3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
start them indoors and enjoy blooms earlier and for a longer time.
Here is a link that might be useful: head start for tubers.
From all that I've read, soil is soil, whether its inside or out. Dahlias like soil that's good for veg, and don't like anything that's been treated with a herbicide.
So get something you could start tomatoes in and you should be fine.
I have several tubers planted inside in pots intended to stay indoors. Several were planted in Miracle Grow seed starter, others in MG moisture control, and still others planted in a left over potting mix (don't know which kind, but its been sitting in the pot for a year or more.)
All seem to be doing fine.
Cheers,
Russ
Mary;
If you are willing go beyond North America in your search, there is sort of a European / UK availability list at the address below. I made a quick check and they showed eight INCAs mostly from the national collection. This link is also available at the top of the BigList.
Don McAllister
Here is a link that might be useful: Europe/UK Dahlia Availability List
In my experience tubers need:
1. Water
2. Light
inside. When they go outside, the need soil. In other words, you could start them in wet newspapers and they'd likely eye up and sprout.
Soil only comes into it when they sprout roots, and when you're starting tubers you're not really going after roots, you want sprouts. The more roots they grow indoors, the more work it is to transplant safely.
I'd use the loosest soil you can find, and keep the tubers shallow in the mix. I started mine in a 50-50 mix of Miracle Grow Seed Starter and peat. Worked fine, but I doubt the soil had anything to do with anything.
Cheers,
Russ
The only fertilizer I used last year was a small handful of bone meal in the bottom of each tuber hole. Worked great!
I should add that my sprinkler system gets its water from the lake, so there were likely additional nutrients being delivered via the water. My bay is very calm, shallow, and has 2' of mud on the bottom so its nutrient rich, I believe.
Cheers,
Russ
I take cuttings for two reasons, increase the number of plants from a special variety and to get a good root system started.
As for the difference in timing, if you plant a cutting, with say four sets of leaves, and stop the main growth tip, it will bloom earlier then a tuber. Why? The tuber has to emerge out of the ground, get four sets of leaves and then be stopped.
Now to really throw you a curve!!! I also grow for show. If I have a show on Sept 14, 2008, and I want A size (8"-10") dahlias in full bloom for that date, I'll count back 60 days and stop the main growth tip on the plant (tuber or cutting). It dosen't matter if there's eight sets of leaves (that is possible if using a cutting) or four sets of leaves from a tuber. The number of days to bloom will still be 60. I'll only allow four laterals to develop. So if that cutting is 3' tall, it's almost stripped right down to ground level (I only want four laterals and lower to the ground they are, the easier it is for the plant to supply nutrients). If I don't do this, they get too tall.
If you are growing for cut flowers, I'd suggest that you use only small dahlias (BB - 4"-6"), waterlily's, ball and miniature dahlias. If using cuttings and you take out the growth tip say by May 14, and then plant if conditions are okay, you can have blooms by the first or second week of july.
I know nothing of sand AND soil mixes, but as long as the mixture is damp and I mean damp enough for the little guys to root, you're fine. Dahlias are fairly bullet-proof. Mist them and if the potting medium becomes a little too dry-dump a little water on them. I mean, most home air is dry, sand drains and I doubt they would rot unless you drenched them.
Congrats on your sprouts. The ones I ordered had no eyes and their little necks are starting to shrivel up.
Well, I was just notified that my big delivery has been shipped! Yikes. I haven't even been able to get into the soil yet!