A dahlia expert reveals his secrets

Dahlias also like a good dose of nitrogen in the soil, an inch of water a week when they are actively growing, and a safe haven from earwigs and Japanese Beetles.

For four years I have been chasing Ralph Suttell like some warped paparazzi, trying to do a story on his award-winning dahlias. And every year I hear the same thing, "Kathy they're not very good this year."

Well this year, maybe he was dazed and dehydrated from the drought, but he said yes.

Ralph and his wife Elizabeth live in Grimsby on land chosen for one thing, growing dahlias.

"I was looking for land that had a peach orchard. Peaches and dahlias, they like the same thing, sandy loam, and that's what I found here," says Ralph.

So the peaches came out and the dahlias went in. All kinds of dahlias, some as small as a grape jawbreaker, others as big as a medium pizza.

Ralph caught the dahlia delirium from his mother, "who was a serious grower." So for 49 years Ralph has been growing, breeding, competing with or judging dahlias.

"I loved the range of sizes and the tremendous colours, and trying to grow the perfect flower," says Ralph.

And then Elizabeth blurts out, "It's a man's flower because of the work involved."

Work indeed. Dahlias are native to Central America, so in cold climates like Ontario, they must be dug from the ground before the deep freeze.

Looking at Ralph's sizeable patch of dahlias, I ask him, "How much work?"

He laughs. He laughs at almost every thing I ask.

"Oh not much work, about 8 to 10 days starting in mid-October."

First he cuts the tops off the plants, and then digs down into that Grimsby sandy loam and extracts the tuber. Next the soil is washed off the tuber, and it is left to dry. Tubers may be divided, and older parts discarded, before they are dusted with sulfur (to discourage fungus) and stored in boxes in Ralph's basement. He needs a 12 by 16 room "on the cold side", to house the collection.

Those are just the end of season chores, to grow award-winning dahlias, one must try to mitigate harsh weather and outwit earwigs.

Most years Ralph grows his dahlias underneath the protection of shade cloth. Though they need full sun, exposure to heavy rain will mark the petals and send competitors and their blemished plants, packing back to Palookaville.

Dahlias also like a good dose of nitrogen in the soil, an inch of water a week when they are actively growing, and a safe haven from earwigs and Japanese Beetles.

"I've been told that some breeders put Vaseline on the stems, to keep earwigs off their dahlias," I say. This elicits another laugh from Ralph. "Earwigs just love the new flower buds, but I've never used Vaseline. Can you imagine trying to put it on all the stems I have out there?"

And the stems, some braced with reinforcing rod hold up rows and rows of dahlias. There are poms, semi-cactus, waterlily types, balls and formal decorative.

"I started showing in 1976 and breeding 15 years ago. The insects (Monarch butterflies and bees) do the pollinating and I save the seed," says Ralph.

Seedlings will bloom in their first year, and in some years Ralph might set out 2,000 plants, but "only 20 or less, might be worth keeping." The rest may have murky colour, misshapen blooms or a feeble profile.

I have to pry out of Ralph the fact that he has introduced 11 fine dahlias to the world. Many of them start with the name "Jess" in honour of his mother.

Ralph's wife volunteers that her husband is the first Canadian on the executive of the American Dahlia Society, he's a vice-president in fact.

I wonder if he gets to ride in a limo, or at least wear a fancy jacket.

"There are no perks," he says matter of factly.

Instead they are labouring over a new colour chart for judging dahlias, and researching mosaic virus, which poses a threat to the flower.

He also trains judges, and has judged the Court of Honor (the best of the best) at national shows.

"I go along for the parties," says Elizabeth.

The Suttells have a separate section of their garden just for cutting dahlias. But I notice in their house not a single, sunny dahlia in a vase.

"I prefer roses," laughs Elizabeth.

For the record, Ralph says dahlias will last about a week as a cut flower. "Put the stem in hot water first for a few minutes, then cold water, that will help them last longer."

He would like to see more people growing dahlias in their gardens, even just as an annual. "They're not that expensive and they bloom from July right until frost."

That's when some people might be moving their dahlias to the compost heap, but you'll find Ralph up to his elbows in tubers and loam, and Elizabeth smiling at the sight.

For More Information:

• Canadian Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society Horst Hofauer 142 Grand River Bend Scarborough, ONT M1B 1GS Canada (416) 282-2612
• Hamilton and District Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society John Mooney 82 Cliffton Downs Road Hamilton, ONT L9C 2P3 Canada (905) 388-5595