3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
You can go either way on the sprouts. As long as your weather looks decent, plant so the upper surface of the tuber is about 4" down and cover it (and part of your sprout) with at least an inch of soil, though it won't hurt anything to cover it all to ground level. If you do just the inch, the soil will be warmed by sun faster and you can fill in the rest of the hole as time goes on.
Another good idea would be to protect those shoots from slugs, preferably with a non-metaldehyde slug bait, if there are pets in the area. Sluggo has worked great to control the slug population here. Good luck!
Thanks poochella, we are currently having our obligatory two days of rain but the forecast is showing five days of sun starting tomorrow. I'm starting to panic because i have dahlias and glads to plant and my vegetable garden has been tilled and ready to plant for three weeks. Next weeks forecast is calling for "busy'. Again,many thanks. unc
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???
What makes you think you overwatered them? If they're in well-draining soil then you probably don't have to worry. I've just been planting and watering in pre-started dahlias. Mother Nature added another inch+ of water and I'm not going to be worried until there are puddles standing in the holes.
The NEW website is up (and sorry, yes, part of it is still under construction - I do have a life, of sorts).
AS members provide photos, we're adding GARDEN GALLERIES - the name of each gallery will include the County - so you can see exactly what's growing in 'them thar hills' (ooh! Dahlia Double Entendre)
At our March Meeting we'll have a slide show of the NEWEST Dahlias to be introduced. (ItÂs also a chance to start learning about Dahlias before you try to pick out tubers! At each of our Meetings, we have a short discussion about what you should be doing, at that time, in your Dahlia patch.)
The TUBER SALE is slated for Saturday, May 13th 2006 at the Arboretum.
(shhh: The Members Only Sale IS held the Saturday before, at a secret location. But anyone at the March or April Meetings will know where!)
And we're offering a special deal: 12 bucks will get you into the Members' Only Sale, a box with those yellow wooden tags & a marker, some reference materials, AND get you a Mentor for a year. Think about it - somebody who knows what they're doing, at your beck & call!
AND THERE WILL BE OTHER TIMES & LOCATIONS to get Tubers or cuttings. (Check out the website  if the info isnÂt there, itÂs Âcause we donÂt have the specifics yet, so keep checking back).
Our ANNUAL SHOW is always the 2nd Saturday of September - this year, Sep 9 & 10, at the Arboretum, Noon til 5 pm - CAUTION: We can't open the doors on Saturday until the Judging is completed, even if it's after 12 noon. But in the lobby of the Arboretum, the winners are brought out and placed in the Court of Honor as theyÂre identified.
NEW this year: a YOUTH competitive division & an UNJUDGED division (for older flowers that perhaps canÂt compete fairly but are still beautiful, or just for Dahlia growers to show off their favorites)
SPEAKERS this year: WeÂre trying for a nationally recognized Floral Designer and a Photographer. Our goal is to increase participation in Artistic Divisions of Arranging and Photography.
THE SHOW IS NOT LIMITED TO MEMBERS ONLY! And we sell cut flowers. And we have educational opportunities!
We encourage our members (& other Dahlia growers) to participate not only in our show but in the NC Mountain State Fair competition as well. Our members are also available to talk about Dahlias and the Society - at our Show and at the Fair. And at your gardening club.
Here is a link that might be useful: CarolinasDahliaSociety
Shoot missed it!!! I have been wanting Dahlias for years and this year finally broke down and ordered a bunch off of eBay since I couldn't seem to find any local growers.
I want to join any societys and clubs in my area, I'm in Western NC so Asheville, Brevard, Cashiers, Franklin, and Highlands are my area.
I would love to learn all I can, and I also don't want to miss out on any more SALES!!!! so want to be on any and all Dahlia mailing lists for our area.
