Lying to plants

Okay folks, I am VERY proud of what you see below.

 My Dahlia imperialis, which I got from Annie's Annuals, is flowering. In my garden. In Michigan. In August.

If you are not familiar with this dahlia, you may not get why that is so exciting. Here's the deal: Like regular dahlias, this species isn't hardy here. Unlike regular dahlias, it normally blooms in November. As in, when my garden is generally under several feet of snow. Getting Dahlia imperialis flowers normally an impossibility without a greenhouse in these parts.

But I have one flowering anyway. Right now! Because I know something: These dahlias, like most fall and winter flowering plants, are triggered to bloom by the long nights of winter. So, I merely tricked them, using... The Trash Can of DECEIT!!! (Bum-ba-bum!)

Also works on humans. Short days trigger my urge to buy seeds

Back in the end of June, I started placing the Trash Can of Deceit over my Dahlia imperialis every afternoon at 4, and taking it off again the next morning at 8. The foolish dahlia, tricked by my fiendish plan, therefore thought the night was 16 hours long, rather than the only 9 hours of darkness we actually get here in June, and so started getting ready to flower.

A little less than a month after I started using the Trash Can of Deceit, I spotted the beginnings of a tiny flower bud on my plants. Knowing my plan had worked, I stopped covering the plant every day. Too late, the dahlia released its mistake. It wasn't winter after all! But the bud was already growing, nothing it could do to stop that now.

Ha ha! The fool!

And so, I am the proud owner of a blooming Dahlia imperialis. It is only 2 feet tall instead of the 8 it would normally reach because I interrupted its growing when it was just getting started, but still, I am very, very proud.