3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Dahlia tuber are edible (even by us, they taste like watercress but may have a pleasant or unpleasant flavor depending on the variety). It's possible something nibbled at it.
Decay is unlikely as it would most likely have gone mushy.
From the late start, maybe it was a weak tuber that spent its energy on a late and small plant but couldn't sustain the growth past a very minor initial spurt?
It's probably too late now, but you can sometimes re-root a cutting from a problem dahlia and rescue a plant from it. The first year will be slow and mostly devoted to tuber development, but you might get lucky and have some flowers from it late in the season.
Are they the same dahlia type? I have several--ranging from a foot tall to four feet, and the taller types are definitely leggier.
It may require support if it's a taller type--tomato cages work well, or a stake if you can put it in without damaging the tuber (I usually drop stakes in at the same time as the tuber to avoid damage).
If it's the same type, it may be getting a little more shade than the sturdier one. You might be able to pinch it to encourage more bushiness and less legginess. There's tons of pinching instructions online.
Just a follow-up...
I used a hanging basket to cover up the plant, but within a few days it grew enough that the rabbit could - and did - nibble the leaves. So I mixed up some chili powder and garlic powder in water and dribbled it (it will clog a spray bottle, so don't even try it) all over the flower bed. It worked! Now even the tender young sprouts are left alone. We've had several major downpours since I sprayed a few weeks ago, and it seems to still be effective. My neighbor was just complaining about the bunny eating his broccoli crop, so maybe it just found something better to eat! Either way, my dahlias are finally able to grow. Thanks, y'all!
we have multiple cute little (and not so little) bunnies in our yard, they love to come and eat the grass and flowers in our grass I guess. I noticed a groundhog munching something in the bed and that afternoon I went to Lowe's and got some of their fencing to put around the bed where the rabbits can easily access from the forest. Lowe's has cheap cute white rounded top wire fencing, 3x18 feet for $4 and also they have the picket fencing wrapped in a ball for $20 (I think it's 3x30 or something like that). we have deer, rabbits, groundhogs, I don't know what they want to eat but I figure better safe than sorry. I know the deer can just step over if they really wanted to, but there's a lot to eat in the forest for them, so we haven't seen them in the yard in a while--but the bunnies and groundhogs are out there every day!
Also I have heard that Deer Off works for rabbits, it smells rank (has rancid eggs in it), you can make your own at home, just google for it but supposedly it works...you have to reapply after a particularly hard rain.
Firstly, Take them OUT of the water. They will rot in water and do not need watering until they have sprouted and grown at least 6 inches.
Since I (we) have no idea of your seasons, soil conditions, planting details, etc, this site from Swan island Dahlias will explain fully how to plant and grow dahlias.
http://www.dahlias.com/howtogrowdahlias.aspx
Good luck.
I planted an already started in a pot tuber with 2 few-inch sprouts on it a few weeks ago, made a mental note to label it and then walked away and got distracted as I often do. A few days later I stepped on it walking through the bed, ugh, I was so mad at myself! Well the 2 stems broke so I just snapped them off and figured that the thing would hopefully recover and worst was that it would lag a bit behind it's partner/companion dahlia in growth since it had to start from scratch.
I was so surprised when the other day I noticed it has THREE new sprouts coming up and they are almost as tall as the other one which didn't experience a break! It is almost like the thing did better because the sprouts broke off...interesting for sure. If I was brave I'd try it with others lol.
So you may be pleasantly surprised if you do break off the sprout, here's hoping for you!
