Lacey Church of God

                        5005 Lacey Blvd. SE, Lacey, WA

SUGARLESS SNACK/FRUIT:    Richard Harris

DRINKS:                                   Kathy O’Malley

DESERT:                                  Arlene Reynolds

DOOR PRIZE:                           John & Kathy Mackey

BUSINESS:      Details of Grays Harbor Show

AVAILABLE:     Dahlias of Today 2010 for sale.

                        Monthly Guides for sale.  Show tags

                        available.

PROGRAM:      Information will be available about

                        topping, watering, fertilizing.

MAY CULTURE

Planting cuttings and seedlings:  Plant your dahlia cuttings and seedlings like you would a tomato plant – deep.  Remove at least the bottom two sets of leaves, more if the plants are large.  Then place those “nodes” below the soil surface when you set out the plants.  Water in the transplants with a healthy dose of Liquinox Grow mixed according to label directions.  This will help prevent transplant shock and wilting.

Cuttings should be planted at a stake, just as you plant your tubers.  Seedlings can be planted much closer; many growers leave only inches between plants.  However, when grown that closely, those that show no promise should be removed as soon as they bloom, leaving more room for those that show some merit.

May is here! It’s time to plant dahlias, still don’t get too impatience. March was the wettest March in over one hundred years and April was the coldest April recorded. The report that I heard for May is for a nice seconded half of the month. I am hoping to plant on the 14^th and 15^th.  For me planting season is the promise that life will slow down for a few months. My wife is happy about this too. I started remodeling our bathroom in October and have been so busy that I am still working on it. Last week the tile started going up the wall for the shower stall, I have been told that the shower needs to be done by the first week of June. I have never installed tile before, whew, it’s a lot of work, I’m not sure I’ll make the deadline.

I want to thank those of you who helped with the tuber pack and the tuber sales. We had a fun time talking with the public about our favorite flower and bringing in money for our club functions. Our next big event will be hosting the Sothern Judges Training for the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers. I hope you will set aside time to attend this event, it is a great learning experience.

This month’s meeting discussion will be on seedlings and soil. Now is the time to be thinking about both. I hope to see you there.

Wayne Lobaugh Jr.

Featured Dahlia – Nick Sr. AA-ID-R

Introduced in 2009 by Swan Island Dahlias.

A member of the Portland dahlia Society kept telling me that I had to grow the one, but it is a giant size dahlia and I did not really care to. Bob still insisted and gave me three tubers, I was stunned by the flower it grows six feet tall and has thirteen inch blooms. The blooms have nice informal decorative form, the petals are red on the front and gold on the back. If you like giant dahlias this one should be added to your collection.

DAHLIA  ASSOCIATION

Affiliated with American Dahlia Society and Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers

President:  Wayne Lobaugh                                                              Secretary:  Karen Sanchez

MARCH 2011 NEWSLETTER

MARCH CLUB MEETING

DATE:              Tuesday, March 15, 2011

TIME:               7:00 p.m.

PLACE:            Olympia Lacey Church of God

5005 Lacey Blvd. SE

DESERT:          Rowland & Sandy Verrone

DOOR PRIZE:   Kathy O’Malley

DRINK:              Tim Thornton

FRUIT:              John & Barbara Ensminger

BRING:    A list of varieties and numbers of tubers you will be donating to the Tuber Sales. Please give the information to John Mackey.

BUSINESS:      Planning Tuber Pack and Tuber Sales

PROGRAM:      A life in Dahlias presented by Les Connell.

This is a very special guest and is considered by many

to be one of the foremost Dahlia growers in the world.

APRIL CLUB MEETING

There will not be a club meeting on the usual third Tuesday of April because the Tuber Pack is so close to that date.

TUBER PACK

The date is Saturday, April 2^nd 9AM until finished, usually around 2PM.   The location is the South Union Grange at 10030 Tilley Road S, Tumwater, WA. 98512. MapQuest link : http://mapq.st/hth292.  We are going to continue our system of paying the donors a portion of what the donor’s tubers makes.  The procedure follows: Growers/donors will be allowed to make their own label (with in standards) for their tubers….i.e. color with photos attached. Growers/donors can still use the standard club label if that is their preference.

