DAHLIA DELIGHTS

By D.a. Wilkinson

Valley society show spices up Fellows with Mexican flavor

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley Dahlia Society wants you.

The society wraps up its sixth year of display today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mill Creek MetroParks’ Fellows Riverside Gardens.

And what a show.

Harriet Chandler of Liberty is the show’s chairwoman and can explain the differences in the breathtakingly beautiful flowers.

Many of the dahlias are of one perfect color and round in shape, while others bear tones of two or more hues.

There are some 19 forms of the flowers with names such as “peach delight.”

They range from large and round to much smaller-petaled that could easily be taken for the humble daisy.

But not by society members.

It claims 55 members who meet at Fellows at 2 p.m. the second Sunday of each month.

“In the spring, we sell tubers to the public and then we can teach them how to grow plants,” Chandler said.

The colorful flowers “are a native of Mexico,” she added.

Tubers — the equivalent of bulbs — are annuals in this climate. There are some 19 different forms.

Temperature-wise, the flowers like it “not too hot and not too cold,” Chandler said.

And they thrive in six to eight hours of sunlight each day.

The idea for the society began in 2002, and it was established the following year just for the pure love of growing.

Jim Chuey of North Lima, who helped come up with the idea for the society, said he had done the traditional guy stuff and finally found relaxation with raising flowers.

The society also has one of eight trial gardens for dahlias in the United States through the American Dahlia Society. It is located at Fellows.

Some of the hundreds of flowers on display are in attractive bowls to create an oriental effect, and others are on display in plastic foam planters.

Chuey explained the society provides such planters, wraps them with plastic, and adds a bit of water to get the submissions through the show.

Other large dahlias are held upright in planters with bits of wood propping them up to keep the eyes of the judges and visitors on the flower.

The show attracts entries from as far as Chagrin Falls, Latrobe, Pa., and Alliance.

For more information, call the society at (330) 550-6342.

wilkinson@vindy.com