3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Since Cory can't- the Garden Web considers that advertising-- let me direct you to the Wynne's Dahlias website where you can find weddings where Cory has used dahlias. I especially like the one where she used a single huge dahlia for each of the wedding party bouquets- a very inexpensive boquet for the bride & her bride's maids. She also made centerpieces using one dahlia & in one of the weddings she made dahlia topiaries using those strong-stemmed Wynne dahlias!
Ellie
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia Albums
thanks for all the tips, poochella & sturgeon, i truly appreciate it! and thanks, too, for the link to cory's album, ellie. i also love how simple the single dinnerplate dahlia is as a bouquet! it's such a great idea and very budget friendly.
i am off to go order some tubers now!
Take a deep breath, in.. out.. relax.
It is possible that you did them in, it is possible that they are going to be just fine!
I have a tuber from last year that some of the stem was left on, and the stem is sprouting like crazy. However, most of the time, the eyes come out of the tuber itself, very close to where the old stem was located. Some people call this area the "neck" of the tuber.
So... it is going to depend on just how you sliced and diced. If you completely cut the "neck" off all the tubers, then you may indeed be up creek without a paddle. However, it is more likely that at least some of your tubers have some area from which they can eye up.
This site has some great photos of the slicing and dicing of tubers, usually done prior to winter storage, but I separated all my tubers this spring.
http://dahlias.net/dahwebpg/TuberStor/TuberStor2.htm
Fortunately Dahlias are very hardy plants with a very strong will to survive, so it is not too likely that you killed them all, (if any at all.)
People use many terms, and often they don't mean the same thing to different people who use them.
I grew all my Dahlias last year (~200) in 4" pots. They started indoors, and were planted in the beds that way (~4" below the surface of the soil.)
The result was a lot of difficult to separate tuber clumps. Granted, they were much easier to lift in the fall, and all plants grew to expected sizes.
The idea, as I read it, was to store the tubers in their pots over the winter, and in the spring bring them out to have them start sprouting. The sprouts would then be taken as cuttings and an entirely new plant started (or many.) The original pot tuber could be planted, thrown away, eaten, etc...
Separating tubers is needed if you don't want to take cuttings, but do want more plants next year from those you grow this year. If you learn how to take cuttings, the tubers themselves will be redundant when you come to plant out.
Cheers,
Russ
Thanks so much for the further info.
Russ, that is a very interesting point about the cuttings. I actually am growing some cuttings this year and having really good luck with them! I don't know if you have been following my saga with some tubers I recieved from my mother in law last year, but to make a long story short, they where very badly mistreated and did not store very well overwinter. I was very fortunate to have 4 tubers out of about 15 sprout, 3 of which provided viable sprouts that could be harvested. I have taken 7 cuttings so far, all have rooted, and just tonight I was able to take another 5, keeping my fingers crossed ;-)
I like the idea of taking cuttings, I suppose next winter I will do my best to harvest the tubers, but definately cuttings will be something I do next spring! It seems to me an easy way to get many plants out of only one or two tubers!
I ordered all my tubers from them in October! I had a crazy day. I used them last year, the first year I tried dahlias. A third of them didn't grow but I am sure i am to blame for it! I am hoping to do better this year with them I have already received them and I am just waiting to plant!
I plant my dahlias around the first of May here in kansas.zone 6...
the smaller bedding dahlias bloom first and thruout the summer....the tubers vary in blooming time depending on the variety
the small and medium ones from first to mid summer and continue until frost
the dinner plates are later to bloom for me but much worth waiting for.......
I am a dahlia newbie but ordered some from The Dahlia Guy. I haven't received these yet. Walmart had some so I bought a pack and potted them. From what I'd read about how to store them, it seemed the Walmart tubers had not been properly prepped last fall. As such, I didn't have much hope. Maybe three weeks later, all three Walmart tubers have green growth. I ended up with two tuber packs completely buried and one had the stem sticking out of the dirt a bit. They all look alike now. The buried ones came up first.
I was hesitant to grow dahlias in the past, due to having to dig and store them in the fall, but I now think it'll be worth the effort.
NOW, I just need DH to build some trellises and figure out how to protect them from bugs...
The Portland Dahlia Society allows members to borrow a very nice Ph meter to test their gardens. It cost about $125- and gives results in a few seconds. Members find that their soil does vary in Ph from location to location in their gardens. Here in Western Oregon our soils are generally a bit too acid and the addition of lime does wonders for dahlias. I have read that dahlias prefer acidity of about 6.5 but I have noticed that they do grow reasonably well at 6.0 and above.
Well, the test itself was free, but came back with a pH reading of 8.5 - Yow! (This exercise is no longer free - I will be spending money on soil additives.) I find this interesting because Michigan soil is normally a bit acid and I amended with loads of Canadian peat about 18 mos. ago. I think I'll do an independent soil test myself (another outlay of $$$!). The Colorado Dahlia Society recommends Aluminum Sulfate (among other things) to lower soil pH and indicates how to apply it. Does anyone have experience doing this? Results?
Thanks
I traded for a Mingus Nicole tuber and have it in a pot to take cuttings. The sprout has just started and when it is about 2 inches long, I will cut it off and root it in some sterile potting mix. I have wanted this one for about five years and have never seen it for less than $10.00. I am looking forward to growing it again and it is one of the prettiest large dahlias available. Tubers are notorious for rotting in storage.
Thanks, Ted, for both of your responses.
"Tubers are notorious for rotting in storage." This is the type of information I find invaluable from this forum. It tells me how to care for a "special needs" Dahlia. I will take cuttings as you did and grow it on as a pot tuber. It should store more reliably than the normal process.
BTW - I located it for $3.00 (US).
