Longtime floriculturist finds delight in dahlias

Kalispell resident Martin Rippens says no experience is necessary to grow beautiful dahlias, but it's been a while since the octogenarian stepped into a novice's shoes.

Rippens, 85, will head to the Northwest Montana Fair early Friday morning for the three-day dahlia show, bringing with him fresh-cut flowers from his garden and eight decades of experience cultivating them.

"I've been growing flowers ever since I can remember," Rippens said.

His passion took root during childhood, as he grew chrysanthemums with his parents.

"I was born into it, and I fortunately still get to do it," he said.

He weaved that interest into his livelihood, spending his career as a design and landscape contractor. On the side, he has also maintained a greenhouse and a garden. These days, he grows about 50 varieties of dahlias.

Although he's somewhat of a floriculture fanatic, Rippens has narrowed his attention down to dahlias, primarily, because even in his mid-80s, he spends more time tending to things outside the garden than down in the dirt.

"It's kind of a focus thing," Rippens said of his preference for dahlias. "I just stick with the dahlias … you can't do it all."

RIPPENS VOLUNTEERS with organizations all over Kalispell, from the Kalispell Street Tree Commission, to the Conrad Mansion, to the Valley Voices choir with his wife.

"I retired, but I'm so darn busy," he said.

Since dahlias are a pretty low-maintenance plant, they're a good fit for Rippens and his perennially active lifestyle.

"An important thing for people to know is how easy it is to grow them," he said.

Most of the work to care for dahlias centers around watering them once a day and keeping the critters away.

"It takes a little human effort and some energy to take care of them," Rippens said. But with once-a-day watering, he said most people can cultivate colorful dahlias, even in the climate of the Flathead Valley.

Dahlias are native to Mexico, so they naturally thrive in warm environments. But Rippens has seen them prosper thousands of miles north of their homeland, too.

"They do grow here in the Flathead," he insisted.

The warm weather this summer has helped Rippens' flowers, although he said the unseasonable heat and wildfire smoke have been a little extreme even for the heat-seeking plants.

"It takes the heat to bring the flowers out," he said.

This time of year, many of Rippens' dahlias are starting to display their buds. He said he looks forward to seeing how they bloom in time for the fair show at the end of the week.

One of the flowers he's excited to see is a variety called "Thomas Edison" — one of thousands of unique names bestowed upon individual dahlias by the American Dahlia Society.

"It's opening up now," Rippens said of the purple flower. "I'm sure Thomas Edison will go to the fair."

Some of Rippens' favorite varieties include the yellow "Kelvin's" dahlia, the red "Stiletto" and the "October Sky," a multicolored dahlia reminiscent of strawberry lemonade.

A few of these will be on display in the Floriculture Building at the fair, where Rippens will compete with other area growers.

The dahlia and gladiolus portion of the fair has four classes of competitors: students, novices, intermediate and professional gardeners.

All together, more than 20 participants enter flowers in the show each year.

Dahlias are judged on a wide assortment of categories, such as size, shape and groupings of two, three or five flowers.

It might sound intimidating to someone without Rippens' extensive experience, but he noted the competition is open to anyone with a desire for dahlias.

"A lot of people are growing flowers, and they don't know they can just pick them and bring them to the fair," he said.

AS AN ambassador for Kalispell's Dahlia Society, he's always looking for opportunities like the fair to introduce dahlias to potential growers.

Rippens said it's common for fairgoers to marvel over the beauty of the dahlias on display, but many of the uninitiated don't realize they could grow their own flowers without too much effort or expertise.

"People say, 'Oh, I have a brown thumb,'" Rippens said. "That does not exist. The thumbs will only be green around here."

Rippens encourages fledgling growers to make their foray into dahlias through the fair and the Dahlia Society's annual tuber sale, because he wants to continue the legacy of dahlia growing that has existed in the Flathead Valley for many years.

Rippens is carrying on the heritage of the late Flathead High School math teacher Bill McClaren, a renowned figure in the dahlia-growing community nationwide.

McClaren founded the Montana Dahlia Society, wrote "The Encyclopedia of Dahlias," and named many of the dahlia varieties that will appear at the fair this week. McClaren judged the dahlia competition at the fair for decades, in addition to 40 years of judging dahlia competitions across the country.

"He was instrumental in really a lot of the Dahlia Society here in the Flathead and also known nationwide for his innovations," Rippens said of McClaren.

Rippens hopes his efforts at the fair and in his garden will help keep that legacy growing.

"We have a rich history here," he said.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 406-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.