KITSAP COUNTY DAHLIA SOCIETY Inside this issue: P. O. Box 502, Silverdale, WA 98383-0502 www.kitsapdahlias.org BJ s Gabe, BB IC FL KCDS Officers 2 KCDS Board Notes 2 Meeting Schedules 2 ADS News 3 Natl. Show KCDS Cut Flower Booth 4 National Show Notes 5 Dates to Remember: September 18, 7:00 PM General Meeting October 2, 7:00 PM Board Meeting Oct. 16 (tentative) Cut National dahlias Oct. 18 (tentative) Cut Silverdale dahlias Oct. 23, 7:00 PM General Meeting Oct. 25 (tentative) Dig dahlias Nov. 1 (tentative) Divide dahlias Meeting Agendas Marilyn Walton is tentatively scheduled to attend the September meeting and speak about the trial gardens. Also, it s time to think about the KCDS club elections, which will take place at the October general meeting. Madeline West will be in charge of appointing a nomination committee and will present more information at the September meeting. Madeline will also speak to the general membership regarding the possibility of our club sponsoring a college scholarship to a local youth studying horticulture. Madeline belongs to another club that has sponsored similar scholarships, and is familiar with the procedure and paperwork necessary for such a project. After the election of officers and trustees at the October meeting, Leone and David Smith will give a dahlia cutting demonstration. Our dahlias are at their peak of perfection this time of year and it is hard to think of the next step in the dahlia cycle of life but we all know it is coming. The tentative date to start the tuber harvest for the club is less than a month away. Now, while there are many blooms on your plant, it s the perfect time to make sure your dahlias are correctly named and well marked. This is especially important if you are thinking of donating any tubers to the club for the annual tuber sale. If you have any doubts about whether the name is correct or not, use a dahlia classification guide and/or check on the internet to make sure your plant is who you think it is. After you verify your plant s identity, a good way to mark the plant is to write the dahlia s name on a piece of brightly colored surverors tape and tie it on the plant, about 6 inches from the soil, so that when the plant is cut, the tape is firmly attached to the remaining stalk. 1
KCDS 2014 OFFICERS: President Chet Haus 360-698-4874 Vice President (programs) Madeline West 360-830-0783 Treasurer Bill Jones 360-297-2134 Recording Co- Secretaries (minutes) Kim Van Natta 360-692-7231 Allyn Arnold 360-621-0699 Debra Kurre 360-373-8346 Regular Board Meetings Held on the first Thursday of each Month at 7:00 PM LOCATION: All Star Lanes, Silverdale, WA Board Meeting Dates October 2, 2014 November 6, 2014 General Meetings Held on the third Thursday of each month at 7 PM EXCEPT FOR: July (Club Picnic) August (Club Show) LOCATION: Crystal Grange 2160 NE Paulson Rd Poulsbo, WA 98370 September 2014 KCDS NEWSLETTER E-MAIL ADDRESS We appreciate your suggestions, criticisms, and all thoughts dahlia related. Send a note (or your favorite picture) to: kcdsnewsletter@comcast.net REFRESHMENT SIGN-UP September Bobby M Email or call Wendy to sign up! 360-830-4137 wkbrant@aol.com Corresponding Co-Secretaries (newsletter) Allyn Arnold 360-621-0699 Debra Kurre 360-373-8346 kcdsnewsletter@comcast.net Trustees Steffany Mootry 360-731-7114 Gary Johnson 360-698-2427 Bob Overly 360-377-4531 ADS Representative Leone Smith Federation Representative Drew Brant BOTH meetings are open to all. If you have an item for discussion, contact Chet Haus by the Tuesday before the meeting and he will put you on the agenda. KCDS BOARD NOTES Trustees Stephanie Mootry and Bob Overly will conduct the required annual audit of the books after the October Board meeting. Madeline West presented a proposal for our club to sponsor a college scholarship fund for local area youth studying horticulture. She will discuss with club members at our next meeting. Club elections will be held in October. Madeline will serve as Election Chair and establish an election committee. Madeline suggested a class for educationals at the next KCDS show Tentative dates were established for cutting down our club dahlia beds in October, and dividing November 1st. The date for our 2015 KCDS tuber sale will be determined in November. The Silverdale garden requires a caretaker the week of September 22nd. Members should see Nancy if they can help out that week. Contact any of these people regarding club events. 2
