3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
If a sprout gets broken off will a new one form? I have some with longish sprouts and it new ones will form and I still have 2 weeks at least before I put them in the ground I was thinking about breaking them off to get new sprouts and a sturdier plant. I have a few plants that are potted up but can't do all of them. The nonpotted up tubers are going crazy.
I cut a sprout off to start a new plant by potting up the sprout. This resulted in four eyes where there had been one.
You can pinch them back, resulting in a shorter plant for now. The plant will concentrate on developing laterals in the next few weeks as opposed to just growing taller. Plus, this will ensure a bushier plant for the season.
If your yard has the maritime breezes off Puget Sound, then you should be able to plant almost anytime. If unsure, plant in paper-lined pots for sunny days out and cool nights in protection, like Jroot's thread, and transfer/plant outside in May. If you're in a cool microclimate, best to pot up now, and wait until mid May to put outdoors. You don't want them in cold, wet soil.
Here is a link that might be useful: Jroot's threads
Typically, tubers can be planted any time in late April or early May depending on how wet your soil is. If it is too wet to till, you are wasting your time trying to plant the dahlia tubers. Soil needs to be dry enough to till. Dahlia plants need to go in a couple of weeks later as they do not like cool rainy weather and the slugs love dahlia plants.
Bummer! Yes, I would pinch them off. Depending on where the damage is, pinch them either at the base of the shoot (1/16 of an inch above the tuber) or just above a healthy leave node. They should recover nicely. I would also keep them a bit shaded for a while to protect the tender new growth.
Good idea Viking !...I've been reading more of the older posts here...so no planting in ground til 60 ground temp? I have some smaller plastic pots saved cos I usualy start my caladiums to get a jump. Should I start my tubers now and when ground warms up transplant? After viewing pic gallery and reading what you guys post, I'm getting really excited about dahlias. In fact I think I'm going to the Jackson & Perkins outlet here this weekend and see what else they have dahlia wize..they sell alot of bulbs there $1 pack, ususaly one per pack, but I think thats a good price cos they seem to have alot of "legs" on them. I got a bunch of different Lilliums there last year same price and they grew beautifully.
I'm a newbie to dahlias too...I've been reading about all the basics of dahlia care. I've got an Omega, Tahita Sunrise, and Sights of Summer that I am going to plant sort of in a triangle at the end of a flower bed that gets the most sun. I hear about people starting them early but if they are anything like caladiums, is it really worth it. I've started caladiums indoors but had the ones that I started outside catch up in no time to the ones I started indoors weeks earlier.
What would be some good companian plants with them? I'm thinking about some melanpodium and zinnia but will be careful to make sure everything is not to close to restrict airflow.
BTW- I forgot to add- the signs of the times are that people are staying home more & growing their own-- Whatcom club took in almost $16,000 in our one day sale this year, Fraser Valley made around $9,500 & Vancouver made just over $15,000- their sale was 2 days-- A lot of dahlia gardens are going to be very beautiful this year!
Good advice on the gloves, monet. PD, I would be less concerned with individual tubers at this point than with hacking the clump into some plantable form of sub-clumps. It sounds like you're overwhelmed trying to find individual tubers, which is why I like to divide in fall.
If you can identify a single tuber with a growing eye, then go for it. If not, split them like Jroot showed, halves or quarters, and hope for the best. They really are pretty tough if you don't mangle them too much. They want to live regardless of what we do to them.
What kind of loppers are you using? I do best with a thin- bladed shears. Google 'fruit secateur' as an example. Thinner than a pruning shears, safer than a knife.
I am using a utility knife and it isn't giving me enough blade. Don't laugh but the loppers I was using are the big ones used for tree limbs! I will go for anything.
Thanks so much both of you. I will do the Google. If I plant the eyes as well as the tubers in pots, I can't understand why some people can do it in 4 inch pots??? Not these tubers.
Yes, like homemommy says, it's certainly not too late. I usually don't pre-start my dahlias because I don't have the room, and I still get plenty of blooms - just not as early as I probably would if I did. In fact, the ones I have ordered for this year have not yet been delivered (I'm borderline zone 5). The only risk you have in ordering this late is suppliers being out of the ones you wanted. As far as growing goes, it's not too late at all.
