3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I bought 30 from Wynne's Dahlias this year (got 5 free ones, too)- first time I ordered from them. You can tell every Wynne dahlia in my garden- they're head & shoulders above all the rest with beautiful healthy bushes & strong straight stems. Loaded with blooms. Wynne's Sensation is the best large dahlia I've ever grown & I've been growing for 40 years. I'm definately ordering from them in the future.
Has anyone ordered from Ablume Gdn. BC. or St. Albert Park Edmonton? I didn't order from them but thought of it and wondered what there tubers were like. I have ordered from Ferncliff in the past and was always happy with their plants. This year I picked up tubers at the NW Garden show in Seattle. I bought from Swans, Dahlia Barn and Dans. All seem to be growning though not all are flowering yet. A couple had to be moved because they were behind something else which was probably my fault.
I use grass clippings all the time, only be sure to dry them out first. My dahlias grow in my vege garden, so I have time to do this, also in 100 degree weather it doesn't take long. Wish I was a wheat farmer where you are, I can't imagine paying $15 for a bale of straw. Straw that is certified weed free is $8 a bale here. My dahlias seem to grow slow this year. They were all planted at the same time, and some are blooming and some are not even 2 ft tall yet. This has been the year of crazy weather here, like other places I guess.
I agree that it isn't a dahlia. I think it is a Rudbeckia. It still looks like the flower is immature in this pic but I bet it is one of those black-eyed susan's with the green eyes. I'm not sure what they call those, something like "Irish Eyes" I think.
Good Luck or I should say: "The luck of the Irish to you!"
Annabeth
My experience is a negative for Bulbmart. I purchased 3 Starship Enterprise irises from them through eBay. They were a little pricey to boot. It took two years for them to finally bloom and they were not Starship Enterprise irises. I wrote to Mr. Hirt twice - once to see if he would replace them with the correct irises.....which I had my doubts about him sending even though I still had my emails to and from him concerning shipping. The second email was just to ask if he could at least identify the iris he sent as I had sent a few photos to him. There was no response to either of my emails. (Maybe that's good after hearing how he responds to most people.) I see he's up and selling more irises on eBay again. Naturally, I would never buy from him a second time and hope nobody else falls victim to him either.
Newer cement tends to increase the pH. If compost is added, it could aid in keeping the pH lower, as well as watering with coffee. That helps immensely with dahlias by repelling slugs (their number one enemy in my yard). Of course a soil test could also be done, or the OP could easily just plant them to see if they work, if there's no success she could always test the soil to determine if the failure was caused by the location or the soil.
Everett might as well BE San Diego given our heatwave in WA this week. It hit 102 an hour ago, cooling off nicely to 100 now :(
Here is the contact info listed at www.dahlias.net for the San Diego Dahlia Society. I bet either one of them would give you sound advice for your local conditions.
Gerald Lohmann
6616 Rockglen Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 279-5135
~ GLLohmann2@aol.com
Alt Contact: David J. Tooley
~ djsj21643@aol.com
Soil test should be done and then set up fertilizer program based on the results. Without a soil test, there are two choices: (1) if you are growing dahlias in an area that has not been fertilized in several years, use the 10-20-20 that the others recommend. (2) if the area has had lots of fertilizer applied in previous years, use only a high nitrogen product. A typical lawn formulation (without weed killer) would do well. Urea 46-0-0 is the farmers best source for nitrogen and is used by many dahlia experts.
It's true that dahlias have no natural pests or predators, but they can be susceptible to other pests. I've got some planted near rosebushes (a dumb move on my part!) and I keep finding beetles eating holes in the leaves and moving into the buds. We've gotten some beetle spray and will probably get a beetle bag soon to keep them away.
However, you've got box elders, not beetles. I do not know how exactly to combat them, but look into ladybugs. You can buy them by the thousands for roughly ten dollars. They eat several garden pests, and they're kind of nice to have around (granted, they sell them in such large numbers because likely half of your purchase will just fly away)
Your wet June and what sounded like few days of sunshine with it didn't help much, but it sounds to me like your "cutting back" was the main issue. Try to avoid leaving a hollow stem. Pinching the center growth tip off the main stalk/s will suffice. Just once is all I do. Your fertlizer, sun, soil all else sounds perfect especially since they look healthy.
I hope you'll get some nice hot summer now. One other thought: was the fertilizer slow release or more short acting? If not slow release, you might consider applying another dose to each plant and see what happens. Also adequate watering 1-2x weekly will do wonders.
Hope you have some laterals taking off so you can hope to see some blooms. Our neighbor dog snapped one off here so the stalk was just 4" tall, but the side shoots have taken off and are coming along just fine. Where there is green- there is hope! Let us know how they come along.
Glad you found one. The Florida climate should make a very happy dahlia imperialis. Make sure you give the trunk/s strong support or protect it from wind. They are hollow and snap easily just like their lesser cousins. Good luck!
I just planted my first one this year. It took a while to get leaves on it, but it's about 12" tall now. Can't wait to see it bloom. Next year, I'm sure I'll have tubers to give away.