3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I can't tell you why it's happening, but when the shoot dies the tuber should send up a new one shortly. so, as far as that goes, all is not lost. Last year I had problems with wilting/death that was related to a rotting tuber, but the plant was a lot further along than what you are describing. Has it been really wet and cool? Rotting tubers could cause your problem I think. If you think that could be a problem, you could carefully dig one up just to check things out.
HTH
Katy
Well, there's two types of "brown" in my experience. There's the dark brown that to me means the plant is rotting, or the light brown which means its drying out.
Given your soil is clay, I'd say its probably the former, where the dark brown is almost black sometimes and rather than getting brittle, the leaves are wilting at the same time.
If this is the case, then my guess would be there is likely too much moisture at the ground surface (from the tuber to the air.) Of course the tuber could be rotting too.
I would definitely take the soil off the top of the tuber so you can check this out, whether the tubers rotting or not. It shouldn't be soft at all.
If I'm right, then you'll need to amend the soil some more to ensure the water drains away from the tuber.
Cheers,
Russ
I don't know who wrote the quote...this is my first year to grow dahlias. I got some dwarf varieties without knowing what they were, and after seeing the flowers, I ordered 10 different varieties of tubers online - the ones that grow 3-4' tall. I read all I could, and spent some time preparing the soil, added horse manure, and now they are sprouting. I am growing them because I know they require an investement of time and work in order to pay off, and I wanted a challenge with a pay off of beautiful cut flowers...
You can certainly cut the plant back at the stem practically anywhere you want as long as its close to where some branches are (just like you did when you topped.) However, its a shame to lose the growth just because they're not standing up on their own. When you topped they should have gotten thicker anyway, and should continue to do so.
I'd look to one of the solutions I mentioned.
Cheers,
Russ
Russ:
I thought that when I topped mine, they would branch out and get bushy, but they have not. And, to top it all off, I forgot about the hardening off thing. I may just take a suggestion from another forum person, I believe her user name is plantlady. She suggested if the dahlias are too leggy, when you plant them, just plant them deeper, removing the bottom leaves like you would tomato plants. If I can get them planted in the next few days, that might work. If we get more rain before I get them in the ground, I will just have to cut them back as you suggested.
I envy your lovely garden area. I could see some of the trees in the background in the photos you posted. I hope you will post more photos when your dahlias are blooming.
Russ:
For someone new to Dahlias, I have to applaud your ambition! Your cuttings look great and your method so organized. I think you are hooked now. Evidently you have a green thumb too. Good luck on your new Dahlia beds.
I am still waiting for the ground to dry out a little so I can till again and get mine in the ground. They are getting too big for their pots...
Feeling more than a little proud yet somewhat embarrassed too, I should point out I took 522 cuttings, of which I lost 166 to rotting from the bottom of the cutting up to the soil line(??) That's 68% success.
Next year, fewer cuttings, 100% success...;-]
Cheers,
Russ
Howdy jroot!
Here's a picture of the Lemon Tart that handled the frost. Its neat that there's a picture of the Canna in the pond, which did not fair as well as the Dahlia.
Cheers,
Russ
Here is a link that might be useful: Lemon Tart beats Canna against the frost
I'm sorry that I didn't remember that it was you, Poochella, who had told me about Sluggo Plus.
I have another question now. I remember seeing/touching my ONE & ONLY slug when I lived in Texas (in about 1987) and I was totally grossed out. Somehow it got inside my apt. north of Houston...and I walked downstairs barefoot to step on this slimy gross thing under my kitchen table! (I didn't even have a garden OR houseplants back then!)
Since I have never encountered another one, and I have grown 2 dahlias now (one from a tuber two years ago & one from seed last year-large bush, BTW), would that suggest that maybe they don't come around these parts?
My mom used to grow marigolds when I was a kid, and I used to have to help weed her garden....I never saw a one.
Thanks for the explanation about where they arrive...I was expecting something chomping underground maybe.
Guess I should still get the SP? For earwigs at l east (they must not be a flying insect, but a crawler too?)
:0) Phyl
If you haven't seen a slug in your area you are really living right! The little ones ride in on animal fur so I'll find one on the floor here and there.
Have you seen earwigs? They are so damaging to flower petals and tough little creeps to catch. If you do have them, I would go to the expense of Sluggo Plus as none of the other methods that I've tried anyway seem to catch them: inverted pots atop dahlia stakes, hose lengths on the garden bed floor, rolls of newspaper etc. Never caught one.
It's up to you. A spritz of ammonia will kill the stray slug you might encounter, and their eggs and is very cheap.
