3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

Hi there,
I think it is in the nature of Dahlias to form tubers in order to survive in dormancy till next season. The size and number of tubers actually produced varies from plant to plant (well, genetics+ enviroment). In a book on breeding Dahlias was said that one criteria should be that a seedling produces a couple/ plenty of tubers.
---
Dahlias seedlings form tubers in their first growing season. You can enhance the number of tubers by planting the seedling stem slanted/angular and covering some pairs of leaves (nodes) with soil. At every node should grow aditional tubers, provided the growing conditions are ok.

I hope that helps, if you have lots of space I would grow some from seed just for fun, have a nice summer, cheers, Lin

Thanks soo much, Plantlady, and Lunaria. I knew there was a complicated process to it, and than it can be done,( not that I want to.
I'm afraid I dont have enough years left to start such a process, but I'm so grateful to those of you who do, and let us enjoy your successes.
I would also imagine its like having a new baby, waiting to see what comes up!

It happened to me last year with Cherish

According to Washington State Univ. most dahlias have virus. Sometimes when a dahlia is stressed by other factors the virus symptoms show. Some dahlias are affected very negatively by virus and these varieties tend to disappear over time as the stock gets diseased.

I love the single, open-faced dahlias because the hummingbirds are nuts about them around here. Since these are not often available in the horticultural trade, I have several that I selected from seed that are tall, bloom like crazy all summer, and in hummingbird favored shades of pink, red, and orange. The plants are totally covered in blooms all summer until frost.

I do have a few doubles as well, but I ditch those if they are too floppy and shy bloomers. I like "Seduction," a double two-toned purple that stands quite rigidly and flowers a great deal.

Phytomaniac, better to find dahlias later than never at all. They do pack a punch in a vase.

I want to stand up for the little pompons! No body likes the little fellows much, but to me they are a stunning pack of petals rolled into one petite package. I think they have value used in contrast to the larger blooms, in mixed bouquets, or standing alone in a little vase. There are some good ones out there in a variety of colors.

Uroboros, I bet your garden is zooming with hummingbirds. I don't care for the singles much because they don't hold up well when cut, but for a garden plant, yes, they have value too.

Right - I wouldn't worry about them at all. On those first warm sunny days - everything in my borders wilt including the perennials. It's normal and by nightfall they perk back up. As long as you have had them out and hardened them off reasonably before planting, I think they are fine.

Thanks for the input. Since I have some tubers in the same bed I want to refrain from watering as much as possible until those show.I have been getting similar mid-day wilting on a few of my perennials. Our weather has been crazy warm for this part of the country. This is the weekend that many people around here traditionally put out annuals, but we have already had many days in the 80's and 90's. I am expecting a bumper crop this year.

yeah, and if you google it use the word 'dahlia' in front of it.
One article
http://members.shaw.ca/hydahlia/smut.html
and discussion below

Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia smut and diseases discussed here, see linked photo

Thanks again Poochella. It doesn't seem as though the conditions for smut have been provided, but the symptoms are certainly similar.

The dahlia in the middle photo has some chlorotic and deformed leaves that don't show especially well in the photo. I'm afraid it's dahlia mosaic virus. If it is, I have no idea how to proceed, so I guess I'll wait everything out.

Are Dahlias as much vole-candy as oriental/trumpet lilies? I lost about 20 orienpet/trumpet/oriental lilies to voles despite using hardware cloth cages. I learned that the regular hardware cloth is too large for the small Eastern voles; I should have used the small mesh kind. Aaargh!

I live on the border of zone 7b/8a, and we got 2 nights of 17 degree temperatures last winter. Would I need to dig up Dahlias or could I leave them in the ground?

Would voles chew through plastic pots to get to the Dahlias?

Susana Mc

We have plenty of voles here and have only had two tuber clumps nibbled over the years out of hundreds grown. Each season I'll find a few holes in the garden descending right next to a dahlia and still find no damage to the tubers, so they're eating something else, thankfully. One year, I was watering in/filling in one of those holes and out sputtered soggy little Mr. Vole himself. I did not towel him off.

Don't know about lily bulbs; those rotted or otherwise disappeared. There are lots of videos and reports of vole trapping methods online and they do mention seeds and tubers as a food source, but voles haven't been a deal-breaker here.

Susana, if you mulched well over the root zone with leaves/straw etc, I think you could easily overwinter clumps in the ground unless you have an inordinate amount of rain. You'd want to divide them every few years to maintain the health of the plants though.

Thanks for posting the repost I would haave missed it. Been very busy making some pen boxes.

Oh how wonderful - I'm a cat lover, too. Beautiful flowers and kittenkats. :)

I had to take the hose with fingers over end to make a sharp squirt of water to the one stubborn plant with aphids remaining today. They are small, look like a new hatch, but they are hopefully sprayed to smithereens now. I supported the stems with my free hand and just 'blasted' away from all angles, including nearly upside down. I wonder if the tightly knit new leaves provide little hiding places for them.

i'll try that this weekend. i bought a bunch of ladybugs two days ago and released them in the greenhouse....i was so excited, thought they'd go through there eating aphids like pacmans...but i don't see a difference. and i watch aphids walking on a plant pot...a ladybug literally bumps into it....backs off as if to say EXCUSE ME and walks on. now i'm wondering if ladybugs really do eat aphids???