Last year I used the wooden stakes from Lee Valley, both short and long. Short when they were in their 4" pots, and long when they went into the beds. I used permanent markers to write on them, and have to say that many did not survive the season. I'm going to try a burning thingy-ma-bob this year.
I will say, however, that my main supplier writes directly on the tubers and I've always been able to read it come the following fall...so there's a lot to be said for that. I just haven't figured out what they used (or how they wrote so nicely on such a rough surface!)
Perhaps someone else can explain how that occurs.
Cheers,
Russ
Sharpies work great on dry tuber skins though like Russ said the rough nubby tubers are tough to write neatly on. If you lose your tag in the season or during digging up, having the name on the mother tuber is a blessing.
I use plastic tags hung on stakes with a twist tie. That tag can move from stake to tuber clump in the fall and be reused. They are soon hidden by flowers or foliage and I'm not one to worry about esthetics, so the tags don't bother me in the least. Black and brown sharpie inks hold up best on labels in sun for me, but recheck them monthly or write in plain old pencil first, sharpie over. I like the Sharpies for ease of seeing at a distance, pencil alone is too light for me, but pencil alone would work too. Some people toss a tag along with the tuber into the planting hole, again, for ID at time of digging.
On damp tubers in the fall, get Sanford No Blot Ink in a Pencil permanent pencils. I bought in bulk from a log home equipment site that has since gone under. Art supply stores or other online sources are options. They work very well, though make a permanent mess if pencil shavings or lead fall where you don't want them. Like on your lips or hands!
A lost identity in the dahlia bed is easily avoidable if one picks a couple labelling methods and uses them consistently. Usually.
Firstly, thanks so much for all the discussion about the little beggers. I whole-heartedly concur with Ted that bringing in that fully growing plant was probably my biggest mistake. Equally, using the soil that came out of the 4" pots that the Dahlias had grown in all summer was another one.
I'm not completely convinced that dusting or soaking the tubers in some solution is mandatory, but I'm certainly leaning in that direction. This fall all that work will be done out-of-doors and the tubers will come in clean, and into new clean soil.
Meanwhile, I have just had a great conversation with a woman at the company whose link is below. They are Canadian sellers of natural pest controls, including mite predators. While I too am concerned about letting things lose in the wild, I'm going to trust someone else in this case as I can only have so many areas of expertise...;-]
She has recommended that I get 2000 predators in vermiculite to cover my 90 sq.ft. of trays indoors. She said they can go on after the tubers are planted, as long as its not too long after (e.g. days are fine.) The predators cannot be stored and should be used as soon as received.
She has further recommended that I get another 2000 during the week (or so) I am going to be taking cuttings, as stress is another factor in mite growth.
Predators like 75F (23C) and ~65% humidity.
I will get some more when the plants go in the ground outside.
Cost is C$45 for 2000, plus a C$12 shipping charge. So that's very reasonable considering I'm trying to keep some C$600 worth of tubers from going to waste.
I'll let you know how it goes. She did recommend I completely scrub everything and try and ensure I've gotten rid of as many ahead of time as possible. That sorta made me laugh...if they can't overcome mites that are there...what use are they? But ok, I'll give them as much of a leg up as I can.
Every other plant in my house is still being tossed, including the soil, and all planters thoroughly cleaned just in case.
Cheers,
Russ
http://www.naturalinsectcontrol.com/catalogue/getprod.cgi?1023A1
Russ, that sounds like a #$%^$load of mites. The guy at the hydroponics store tells me each predator eats 30 a day, plus eggs. I figured 1000 would be good enough to spread between me and 10 of my friends, and take care of the problem in a few weeks, especially in the house. Let us know how it works!!
I'm also reading about companion planting and Nasturtiums will deter aphids and there are some garlic sprays that can be used on the mites.
As I said, Viking- my favorite dahlia is usually the one I'm looking at, at the moment! There's far too many gorgeous ones out there to pick just a couple!...but- Wyn's Dark Dancer was a fav. in the gardens last year ;) I need to upload a picture to show it!
bklynxmas-- first, the back yard grass goes-- who needs it anyway? It always has to be mowed. Then-- the front yard grass-- the neighbors would rather look at dahlias any day-- then you ask them if you can grow your "overflow" at their place. Of course, they always agree. Then....when all else fails you head out to the country & purchase a few acres to grow yet more dahlias on! It's the Dahlia Addiction in full force-- & it all starts with Miss Rose Fletcher!!! ...although-- we do have 63 acres & only have 1.5 of them in dahlias so we have a ways to go yet!
Interesting I didn't see my two favorites mentioned.
China Doll and Sandia Joy. Both relatively small (4" on 24" bushes) but both amazing, IMO. Big is beautiful when you can grow them like Plantlady does, but small is perfect when you're an amateur like me...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
Depending on how much light you get will determine how your dahlias will perform. In my experience they need at least 6 hours of full sun a day, morning light is the best as they tend to wilt during the heat of the day. Dahlias originate from Mexico so yes zone 8 is fine, I am in zone 7 and I leave my dahlias in the ground every year with a heavy winter mulch of leaves. I also have morning sun & dappled afternoon shade. Be careful, I started with 50 plants & now I have over a 1,000. Get a few and see how they grow. Lots of luck!
well, they were in my crawlspace in the winter and it did freeze, but i don't think anything froze there.
i planted them in some pots just recently, it hasn't frozen and will not freeze (god i hope!)
so how much should I water them?
Dahlias don't like to be really "wet" or really "dry".
I find with mine, I water them so that the water pours out of the bottom of the pots, then I let them dry, even when the top of the soil looks dry, it is often not time to water again, I stick a finger tip in the soil and if it feels damp I leave it. Usually a dry top means it will need to be watered within 1-3 days...
If the tubers feel firm and solid, then chances are they did not freeze.