3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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
Depending on how large your clumps are, how many years in the ground, I'd advise going for the 'delicate' approach. hacking will destroy viable tubers, break necks and not guaranty you get an eye on each tuber or clump portion.
If you have a huge, heavy clump, then hacking just to break it up may be the better option to start; then move on to more delicate tuber division. Many people store whole clumps or mini clumps and look for sprouts in spring before dividing further. If you have space for this, that's another way to go.
An article here from this forum
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/dahlia/msg0913415430587.html
Jroot's spring division and potting thread with photos
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/dahlia/msg041343391520.html
And some photos to ID eyes, some division photos at this link. I have even better photos I may get to posting one day soon.
Here is a link that might be useful: another eye/dividing thread
Pooch, Still some good information in your old thread there. Not all Poochievision pics either.
Delicate VS hacking does depend on how many you want to save or try to have for next year. I don't fully divide mine until spring - they are stored in mini clumps of 2-4 tubers.
Thanks on the pix. I enjoy others' photos too.
Lucky Number might be your number one above.
Here's one below from here for comparison.
And coincidentally, I found those very red spotches on a few petals on one plant this very afternoon. That's a first for me. I have no idea if it's genetics in the plant, or birds spitting berry juice indiscriminately, or what. Very odd, and by now I've forgot which plant it's on, but I'll find it and get a photo.
Beautiful...sure loooks like my 1st pic here. Thank you!
As for the splotches, it has to be genetics..when the buds are just starting to open on my plant, I can see the splotches already in there. Just that one plant though. I'd love to see pics of your 'splotchies' lol.
I check maybe once or twice to make sure they aren't rotting. But I think you should look up your local dahlia society and ask somebody down the road. I don't know how many below freezing days you have and how far down it goes. I think I was at a meeting once in ATL when it snowed about 4 inches and the city and I-75 shut down for days.
No, I dont think so..I thought it might be the 3rd pic I have here, until it opened..it's too pink..but when the bud was opening it was such a dark purple I thought it would be it for sure. So I'm still waiting for that one, if I even have it. It should be a law that things have to be labeled properly when sold, lol.
I will keep posting as I get new blooms though :)
This is my first year with the bigger dahlia plants, and I have leanred alot! Main 2 things being..get the stakes up early, like at planting.. before the get big..And label the stakes.
I don't put extra holes in the pots but I have experimented with soil mixtures. I used straight Pro-mix out of the bag and it was too moisture retentive and I didn't get good tuber growth. This year I mixed in aged compost and aged mulch in for more drainage. I fertilized with Mighty Plant which was good stuff. I also planted with bone meal. My pots range from prob 20 to 60 gallon. You have to leave some space for the tubers to grow. I used to fill the bottom of the 60 gallon pots with pop cans to make them lighter, but found the dahlia roots growing through them all the way to the bottom, so they wanted the extra space. I also plant shallow and add soil as the shoots come up.
