3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
My first thought was overwatering, but, mine, which are being rooted hydroponically, are beginning to show similar signs. I looked in Bill McClaren's book and it sounds like it might be a fungal disease. You could try 5T. Baking Soda to 1 gallon of water. Plantlady recommended Garden Safe Fungicide3 (includes fungicide, miticide and insecticide) in a recent post regarding fungal disease. Cut off and discard the infected parts. They may look "rough" for a few days, but should rebound.
Thanks Monet for the reply.
They seemed to stabalize over the last couple days, in the end I decided to do nothing, including not water them any further. I think it really is the watering. However... I had to go away for the weekend and leave my plant babies! So I had to water many of them that did not need it yet, because I did not think they would hold over 4-5 days! I am sick with what they will look like when I get home!
I am going to try the baking soda idea, and see if I can find that Fungicide product around here...
I've never tried spraying the plant with Lysol- just the tubers. We use Garden Safe Fungicide3 in the greenhouse. It's rated for Organic Gardening. It's a fungicide, miticide & insecticide. We use as a preventative- about once a week I hold my breath, spray quickly all around the greenhouse, on the started tubers & new seedling babies & then get out! It seems to work as we've never had any insect or fungus problems in the greenhouse.
I don't think it's too late to order this year. Some varieties may be sold out and some suppliers have stopped taking orders, but not all. I would call to make sure they have the ones that you want, as they donÂt all keep their web sites updated.
Plantlady2008 - the above respondent represents Wynnes's and they're still taking orders.
I did place an order from Redhawk (for the first time) mid-February and received it last week  about half were sold out. Some of the tubers werenÂt as large as others I have gotten, but all were plump and all were showing evidence of an eye.
You're in zone 5 so you probably won't be planting out until the end of next month. If you do order now and request immediate shipping you can start them indoors to get a head start. Go for it, besides I'm in MI, too and we could potentially do an easy trade next year! If you do choose to wait - yes, about Sept or Oct is when the suppliers begin taking orders.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Big List
Go Viking! You got Farmer John to wake up early- he's usually lazy around here & doesn't put out an eye until May or so! (We think it's because John had to get up at 4 am to milk cows all those years & his namesake is making up for it ;) I think Farmer J is the one Ellie was referring to last week when she said some are noted for being late at eyeing up.
I purposely did not list my zone because I wanted the substance of the question answered regarding the temperatures, so that I could make judgments based on the weather forecasts and local micro-climates.
Otherwise you end up with pat answered based on zones that lack the underlying rationale for the answer.
Thanks for the information.
Tubers need heat (>60 degrees) to get going. Once the dahlias are up they need light and heat. Water sparingly, if at all, until they're up. Be careful of too much water before planting outside otherwise they may rot. Once the heat of summer kicks in they will need a fair amount of water.
Don't worry about the shoot not being dark green. It'll green up in no time after it's planted.
viking-- we're over 50 miles away from Mt. Baker & have sandy loam & river-bottom peat soil on the farm. The only thing the volcano left around here was Volkswagon-sized rocks- & that was apparently over 30,000 years ago. We do use the peat soil in the planting hole though- we think it makes the dahlia's color richer.
Cory 50 miles , valcano flows go for hundreds of miles. If you have big rocks ask yourself how the rocks got there. The soil and flow that pushed it there has broken down into that sand. Now on long Island it is all sand from the glacher. Your sand is better than my sand.LOL I put a hand full of bulb booster in the hole that I dig for my tubers. I do use bone meal and have not compared what is better.
Thanks jroot. I will have to do this in stages as I don't have much sun yet. I might be able to rig something up in the cellar under the flourescent lights. I will have to get something high and than put the tubers on it to get them closer to the lights?
Good for you now they should come up bigger and stronger with more blooms, If your leaving them in the pots with the same soil then don't forget to fertilize after growth starts.They have formed tubers now so they tubers will be crowded in a pot.
Bill 77 years gardening.
Do not divide the clump unless you see another eye beginning to sprout. Some varieties do not have as many eyes as others and commercial growers leave the three or so smaller tubers together with the one eye because the grower will do better with the additional tuber mass. Those tubers are probably somewhat small and one tuber may shrivel.
I've not tried any of those but if you're in the UK then T&M are probably your best bet.
Good luck,
Here is a link that might be useful: T&M Dahlias
I love how the leaves curve - beautiful! What a gorgeous flower - thank you for the picture!
~Natalie
Ilove how Maki looks purple from a distance and more red with white stripes close up and I love their size. The only thing I hate is you have to wait soooooo long in Oregon for them to bloom.