Farmer-Scholar Edition
The Coseytown Summer Dahlia Series
Growing dahlias for profit doesn't have to be a frustrating experience.
Finding real-time solutions is a game changer - especially when you have Coseytown in your corner! This educational series is designed for those who are or will be growing dahlias as a field-grown crop, focusing on management practices, problem solving techniques and product recommendations best suited to your situation - growing dahlias for profit!
Let's talk about in-season dahlia growing and find solutions sooner.
Learn from dahlia hybridizer, propagator and flower farmer LeeAnn Huber of Coseytown Flowers as she discusses common dahlia cultivation challenges and opportunities that you'll be encountering throughout your growing season and answers common in-season growing questions.
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| • | A streaming video series with over four hours of on-point instruction on the four major in-season dahlia growing topic areas covered in our most recent webinar series. All relevant to your bottom line, and all hosted on the Coseytown Dahlia Academy learning platform. |
| • | Downloadable Resource Lists provided with each lesson, covering dozens of products, tools and knowledge resources that we rely on in our own operation here at Coseytown Flowers. |
| • | Answers to many common questions posed by the over 200 Coseytown Scholars that enrolled in the latest webinar series. |
| • | 90-day access to all course content to cover your whole growing season. Want your learning available mobile, on-the-go and even offline? No worries, we got you covered! |
“The Summer Dahlia Series presented by LeeAnn Huber of Coseytown Flowers was FABULOUS!!!!! I have been growing dahlias en masse for eight years and gained very valuable information from the Summer Dahlia Series. Each lesson was thoughtfully presented with great scientifically based information. I would highly recommend the Coseytown Summer Dahlia Series to both the novice and the experienced grower! Thank you LeeAnn for sharing your wealth of knowledge surrounding growing dahlias!"
- Brenda Depew | Mrs. D's Dahlias
You do not want to miss this - get all FOUR lessons for less than $35 each!
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“The Summer Dahlia Series introduced me to methods of managing my dahlia field I wasn’t yet familiar with and made me re-evaluate some of the ones I already use. The course presented actionable strategies to improve the health and productivity of my dahlias as soon as this season and into the years beyond. I believe these steps will make a big difference in my dahlia growing and I appreciate LeeAnn sharing her wealth of knowledge with the dahlia community! I can't wait for the next series of courses!"
- Kristin Starin | Growing Kindness Ambassador
Who It's For:
| • | Monetized dahlia growers that value investing in the health and growth of their crops and their business - this offering was designed for you! We'll be covering products, processes and management systems focused on your needs and pain points growing dahlias in the field for profit. Please note that while sales, marketing and business administration are all important factors for a sound business, our focus here will be on production topics, and we will be focused on the growing season. |
| • | Studious gardeners and individuals with at least a few seasons of relevant growing experience who value life-long learning. We'll be assuming a knowledge of horticulture/ floriculture basics, and we won’t be covering topics like landscape gardening, container growing or making recommendations tailored to small scale growing, but enthusiastic dahlia scholars will find useful knowledge they can adapt to their own context. |
More On What's Covered:
| > | Pest Management: Thrips Thrips continue to be the pest with the most economic damage. From loss of saleable blooms, to being the main vector of virus transmission, having a pest management plan to control thrips is an absolute MUST. We start with an overview of the elements of comprehensive pest management and then take a deep dive on thrips. Master this and you'll be able to apply the concepts and ideas learned here into effectively managing other insect pests. If you don’t have a plan, or it needs an overhaul, it’s not too late to get this started. |
| > | Weed Management and Field Infrastructure How many times have you wanted to quit farming in August? Go ahead, be honest; I’ll raise my hand too. You want to maximize profitability during peak cut flower season and lower your labor during these hot months, and having a suitable system in place will lead to a much better bloom harvest season. This will not only improve stem and bloom quality, but will also impact tuber growth as well. Set yourself up for success now. |
| > | Disease Management: Fungus and Mildew Prevention Late-season months are routinely the highest grossing sales months for fresh cut dahlias (hello weddings!), but fungal diseases will sneak in like a party crasher and quickly corrupt the quality of your crop. However, there is still time to act now to maintain bloom quality and profitability this fall. We are going to UNINVITE these (not) fun-guys from our party this summer. |
| > | Dahlia Nutrition Chances are your plants need some groceries ...and getting the right balance of both macro and micro nutrients available to them is critical to the health and development of thriving dahlias. Feed these profitable workhorses right so they produce abundant blooms and ample tubers and they'll make a impact on your bottom line too! |
Course Outline
Pest Management: Thrips
- Pest Management 101
- The Thrip Life Cycle
- Thrip Damage Identification
- Virus Transmission
- Monitoring & Management
- Control Options
Weed Management and Field Infrastructure
- 100% Defensive Mode
- Best Case vs. Real Life
- Weed Management 201
- Dahlia Support Options
- Drip Irrigation
- Planning Next Season
Disease Management: Fungus and Mildew Prevention
- Common Fungal Diseases
- Powdery Mildew
- Botrytis
- Fungicide Resistance
- Control Options
- Management Priorities
Dahlia Nutrition
- Macro and Micro Nutrients
- Reading a Soil Test
- What Do Dahlias Need?
- Fertilization Options
- Nutrient Deficiency or Disease?
Meet Your Instructor
LeeAnn Huber of Coseytown Flowers is a dahlia hybridizer, educator, flower farmer and entrepreneur. LeeAnn's passion for lifelong learning and applying evidenced based approaches in an agricultural context is embodied in her daily mantra ‘Every day is a school day!’ LeeAnn can be found sharing her expertise on all things dahlias across a variety of venues including as a guest educator with internationally renowned Longwood Gardens, as a subject matter expert and thought leader on various floriculture channels and podcasts, and through Coseytown Flowers website, social channels and educational offerings.
LeeAnn, who’s agricultural heritage spans many generations in the mid-Atlantic region, was raised on a beef cattle farm specializing in cattle breeding. LeeAnn graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Animal Sciences and International Agriculture before starting a successful career in Sales and Marketing.
Following her promotion to motherhood, LeeAnn left the corporate world and formally incorporated Coseytown Flowers in 2015, turning a hobbyist’s daydream into a full-time business.
Located among the gently rolling hills of Greencastle, PA, dahlias were a focal point for Coseytown’s local cut flower sales from the beginning and it wasn’t long before LeeAnn began a hybridization program to cultivate her own line of dahlias bred specifically for cut flower production - Coseytown-Certified Cut Flower dahlias - which are sold throughout the United States and Canada.