If I had to choose another favourite flower, here would be no other choice but EDNA C. I managed to grow it well without much effort and the judges seemed to like it, but the greatest reward was standing around a show and hearing the comments from the visitors. It is always the blessing in each show. Comments like “it’s so round”, or “look how bright it looks”, and “all are perfectly matched”, were very common.

When you travel to shows, there will always be an EDNA C being exhibited and it frequently makes the Court of Honour. It can show well as a single bloom, and but truly excels when shown three or more in an entry. The solid straight stem of each bloom, along with ideal bloom position at 45o, makes this variety easy to stage for the show. The yellow colour is constant whether shown in natural, indoor fluorescent or mercury vapour lighting. It has undoubtedly become my favourite to grow and show. Link to full article -- by Martin Ojaste

on growing dahlias

review . . .Willowfield Matthew MFD Lav 408 -- G. Powley U.K. Originator
Another beautiful flower, with impressive form and colour. I grew it in a pot on the patio reaching 5' in height. I can’t wait to grow it in the main bed, beside “Karenglen and Ryecroft Jan” It produced a good tuber crop. -- by J. Mooney

article   . . . . . The rest of the evening and part of the next was spent looking for signs of rot, both wet and dry, tubers that were soft or ones that looked a little dry. The main point here is, check what's in storage if you haven't already done so this year.

Managed to put a good layer of manure on the garden, plus it has leaves that I used last year as a mulch in between the rows to keep the weeds down. And around the plants themselves more manure. Lots of organic matter to work in. If you haven't added any of the aforementioned material to your garden, you can do so in the spring when the soil is dry enough to till. All that material will help with aeration and valuable water retention.

Even with all that good stuff ready to go into the soil, I'll still add some granular fertilizer (such as 6-24-24) on the garden before the final till so that it can get worked in before planting. Not all the organic material will be in available form for the plants or tubers. That's why the extra fertilizer plus, as the organic matter breaks down further, it is still using nitrogen to help it breakdown. Going a little higher in the nitrogen, the first number in fertilizer formulations, could be a good idea.

When getting the soil ready, I like to wait a week after the last till so the garden settles before I put in the tubers and the cuttings.

This spring, I also plan to jump start most of my tubers. Use an appropriate container, pots or trays, around the start of May, and cover the tubers I will be planting. By the third week, they should be up and growing ready to transplant into the garden. You can see the new growth on the tubers and tell by the foliage if it's a healthy plant. Plus, potting early will give a good start to the root system and produce earlier blooms, especially on the miniature varieties. . . . . .
-- by J. Hall

. . . . . Now we have to look at some varieties of chrysanthemums that give us more freedom and less hassle to grow. There are the border types, "Yoders", that are easy to grow, but really no use for our shows. The charm varieties that are grown in pots, can be exhibited, and make wonderful colour in the Fall. . . . . .

Cuttings should be stopped, the growing tip removed around the middle of May, and three laterals allowed to grow for blooming, everything else removed. We normally keep the top three breaks as they will bloom closer to the same time, as they are usually closer together. At this stage a balanced fertilizer should be given at half strength, weekly.
-- by J. McWilliam