Hey, now- I'm NOT into kissing the tubers!!!! Farmer Walt, sure, but NOT Farmer John!! hummmm...maybe I should check into what Farmer Walt's doing down in the cold room when he's packing up those orders :)
I'm really glad to hear that Farmer J is doing well for you both- it's always good to hear when our dahlias do well in places other than in Dahlia Heaven here on the left coast.
Just curious Jroot,
What are your outside temps during the day when you bring your pots out? I have started some inside and most have sprouted but haven't thought to bring them out yet. It's only in the 50s-60s during the day here right now. I feel like they would make more progress inside in my floor to ceiling south facing window. Now you have me thinking...should I bring them out or would that stall them?
-Katy
v1rtu0s1ty,
You said, "I don't mind bringing them outside in morning and bringing them in at night". That is exactly what I would do, if the temperature is warm enough. If you get a few cold days, leave them in the garage. A few days there won't hurt them. Just don't forget and leave them out, if there is the slightest danger of frost. They will not survive a frost.
nhdalialover,
50's - 60's is good during the day. Personally I DON'T want them to make too much progress until I can leave them out, but I DO want them started. You see, I don't want them to get too tall and lanky, otherwise when I put them outside into the elements, they will be blown over and break.
... my two cents worth ...
Yes, Hommy I have been using layers of newspaper with mulch on top for a weed barrier even since they started using soy ink. I still do this in the smaller garden areas
However, my neighbor works at a carpet mill, he gets huge rolls of the backing for carpet for free.
I can roll it out, garden staple that down alot faster and it works very well. He covered his entire garden last year, that was intresting.
I would think that you absolutely would get them to flower the first year. But, in some ways they are the perfect flower for you because they are very easy to dig up, store and transplant somewhere else!
I am not sure what Zone you are in. If you ground freezes they would need to be dug up and stored over winter. If it just gets cold, you may get away with leaving them in the ground, particularly with some extra mulch. If it is really warm, then I would look for some tips on getting them to go dorment, I am in Canada so I don't know much about warm weather places and their Dahlias!
I got some seed from Thompson and Morgan. It looks very much like the white ones pictures above. It will be interesting to see how close the seed comes to being true to the picture.
I planted them early, perhaps way way to early because I was excited! At the begining of February and they can't go out until mid May. But, they are underlights and doing really really well. They don't seem leggy at all. I really recommend getting a shop light for anyone that is serious about growing from seed. A sunny window just does not really cut it.
Oh, and one tip for storing over winter if you only have a few, and don't have a dry cool place to keep them, is your fridge crisper, or get a large ziplock and some sort of storing medium, I really like wood shavings, the kind that they used for small animal bedding and it sold in petstores. A big bag is dirt cheap and works really really well!!
It's my first time growing Dahlia from seed this year too :)
I've never grown Dahlia before at all and can't wait to see what I will get!
I sowed on 4/5 (2) different seed both received in separate trades:
1. 'Bishop's 'Grandchildren' (saved seed from 'Bishop's Children' rec'd in fall 2007
2. 'Early Bird Mix' rec'd winter 2009 (extra commercial)
By 4/10 I had (4) 'Bishop's Grandchildren' seedlings and (5) 'Early Bird' with (1) more by 4/12. Not bad since I sowed only 8 seeds of each! Didn't even expect germination so quickly :)
Although both germinated at the same time 'Early Bird' growth rate is ahead of 'Bishop's' and are already going on 1st true leaves while the 'Bishop's haven't even started forming yet.
Happy Gardening,
Vera
You can also root them in water. I have one favorite dahlia that I don't know the name of, so if I lose it I can't even buy a new one because I don't know what to buy. So this winter I brought it inside instead of storing it, and I've been taking cuttings every time it gets too leggy. I just cut off the top couple of leaf nodes (about 8" because of the legginess) and stick them in a bud vase. The ones I didn't add rooting hormone took about a month to root, but the ones I added rooting hormone to took only about 10 days. Then I just potted them and they are doing wonderfully. I now have LOTS of those little plants growing - maybe more than I know what to do with. =grin= I used half-gallon milk jugs with the tops cut out and slices in the bottom to plant them because they are so tall.
Liquid Fence works as well for rabbits as it does for deer, as another option.
This morning the rabbit was out on the lawn again. He had been in the trap as one of the carrots had been pulled out. The trap had also sprung. I am afraid he will not go back in after all the noise. I will try the Liquid Fence Pooch. Wouldn't it be awful to have gone the whole winter waiting for our dahlias and than a rabbit eats them?