Thank you so much I'm glad to have found you and hope to get to know y'all much better very soon.
thanks
Sharon
in Sapphire NC
This might be too much, or might give you a starting point for your questions. If nothing else, use the Contact button at the MDS site and see if they can hook you up with a mentor to give you more info, or maybe even find a dahlia fiend in your area where you could get hands-on demonstrations and timing tips. Dahlia Societies are wonderful resources I think go largely untapped by the public.
Good luck on your possible venture into showing.
Here is a link that might be useful: Timing Blooms by MN Dahlia Society
Thanks. I actually already had read that article. I went to a dahlia show last year in MN and the guy that wrote it won just about all the categories!! So, i'm going to try and piece together his advice; but the article reads a bit random. Anyone on here have good advice on this topic?
Thanks Poochella.I did fertilize them with a transplanting fertilizer by MG.I made it double dilute.I am not watering much at all.The potting mix is moisture control and that keeps it nicely at the barely damp stage.The starts(not sure of proper techie term) are between 6-15 inches tall.I am taking them outside daily to harden off.Lows are still in the 40's around here till later this week.I hope to plant them next week.
The pinching was a case of not being sure of what to do,how to do,and when to do so I did nothing!I checked the Colorado Dahlia society site but really did not "get it".It is my first time with Dahlias and I am very excited.I really want to do the right thing.
Oh yes, the moisture control soil would keep the roots more damp, so good idea on the lightly watering. A transplant solution when going from flat or pot to garden really helps prevent shock.
Not too late to pinch at all. The ADS site about topping also confounds me a bit with all the counting and such. There's no time here to count leaves on many plants so when they are 12-18" tall with 'several' sets of leaves I just snap off the central tip as I go down rows or walk by. Best done in the evening or early morning when the plants are more rigid. Sometimes you'll need to unfurl the top leaves to expose the uppermost center growth. If they're too small to snap confidently, let them grow a few more days.
Mid Island dahlia site has a very good photo of leaving the new growth at the leaf junction unharmed when you top/pinch. Aside from knocking down the whole plant, they're about the only thing you can mess up when topping. It's easy and very worthwhile.
Here is a link that might be useful: Mid Island Dahlia Learning Center
I agree with the above statement.
I have seen no difference in the size of the tubers (between the same varieties) and the size of the plant or quality of it. I have found the 'bulk' tubers that are pretty banged up actually can be seperated 3-6 times. So they send 3 clumps and I end up planting 8-12 seperate plants! They are pretty ratty looking but well worth a little nursing back to health.
Keriann~
Tuber sizes vary so from variety to variety: long and thin, fat like baking potatoes, short round, etc etc. I agree with the above too, and emphasize that any tubers you buy should have eyes if given time for them to pop. If they fail to show up, then it's time to contact the seller. Hopefully, they'll be accommodating.
Last year, as I pulled tomato seedlings sprung from the compost in the garden, I tugged up this little sprout, clearly a dahlia, which had apparently fallen from a parent clump during planting. It went on to grow to full size and even bloom.
That is exactly what I was doing. I picked the ones that were showing eyes . They were in flats with peat. I had them under lights but nothing seemed to be happening so I took them outside in the nice weather. I must admit it was dry and sunny but I spritzed them twice a day. Who knows???
I would plant as you normally would regardless of how long the eyes are. I have had good luck planting tubers 3" below the soil line.
If there are any leaves that you will bury, I would pick them off, them may rot in the ground.
Isn't planting the best part? : ) It totally makes my day!
Keriann~
Wow, you guys are my heroes. I cannot overwinter dahlias no matter how I try. I treat them like annuals and start over every year. You all must have some pretty impressive real estate. My limit is a dozen each summer and boy is it hard choosing. ;o)
Yes, you are at just the right time for planting and you will get flowers at the end of June.. give or take a few weeks, depending on the type.
Cut Dahlias can get pretty pricey.... I would try a farmers market. But, I think the best flower to practice with are mums, they are reasonable and have strong stems that can be re-cut and redesigned. Are you thinking of loose arrangements or arrangements in Oasis or a Frog?
Keriann~
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. :)