3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

Are you sure about the watering? I have the same problem

Roots are pretty brittle when they are dry, so it helps to water any plant before you move them.

Watering afterword to get all the air pocket outs and reduce stress on the plant.

So, yes I am sure. But every yard is different and watering needs could vary a bit.

Keriann~

Grass clippings could add organic matter to the soil, work as a light fertilizer and retain moisture. Make sure there are no seeds in it, let it wilt, apply a thin layer. Grass cuttings can start to foul/putrefy if in a thick layer or when too wet. And keep a distance from the Dahlia stems.
Then it could work. I used it often between annuals or lettuce, always keeping an eye on slugs.
Cheers, Lin

In Portland one of our all time successful growers used lawn clippings between his dahlia rows. He got grass clippings from several neighbors who had not used any weed killer on their lawns. He alternated each year and planted in the rows where the clippings were used the year before. Since grass clippings are full nitrogen, he did not use much fertilizer. He died at the age of 95 or so a couple of years ago.

Hormone treatment was used in the greenhouses where the plants were forced. Also, it is usually best to purchase dahlia plants which were locally grown in your area, and not shipped in. Soil is always important. Go to a local greenhouse and ask if you can purchase Fafard perennial mix, or a similar blend. Miracle Gro is not a good choice. We have a local source for perennial mix which is considered "green." They recycle pine bark, leaf mulch, with less than 30% peat moss. The microbes in this soil is very high. We don't start fertilizing until the plant is beginning to bloom. One should be fertilizing the potted dahlias which are in bloom with a fertilizer low in nitrogen. There is one called "Blossom Booster. The ratio is something like this: 10-45-20. A good tomato fertilizer works as well. The key is weekly, weakly. Growers have also had great sucess using a green tea fertilizer.

Best growing to you; and, welcome to the world of dahlias. It is an addiction!!

Always bump up the plants. I gallon pot is too small. For your larger blooming dahlias, use a large size patio pot. I would recommend using a nice decorative pot for the smaller blooming dahlias with at least a five gallon size. This way, the plants do not become root bound and use up all the available nutrients in the soil.

Flower farmer is dead on!

And good soil is ALWAYS worth the investment for dahlias.

Let us know if the fertilizer and larger pots perk them back up to 'big' beauties!

keriann~

One of the things we might consider when using inverted tomato cages. Rather than bending the surplus legs to make tie down why no pick up a few plastic tent pegs and use them. At seasons end simply place them in a plastic grocery bag and store till next year, If you attach the metal ends permanently they will get in your way when nesting the cages for storage.. Another great idea from OSCARS LAB. Steve S.

I bend the surplus legs like J's not g's, so they come off and can be stored in the same way that Steve S describes. I have found that home depot or Lowe's tomato cages stack well. We stack them and store them in the woods. If they stay outside all spring, summer, and fall, why not have them stay outside all winter too.

why does the cage need to be upside down?

Because of the way the dahlia grows. It is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top where the flowers are blooming.

It's the torrents of rain that get them every year where I am. I left about 15 in the ground I didn't care for, duplicates, or bad plants, etc. Two came back which surprised me, because the others were all tattered stalks with nothing but fibrous mush underground, as they are most years. I didn't think our 2009 winter was bad at all, certainly warmer than most.

I have overwintered dahlias for at least 10 years. I plant them about a foot away from my south foundation wall. I didn't like one, so I left it in the ground and it has come back for the 10 years. I started leaving others in the ground near the south foundation and I hardly ever lose one. This is in Rochester where it gets down to 10degrees most winters and very little sunshine. I am between z5 and 6 because of Lake Ontario.
Keski

Granny, I could have posted your question!!
So, in seeing the replies, I dug mine up--They're still solid, and some have sprouts starting-so, take heart, we'll have beautiful dahlias yet.

The one thing I DON'T see posted is the fact that they just may not bloom!

3 yrs ago I ordered 8 tubers from a WA grower and 3 never bloomed, 2 never even came up. Last year, ordered 9 more (OR grower this time) and at least 3 either rotted or never grew. This year, another dozen ordered but one in particular has just sat and sat in the pot. It is not rotting, looks like the day I opened it but it simply refuses to sprout.

Because it may be a late bloomer, I am just leaving it alone (except to dig it up periodically to see what's wrong.

Sometimes you just can't do everything right or have done nothing wrong.

David

We must live in the same region, with all the rain. I am right on the WI/IL border.

Yes, I would bury the tuber right up to the first set of leaves (so the leaves are above the soil line). If it quite a stretch to the next leaf node I would clip it off at the first set so it will not flop later in life. I am glad that I don't have deer. It seems like every other critter but no deer thank heavens, nothing stops them, even their massive feet trample everything even if they don't take a nibble.

And there is no stupid questions! I learned by many experiments and doing what works for me best. There are probably 10 ways to plant your tuber, I just share what has worked the best for me over the years.

How fun that your veggy garden is planted, I love watching them mature and produce fruit, I still find it amazing.

Happy Gardening

Keriann~

Reminds me of my very first experience with dahlias. I moved into my very first house with a garden space in my 20's and my mother gave me a few tubers. They were in a 12x12x12 cardboard box, that got shoved under a table in a room that was going to become my studio space and were completely forgotten.

In July I noticed something red under the table, and low and behold a dahlia had sprouted and flowered with no soil. water or sun, and was poking up out of the box!