The North Central Trial Garden was planted May 21, 2016 with 21 entries out of 30 reservations requested. Some tubers submitted were very slow in producing eyes and were planted up to a month later.
All the seedlings exhibited healthy foliage, but not so for many of the trial entries. By mid-August virus-like symptoms continued to be seen in many plants. Five of six specimens sent to Dr. Pappu for lab verification came back positive for three of four virus types. With soil amendments, pruning and onset of cool weather the late Sept/Oct garden rebounded to the best it’s been in years. It was also the first Oct. in 58 years without a freeze giving us a 203-day growing season, although the second wettest year on record!
Top-scoring dahlias in NCTG: Allen’s Big Red A SC RD Manuel 87.3 Allen’s Smokey Skies B SC DP Manuel 88.8 Clearview Cameron B C LB Parshall 89.6 Clearview Mick S B ID PR Parshall 87.9 Hollyhill Code Red M FD DR Kennedy 89.6 Sandia Susan WL YL Boley 88.8