No Dahlias For This Gardener

I realize it�s still too early to be thinking about annuals, but we�ll be in the month of April in a couple of days, so it�s hard not to. Last year I bought more annuals than I needed; it was mostly to try an assortment of them to see what works best in my garden. Some were complete successes, others not so much.

Like dahlias:

Dahlias did wonderfully when I first brought them home sometime in May, and continued to look gorgeous until about mid to late June. And although they perked up again in September when the cooler weather kicked in as we approached the fall season, they looked miserable throughout the entire summer, no matter where I placed them.

I got the impression that they did not like the hot summer months � July and August - all that much. Since our gardening season is so painfully short, particularly for annuals, I won�t be adding any dahlias to my garden this year. I need flowering annuals that will perform well throughout the entire (short) gardening period. Dahlias just don�t cut it. So no dahlias for this garden lover.

It�s too bad because I really like dahlias. Oh well. I guess I�ll just have to settle for the gazillion other annuals that will be waiting for me at the garden centers around town this spring.