3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Lol, well, I know I come across wanting exact figures, but I do know how to go with swags too...;-]
Well-drained soil...definitely, if you have tubers! See, all of mine are from cuttings and the tubers haven't formed much yet.
Mulch for retaining moisture...definitely, because Dahlias are shallow root plants, their roots run more horizontally near to the top of the soil rather than down and deep. If the soil gets baked, so too could the roots (or at least they'd lose access to water in dry soil.)
I think I'll try giving them some sprinkler water and see what effect it has. At least it might help with the spider mites.
Thanks!!
Cheers,
Russ
Hey Russ. Glad to know that vague is ok too, LOL. I got scared after your post about tracking and synchronizing the first bloom dates for all your dahlia varieties. I'm more from the school of "plant it and if it grows, do it again next year, if it dies, put something else in that spot". So we'll see how my dahlias do, they are getting BIG, and I inspected them with a flashlight tonight, and I think I see a bud. :) JOY.
My best plant success so far is with the stuff that the neighbors are yanking out of the ground cursing, and ask me, "are you SURE you want to take those? you can't KILL these things!". I figure if others can't kill it if they try, I have a shot at keeping it alive, and it was a really nice thing when we first bought this house and had no money in the budget for trips to the garden center. In my neighborhood, my garden is kind of known as the freebie garden. I have all kinds of ferns, elephant ears, cannas, cast iron plant, mexican petunias, oleanders, and several other things that neighbors donated while trying to eliminate the from their yards.
So I worry about giving advice to others who actually have a method of any kind when I'm so fly by the seat of my pants...Dahlias are the first plant that I've nurtured and watched every day and they are the reason I found the gardening forum! BOY am I learning a lot from all of you!
Looks more like something eating than a virus. FWIW, I was just reading an article on Spider Mites and read that the use of Pyrethrin may very well make it much more likely you'll get them because Pyrethrin kills most everything that might eat Spider Mites.
Cheers,
Russ
No thats not the stem that's brown, I just think it's time for me to buy a new camera.
I agree with you Russ. If you've ever read the Pyrethrin instructions, you can be assured it's just as toxic to humans and beneficials as the "non-organics". But I've been shooting the dahlias with soapy water and it doesn't seem to be working.
And thank you. Based upon your observation I went back to the WSU website and admit their mottling doesn't appear to have the amount of dieback I am getting around the edges nor can I find the same patterns of mottling they mention. But it may be a mute point because the virus's are generally spread through aphids and leafhoppers.
I have found a few leafhoppers and a few aphids but not enough to explain the pathetic condition of this plant so I am still wondering...
Bullseye,
I noticed you said the Dahlias are dinnerplate varieties, but they seem extremely small (the smallest dinnerplate I've come across is 3' tall.) Might just be the way the picture was taken. How tall are they now that they're blooming? and what diameter are they supposed to be?
Do you have the variety name? I'd love to get some really short dinnerplates.
Cheers,
Russ
It's just the picture, they are actually about 3ft tall or more. The packet said variety bonus dinnerplate dahlia.
Update
Here is the coneflower blooming
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3706.jpg[/img]
Dahlia
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3709.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3710.jpg[/img]
Look at the size of this sunflower, and itÂs still going
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3706.jpg[/img]
smaller version about to open
[img]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c279/ikennedy/IMG_3707.jpg[/img]
Yes Russ the second picture is of Thomas Edison. The first one is of Black Satin. In 1980 I grew Arabian Night. The wife an I loved it. So when we found Black Satin we bought a couple of them. This one is Ripples.
Here is a link that might be useful: 
J, I would ship you some new babies, but I'm not sure they'd make it through customs...I have soooooo many. I removed a 10' section of them to put in my first dahlias ever. tilled the ground to mix in manure, and every chopped root seems to have shot up a new plant. I'm pulling them like weeds.
I think some will disagree, but I had a couple like this already this year and I figured if I cut the bud, it would branch. If I left the bud, it will still branch. So I left the bud.
FWIW, have a look at my last pictures and you will see tons of short Dahlias with big stakes...I sure wasn't going to go out and buy different length stakes for the different heights they'd attain throughout their life.
I have >50 planted that will grow >5', but none are >30" yet. Patience is a virtue.
Cheers,
Russ
sturgeonguy, The dahlias are wide and they are making buds. I don't think we will see any 4 or 5 footers. At least not mine. I have never seen them do this. On the positive side, I have had no slugs this year! Very strange. I really want some tall dahlias though. I will post some when I learn how to up load.
I picked up Lee Valley Copper plant markers after my permanent marker scriblings on wooden stakes started turning red.
$0.25 a piece, just write on them with a ball point pen. More expensive than tin cans, but you aren't going to cut yourself in the process either...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley Copper Plant Markers
oops didn't work. try again. ;)