3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Yes I have and it works very well if you want to manage cuttings all winter long. If you have one plant or more that is hard to get started in the Spring or certain plants like Camano Cloud and Madam de Rosa that won't make tubers, then cuttings in the fall is very appropriate. Also, if you just want to make sure you have more plants in case of tubers rotting fall cuttings are the way to go. Again, the only difference is having to take care of them all winter.
I would think if they are on a slope they should drain well enough to keep them from rotting. If they are still actively growing and not wilting your tubers should be fine. If they start wilting then your tubers are rotting. You might dig a clump,not your favorite, to see how they look and just pack it back into the ground or go ahead and and clean it up and let it stay in some cool/cold weather for a week or so for it to cure and get hard. Make sure to wrap it in some paper so it won't dry out and keep it out of freezing weather. You can use this technique if you decide to dig them all
I had one last year(Peaches and Cream) that did not flower for various reasons. I saved it and it flowered this year. Not an indicator that the plant is bad, maybe an indicator that it is a very slow variety. Slow varieties don't last too long with me.
This year I have at least ten that didn't bloom. Too hot, too dry, poor soil, maybe the dahlia fairies were against it. I'll change their growing conditions and see what happens next year. After that second chance, they're outta here.
There is an excellent link recently posted in the discussions forum.
Here is a link that might be useful: What to do
Thank you all for taking the time to post some suggestions. :)
I examined the leaves and didn't see any signs of webbing or spider mites. The leaf miner photos I found showed little trails showing a kind of surface path the leaf miner "mined" on the leaf, and I saw none of that on my leaves. Powdery mildew might be the culprit. I did see a *few* leaves with a white powdery surface, but that was only late in the season. Plus, we don't have much humidity in my region, though some parts of the dahlia garden do catch some lawn sprinkler overspray. Bad, I know, but unavoidable. The fungal infection in the soil is also a contender, but this is a brand new garden in heavily amended soil that used to be a lawn. Plus, none of the other surrounding non-dahlia plants showed any signs of sickness. Wouldn't a fungal infection have affected them as well?
-Ray
All dahlias come from tubers, and can be started from seed, after which the plant produces a tuber (by the end of the season). As far as I know, there are no dahlias which are perennial to zone 6 - so they all have to be dug up and stored inside. People who don't want to bother doing this consider dahlias annual - but what a waste, in my opinion. The attached link has lots of great information for beginner and expert alike.
Anna
Here is a link that might be useful: Lots of Dahlia Information
It doesn't look like powdery mildew to me. Looks more like spider mites. In either case, it won't affect the tubers, so don't throw away (unless you're looking for a reason to get some new ones). But -- you should cut down the plants and get rid of the debris. DON'T COMPOST IT!!
I never compost any dahlia debris, just in case there is some disease or bug in it. I had dahlia smut this year for the first time, and I will be very careful to clean everything off the ground when I dig. Luckily I live in the country and can burn.
Teresa
Get a soil test and if you need to adjust the Ph now is the time to do it. Dahlias like a Ph of 6.2-6.8 optimal or 6 to 7.
I was thinking of seeding with crimson clover in my raised bed and tilling under in the spring for organic material. I plan on leaving my tubers in the ground since this is their first year, keep the inverted tomato cages over them as markers so I won't till them by accident in the spring, and putting mulch directly on top of them for warmth. How does that sound for soil prep?