ADS NEWS www.dahlia.org KCDS Representative: Leone Smith Notes from Dr. Pappu of WSU Dr. Hanu Pappu of Washington State University has been studying dahlia virus. His research is funded by ADS. A few points from his report at the ADS Annual Meeting: 1. Virused looking leaves should be removed from the plant immediately. If more appear get rid of the entire plant. As soon as the plant shows virus it attracts aphids and thrips, who then transfer virus to other plants. 2. Replanting in soil where you have removed virused plants is OK. Virus have difficulty surviving in the soil. 3. Collecting seed from plants that turn out to harbor virus is OK, as virus is probably not harbored in seeds. 4. When making dahlia cuttings, dip your knife in 10% solution of household bleach, then in water. Do this between each and every cut. 5. To access Dr. Pappu's website go to the ADS site or Google dahlia viruses WSU or PappuWSU ADS Color Chart Judging on the ADS Bench or in the Trial Garden In determining a color code for white dahlias you can use the empty space at the side or bottom edge of the page. Label it "WH-0", white zero. (Note: I did this at the Trial Garden on Aug 31, the Sunday of the ADS National Show. It is a simple solution for naming pure white and works like a charm.) Leone Smith 3
KCDS Cut Flower Booth ADS National Show August 28-September 1, 2014 By Wendy Brant While the Brant Family took on this Volunteer Project to support the Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers and the ADS National Show, we could not have done it without the help of Genevieve Gardipe, Kim and Dan Van Natta, Bob Overly, Sally Paulus and Pat Hunter (CA), just to name a few. Aurora even made some beautiful vases that were great sellers! We sold approx 70 vases, with 80% sold at $10 each and the balance at $5 and a few at $3. Approximately 650 blooms were donated, with 75% of those from KCDS members Bob Overly, Steffany Mootry, Debbie Kurre, Allyn Arnold, Nancy & Bill Jones, Wanda Novak, Madeline West, Monica & Richard Tailleur and Penny Armstrong (greens), as well as ones from our own garden. In addition, a variety of Federation members donated extra blooms. I am sure we have missed some names and for your help we are also grateful. The weekend was a blur and I m not sure if I came or went or what without the donations of blooms it would not have been possible. Vases numbered around 100 and the extras we had were donated to the North Central Washington Dahlia Society for their show in Wenatchee. If you are going and have extra blooms, they would appreciate them for their vase sale. It is not the $580 raised that made a difference it was the amount of public relations in the name of the dahlia that was key. We spoke with hundreds of people about the flowers, regarding all sorts of topics such as why don t I see this bloom in the show? or where do you buy dahlias?, why are tubers not for sale now?, what is the difference between a show flower and a cut flower?, where can I buy flowers?, I have a wedding, how can I find out more about dahlias?, what dahlia club is near me?, when are meetings?, how often are shows?, how long will they last?, will you make me a custom bouquet all in these colors?, and so forth. Many compliments and personal stories were shared as well, from parents and grandparents that had dahlias to a little girl s fairy garden (she proudly showed us a picture of her and her bloom), to a couple who were taking blooms to a long time horticulturalist who was in the hospital with cancer, to the lady that needed a vase to match every room in her house What a great experience! Thank you Les Connell for pushing the idea our way as an avenue to interact with the public and encourage them to leave with a vase of the flowers we love...and serve!! There really was not a lot of selling going on they sell themselves and the vase included was a bit hit! Thank you everyone! Kaile Brant, Aurora Brant and Bob Overly with their beautiful vases of flowers no wonder the booth was so successful A. Arnold 4
September 2014 ADS National Show August 28-September 1, 2014 Mike carefully examines the blooms for???? Leone received a nice note from Leslie Servin of Brentwood, CA saying how pleased she was to have won the KCDS gift Basket. THANK YOU Wanda and Kim for taking on this task and preparing such a lovely basket! Pat, with a section Section Winner Bobby Merrick won Best in Section with this artfully crafted arrangement Beth Miracle, (pictured) from the North Central Washington Dahlia Society, worked on this beautiful quilt during her recovery from a tragic bike accident that resulted in a brain injury. This quilt was the NCWDS s contribution to the national show. Donna Overly won this beautiful piece that was raffled off during the show after 2 years of ticket selling, which generated nearly $2000. Congratulations Donna! 5