All club retail tubers will be priced out at $3.50 (one exception … tubers going to bark and garden-will be priced differently based on tuber value in the commercial market).

Growers/donors will be reimbursed by the club $1 for each of their tubers that is sold. The general purpose is to increase tuber donations and have members benefit directly from their tuber efforts. Club tubers will be sold for $2.00 ea at the tuber pack to members and workers.

Dan will make the labeling for the tubers being sold at Bark and Garden and John Mackey will coordinate with Bark and Garden for our sales there. Typically Bark and Garden will sell about 600 tubers for us.

Growers making their own labels for the club sale should include the following information:  ESDA price $3.50  Bloom information ( A LC Y etc..) and abbreviations the public will understand as well, picture of bloom is optional, and the seller ID. Use either your initials or Federation show number.

BRING: Stapler, Extra staples, Potluck contribution,

Serving pieces for potluck dish, and your own table service.

Our club’s major annual fundraising project is our Spring Tuber Pack.  Donations of tubers are needed from our membership so that they can be packaged and distributed  for sale this spring.  Please bring tubers to the Pack clearly labeled with the variety name, classification and the count.

Lots of helping hands make this work party an annual success so plan to join in the fun, food and fellowship.

Featured Dahlia

Narrows Tricia B-SC-Y

The picture does not do this dahlia Justice. It is a nice pure yellow that is easy to grow and easy to show, which is important because it will be the Federation’s 2012 Flower of the Year. The plant can grow to 5’ and the blooms easily reach 7”.

President’s Message

Wow, it’s already time for our March meeting. Also the Saturday after our meeting is the spring workshop put on by the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers. I always enjoy the spring meeting because it has been a long time since I have seen a lot of the other growers, for me visiting with friends is the best part of anything we do when we get together as dahlia growers. At the spring workshop there are classes to learn more about growing and showing dahlias. As a club we have not discussed the new four digit tracking system that the American Dahlia Society is changing to, but it will be explained at the spring workshop. I am sure that we will discuss it as a club at our summer picnic. The Federation is going to use the new ADS numbers in our shows. There will also be a program about garden photography, Colin Walker will be doing the program. Colin takes most of the photos for Dahlias of Today. He also spoke to us two years ago.

Speaking of Dahlias of Today we will have the 2011 addition at the March meeting, the cost is $10.00.

I am starting to get dahlia fever again. I have started tubers for cuttings and it is about time to start seeds and till the garden. Next thing we’ll know there will be dahlia blooms in the house and shows to go to.

See you at the meeting.

Wayne Lobaugh Jr.

360 748 4364

wayne@lobaughsdahlias

TUBER SALE

DATE:              Saturday, April 9th and 16th, 2011

TIME:               9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

PLACE:            Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and place to be determined.

Last year’s tuber sales were such a success in promoting the dahlia to the public and creating a fundraiser, that we are planning them again.  They will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and a second location.  We will need lots of volunteers to help with the sales and sign-up sheets will be available at the March meeting.

FEDERATION NEWS/EVENTS

The following upcoming events are scheduled for the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers.  Non-members of the Federation are welcome to attend the Workshops.  Car-pooling can be arranged with other club members.

March 19^th – Federation Spring Workshop – Faith Lutheran Church.

July 23^rd – Federation Board Meeting & Summer Workshop, Mt. Vernon Senior Center, 1401 Cleveland Ave. , Mt. Vernon WA. 8AM/9AM

July 30^th, 2011 – Judging Workshops, Mt. Vernon Senior Center, Mt. Vernon & Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Olympia, W

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 2nd,  ESDA Tuber Pack

April 9th & 13th,  ESDA Tuber Sales

Aug 13^th & 14^th ESDA/Grays Harbor Show

Aug 18^th – 22nd, ADS National Show, Santa Clara, CA