3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

You aren't going to hurt a thing by giving them a little drink of water. I just watered some thirsty looking soil with rooting/growing dahlias today.

I wonder if the ones on soil in your window are the ones we thought were broken below the neck? It doesn't sound too promising for eyes if there's nothing green, pink or purple budding out. Wait and see though, before you give up on them.

Thanks poochella,

I don't have any hopes for those tubers that were not attached to a neck, but there is one tuber that I have hopes for. It is the one with the neck that had no eyes yet, the one that I did not divide.

I'll definately give it more time. :c(

Yea, I am not really planning on getting them in the ground until the 15th - unless we continue to have a really warm spring (I've already got waist high clematis, blooms on my trolius, the lilacs around here are blooming...).
My question related more to whether or not having them in the fridge was ok if they have sprouts AND exactly how people take the ground temps.

Hey there,

The refrigerator might be a little too cold.

Instead of 60 degrees, you could just plant them when everyone usually plants their tomatoes or melons. Melons are usually a couple of weeks later.

I am not sure about that 60 degree figure and think it might be folklore. Please see other messages on the forum, where other people also discuss, including someone who is experimenting by planting out tubers early in zone 5. If you do want to go with 60 degrees, it refers to the AVERAGE through the day and night, and I think also refers to 6 inches down, where people usually plant their tubers.

If I were you, I would start the plants inside in pots and then bring them out in a few weeks. You could also keep them outside during the day when temperature is high enough. Mine thrive this way.

Thanks Trish. That's exactly what I was looking for! It looks like I'll have to wait until next year before I can follow your recommendation. It has been such a warm start to spring that I'm half way through planting. I'm just trying to rotate my varieties throughout my fields.
Thanks again. Henry

Green manure is wonderful and a lot less expensive than animal manure or compost, if you have to go out and buy it. Home made compost is excellent and free. Animal manure is an excellent soil amendment but should not be used when fresh.
Green manure uses legumes to incorporate nitrogen into the soil and all of the green material holds the other soil nutrients in it's leaves and roots. These nutrients could be washed away by rainfall during the winter. I use green manure, planted in the Fall and cut down in May just before I plant dahlias. Our soil has been getting better and better each year and I find I have to use less fertilizer than in years past.

Racheal: when do they start blooming for you?

Where are you exactly?

I would love to plant them in the ground in April but isn't the soil to cool.. or frosts?

Let me know : )

Keriann~

I don't think in my zone I would be confident putting them in the ground yet, not until Mid May. A Dahlia grower in my neighoburhoood told me not until June!! I am just outside of Toronto, straddling a Zone 5/6.

I potted mine up early. I layed the tubers on top of some soil in flats, just like they show on dahilas.net. They did great!! They eyed up, and then sprouted, you can take sprout cuttings too if they throw off more then one shoot. that is really fun, and will get you more plants! However, I had mine in flats since February, and needed to get them into a little deeper soil, so I have them potted up in the pots that are a size down from 1 gallon. I water them very rarely, only when the leaves start to droop, and I water from bottom up, to make sure the soil is saturated when I do.

If they are going out into containers, the main thing will be to make sure it does not drop below freezing overnight. If they are going into the ground though, you will have to wait a few weeks I figure to actually plant outside.

I do the same thing as Keriann, so I'll be of no help! :)

I have had great success with planting 'fresh' wounds.

I have about 60 started now... I ran out of room or I would have 200 more stated :)

They are all about 10-18" tall now and nice and stocky/bushy.

keriann~

Hi nhdalialover. In my humble opinion, if they are sprouting, they need to be potted. I don't think that dividing now, and waiting to pot later is a viable solution. Sorry about that, but Mother Nature WILL HAVE HER WAY. LOL

Many people on the Oregon coast dig their dahlias in the Spring and divide them into individual tubers and let them dry. They go "dormant" when dry and will take off and grow again when they are placed into moist soil. I just got a batch of tubers from a friend on the coast and have placed the dry tubers into moist potting soil in some pots. I am going to take a few cuttings from them and then plant them in the ground.

They aren't leggy at all, they are short and stocky!! They are Ferry-Morse "unwin's dwarf dahlia' and I started them about 1 month ago. They are about 2 inches tall and have their 3rd set of leaves.

They look quite healthy and ready to go in the ground (it's in the 70s and 80s and last frost date should have passed). Just not sure if I should plant the first set of leaves in the ground or plant them 'as is' as far as depth goes.

If I knew how to post pics I would show them! I am hoping they work as perennials for my area!

you can take off the first set or 2 of leaves & plant if deeper if you want to- or since they're dwarf dahlias you can just put them in at the level they are now- just saying- it won't hurt anything if you get a set of leaves under ground