3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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.
What KIND of miracle grow did you use? If it had a high 1st number, then you are encouraging it to grow high. If it had a higher middle number, then you are encouraging flowers.
I pinch only in the early summer ( June ). I also strip only the bottom 4 inches of leaves to get them away from the soil, and thus discouraging mold on the leaves from the soil. Was it in lots of sun? They don't grow well if they don't get sun. Even partial sun is a problem for mine.
Bring the tubers in for the winter, and try them again next year.
Well I guess it could be a couple of things. I fertilized it with regular old MiracleGro All Purpose Plant Food, which does not give the concentrations. However, it is right next door to a miniature rose which I did fertilize with a high nitrogen formula. Maybe some did leak onto the dahlia area. I guess that could have done it.
The sun also does decline in this spot in about mid August as it goes lower in the sky. But the mini rose is still blooming so it more than likely was the nitrogen. Next year I will have to be careful to separate them.
No it won't effect the tubers. Probably a bit late for the plants to push out new leaves if they are totally brown. I just remove the worst looking leaves. PM is best controlled culturally or with a systemic fungicide. I had some pretty bad this year myself.
pdshop, Zoombrowser takes up approximately 90% of my current harddrive space! Yes, Photobucket is easy. Just sign up for free, or pay a small annual fee and store more photos. Then save photos from zoombrowser to your PC, then upload to Photobucket for permanent storage.
Good luck. We'll be waiting to see your dahlia even if we can't identify it.
That is so pretty :)