3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Hi CC,
how are you,
great to see that you are posting again.
Did you have a good start into the season?
Here just a pic I found today when sorting my files and moving them onto another computer,
so we know what we are waiting for.
A yellow sport of Vulkan in my last year`s garden
bye, Lin
I disrupted some of the pot-tubers when I transplanted, didn't seem to really set them back as long as they got enough water and I didn't do it during a hot spell. There's only been 1-2 that seem to be kind of struggling/stopped for now out of the 12 I have in the ground so far. Have to finish the rest this wkd!
I disrupted some of the pot-tubers when I transplanted, didn't seem to really set them back as long as they got enough water and I didn't do it during a hot spell. There's only been 1-2 that seem to be kind of struggling/stopped for now out of the 12 I have in the ground so far. Have to finish the rest this wkd!
I've solved the mystery, although it wasn't really a mystery.
As 'linaria' suggested "misslabeling accidentally", not really - it was a case of no labelling at all!
I only had two varieties; one lot were stored in the basement, the others in the garden shed. I thought I was certain which was which.
A proper case of "egg on my face" :)
"i had always thought the bigger the tuber mass the better-swan said to always plant single tubers-counter intuitive but they are right"
In addition, most experienced growers will always pick the smaller to medium sized tuber to grow over a really large one of the same variety. The plants from the bigger tubers often don't produce as many tubers as the smaller tuber plants.
However, the flowers and plant of the same variety are the comparable regardless of the initial tuber size.
Huge tubers would be great if you are growing them to eat. Experienced dahlia growers shun overly large tubers as they do not grow very well. Medium sized tubers are best, about the size of a hen's egg or perhaps slightly bigger. Manures are excellent products if used during the first half of the growing season. Phil Damp was an exhibition grower who over fertilized his flowers on purpose. He won many prizes with them. He knew that by using so much manure that the dahlias would produce excellent show flowers but that any hopes of storing the tubers would be futile. He grew another garden where he put tubers or rooted cuttings into 6 inch pots and gave them almost no fertilizer. These small tuber clumps were used to make rooted cuttings for his show garden the next year.
Very few dahlia enthusiasts grow Imperialis. It is very tall and can reach 20 feet. It is very late blooming and in most of the USA it will not bloom or will do so just minutes before a killing frost. It is a different species of dahlia and will not cross with our dahlia variablis. The tubers of Imperialis can be 3 feet long and unlike variablis, it can be grown easily from an inter node on the stem instead of a tuber.
Thanks so much for your response! :) That helps a lot. So I guess I'm gonna be cutting off quite a bit off the top. I have 2 more but they aren't nearly as tall, but they probably need to be topped also.
And they do have quite a bit more shade than I intended for them to have. The flowerbed they're in is a new one and I thought there was at least 7 hours of sun but it's more like 4-5 hours.
4-5 hours of sun is pretty minimal for Dahlias. They will probably still bloom, but you won't get a lot of blooms and the plants will definitely be taller than usual. It is early enough that it might be worth moving them to a sunnier spot if you have one. I grow mine in 6-7 hours of sun, and wish I had 8-10 hours.
Mine are planted in similar conditions - only about 6 hours of sun - you will end up with taller than normal plants, and less flowers, than optimum, but they will still be nice - just be prepared to stake them well.
Mine often look a bit wilty during the heat of the day, but bounce back - don't screen them more - 6 hours of sun is minimal.
I started mine indoors as well but for the last month they have been outside on our screened porch getting morning sun for about 2-3 hours; then I moved them out and put them onto a chaise lounge where they got 4-5 hours and I just am transplanting them now--did 5 last week and they are doing great so far. I agree it sounds like maybe yours needed some hardening off outside first before planting in direct sun, 6 hours is pretty warm if they were only getting filtered sun through windows etc.
This is my first year too so I expect a few mistakes, good luck! Thankfully Dahlias seem pretty hardy actually--less fussy than some plants!
Great to hear !
I got 2 bare-root astilbes and put them in the same container on different sides of the container. One came up first. It was growing so nice and bushy that I thought the other must have died off. However, within the last week or so, it is also growing something now. So the lesson learned is that a gardener still needs to be patient to see the efforts pay off.
symi77, that's a great-looking flower! :)
gardenper, you're definitely right. Both of the tubers are now showing quite a lot of growth. (I can already tell that I should have planted them further apart, but there's that whole limited space thing. What can ya' do?)
Hopefully, Mamabear86 will check in and let us know how hers are progressing, too.
Use sturdy metal stakes. It's not pleasant to use flimsy stakes and then worry about fallen plants after a storm, or simply because of the weight of the flowers. Also, make sure to put the stakes in before you plant, not only after they need staking- this ensures you don't stab through any tubers.
I started some tubers between May 25th and June 11th back in 2011, and the ones I started later were actually later blooming large dinnerplate dahlias(85-90 days til bloom) and they started blooming in early September. I dont think its too late. In fact, they really dont start growing well until the temps get warmer anyway, which means they really should be planted when the daily highs are at least in the 70's to 80's.
If your dahlias are smaller, faster blooming types then maybe you will get blooms by mid August if you plant them now. Otherwise they will start in September. But thats OK because they will still bloom for nearly 2 months til first frost(depending on when your first frost occurs).
I am getting one last order of tubers this wkd and they are going right in, might be a bit late but we'll see! I also have pots that I started that are a few inches tall going in this week. I had to stagger plantings since I was also getting beds ready. Good luck!