Hardening off involves not only the temperature, but also and primarily the degree of radiation from the sun. Yours will probably harden off faster than those started indoors, but I think that the glass in greenhouses also diminishes the amount of radiation the plants receive indoors.
If I were in your shoes, I would harden them off for a few days in filtered light outside. I had almost as many pots are you have so I know the anguish of moving them all.
Fortunately, I think we are over the risk of frost here in Southern Ontario, but I will still be watching with care.
John
Hi Alyrics
This is posted on Dalia Barn's website:
"Bone Meal is recommended at planting time. Bone Meal builds strong tubers. Dahlias require low nitrogen fertilizers. We recommend fertilizers with a 5-10-10 ratio within 30 days of planting and again approximately 4 weeks later. Do Not overfeed your dahlias, doing so will promote weak stems, small blooms or tubers that rot or shrivel in storage."
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I butchered my tubers last year and had more than a few that grew roots but no eyes; ergo no sprouts. No matter what you do to the tuber, if there isn't the right crown material attached to it, it will never sprout.
Your next question may well be; "what is the right crown material?" Well, my answer will be that it is crown material which has shown eyes forming. IOWs, its a matter of leaving the tuber in the ground after the frost so that it begins to eye up before you cut the tubers apart...or, doing the same thing in spring; let the tuber clump warm up, show eyes, and then cut it.
I read a ton of descriptions and still botched the work...because my tuber clumps didn't have any eyes when I tried to cut them apart.
Finally, and again FWIW, the longest it took a tuber of mine to produce a sprout capable of cutting (note: not an eye, but a sprout) was 9 weeks and 2 days (Matchmaker, Outta Da Blue, Iceberg, Patches). I have another, Playboy, that still hasn't produced a sprout capable of cutting and its been almost 11 weeks.
So, either wait that long, or call it on account of lack of crown.
To me, its a dud tuber if there's no eye within a month.
Cheers,
Russ
Russ summed it up nicely on needing crown material with eye tissue to begin with to produce a plant. I'd say a month is about the longest I'd wait too before tossing as a 'blind' tuber. (Maybe longer if I really, really wanted that variety.)
Kitkat, chopping off the rotted fingers was good. Get rid of anything rotten to prevent it from spreading. I should ask if the 'fingers' are coming off the crown near the old stem, or off the larger main tuber. If they originate off the tuber, you'll have no dahlias because they lack crown material like Russ said. If healthy, the compost pile is a perfect place for unusable tubers but anything rotted or discolored gets treated as trash here.
Books, hmmm. Bill McLaren's book is highly regarded. The ADS puts out "Raising Dahlias the Easy Way" which might be useful. Check Amazon or such for others.
Here is a link that might be useful: dahlia books
Russ,
Try the heavier stuff that wholesale nurseries put down....It is tough as nails and can be used over and over. I found regular landscape cloth disintegrates after a while. It comes in assorted widths and you pin it down with big u shaped pins and best of all it keeps the weeds from springing up.
Jan
The best garden cloth I have found is Baycor cloth - have had it down for 4 years now and it is still good. Bermuda grass however can grow through it - but you probably don't have that type of grass where you live. I get the Baycor in 3 foot rolls anything wider and the roll is too heavy to lift. Not cheap but very good. I put bark over the ground cover cloth because it is very hot where I live and the cloth is black and absorbs the heat, but in a milder or damp climate it would be great just plain. I do have problems with weed seeds germinating in the bark over the cloth and since I try to go organic as much as possible, I have to hand weed a pre-emergent should prevent that if you use. I ordered mine from OBC Northwest in Oregon and put it down with the six inch metal staples which I order by the box - those aren't cheap either due to the freight - but it sure has saved me a ton of time in weeding - so I guess time is money saved too. I have even taken up a few beds and saved the cloth and re-used it on other beds.
I got cheaper cloth and it didn't last worth beans - more trouble than it was worth.
Dig the thing out of the crappy soil, then dig a hole 2' wide and 1' deep where you want to plant them. Put decent soil in the hole, and put the tuber (and sprout) back in.
IMO, nothing can be done in any other way if the plant grows spindly and pathetic. Put as many chemicals into clay as you want and it will still be clay, and won't drain properly, and therefore won't service the Dahlia well. Not saying you have clay, but whatever you do have isn't suitable for Dahlias. So change it.
Cheers,
Russ
5 hours at those hours should be enough to produce blooms. Many of mine struggle for sun with our surrounding trees and they do just fine. You may not get the intense colors you expect, or you may get better colors on those that like shading. Just try and see.