3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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Jroot and Poochella have both contributed fabulous postings with detailed photos as to how to overwinter and divide.
Dahliaboy also has an excellent posting.
The gist of it is that you will wait for the first frost or two to blacken your folliage then you will remove the folliage, clean the dirt off the bulb and store it (in plastic wrap, bags, etc. in a cool place in your house with temp hovering around 45 degrees. But read their posts. Have fun with your dahlia. You will get hooked.
Anna, I don't want to burst your sporting bubble, but Seattle has behaved so weirdly over a vast geographic expanse this year that I wouldn't rely on it to be a sport. People here in the NW US have complained it was a "non summer," with cooler and wetter conditions than usual, but others far away have had the same results on this variety.
Either Seattles have been all yellow, or yellow with a hint of a white tip on a couple petals or not blooming at all.
Here is a shot taken today: the best Seattle representative being on the left, and that is the only normal looking one I've had all year. It's just bizarre!
Here is the first bloom off the same plant. Nothing at all like the Seattle I've enjoyed in the past.
If you just got some tubers that have shoots I would put them in pots and hope they will be able to create enough energy to make it through storage soon. The pots would allow you to bring them in on cold nights and prolong their recovery time before they are done for the year.
Nice Pics Daniella!
The blooms are beautiful and the leaves are so green and plush. When or how long ago did you take the pics?
It looks like you've had just about the right amount of moisture and nutrient care. Like many across the country, we too here in Central New York (Syracuse) have had a lack of rainfall plus something like 14 or more days of 90 degrees or more heat this summer and our average is 5 days. It wouldn't have been bad except for the lack of rain. And my water bill was almost double.
But I won't complain as I know in many places like the Albany area who have been on a "Water on certain days only." edict.
It's finally raining today and I hope it stops long enough so I can get a few pics in myself as even the plants look look happy instead of the 01:00 PM droop they've been experencing almost daily.
When I woke up yesterday morning it was 82 degrees at 05:00 AM and I don't ever remember that high of an early morning temp happening before.
Thank you very much! :)
The dates that I took the pics are right above each picture. I was watering every day for awhile, but now I water every few days. I think the trick to the 1pm droop, which i experience too, it to water about 12:30 1:00. just at the base of the plants, and they perk right up. All I use on my dahlias is water, I never feed them. And I didnt even doctor up the soil before i planted the bulbs at the end of June. I pulled the grass & weeds, dug the bed, went about 6-8" down, then plopped the bulbs in. I've just gotten lucky I think. was hot here yesterday too, almost 90 at 8:30 pm. But thats how i like it.
Heres some more i took this morning.
9-09 This is my fav so far.Don't know the name, they were mislabeled..Any clues?
9-09
9-09 I'm not supposed to have white ones either..Any clues on this one?
Rowansmom:
Boy do I wish I lived out in OR....the heart of dahlia country! I would suggest you go to Swan Island
and talk to the Gitts who run the place. They are a wealth of knowledge on dahlias and can, I'm sure, answer all of your questions. In addition, I would join the Portland Dahlia Society. There you would have access to many experienced growers who could also assist you.
Good Luck,
DahliaBoy
Where are you in Michigan? I am in mid-Michigan and my dahlia results have been iffy. Some are great, some not so great, some pathetic. I blamed it on the heat, because the best performing ones get more shade than the others. Yours, however, look beautiful. I love bodacious.
Yes, I use hot water. However, I also use a drop of clorox, a tsp of sugar (sometimes some aspirin) and then put the flowers in a cool, dark place to drink water for a few hours or overnight(but I condition all of my cut flowers this way).
Bacteria is the biggest enemy of any cut flower. Change the water every day and if possible, clean the container or put just a drop of the clorox in everytime you add new water. Keep your arrangement out of a hot, sunny location.
Yes, I find all of the above makes a difference.
Alice_ma6,
1) The bigger the better at least a gallon + - to make room for a good root system and also for tuber development. Some can get really large.
2) As many holes as possible. I take pails and drill holes in the sides near the bottom to plant my brugmansia. That way I can root prune easily and pull them out. Dahlia roots are not as large as brugmansia, so bottom holes will be okay. You still might have to dig deeply to get to the bottom of the pot.
3) Good soil with lots of nutrients. Also with good drainage. They don't like wet feet.
4) If your pot soil is good, you will need less fertilizer. I use Miracle Grow, but any balanced fertilizer is good.
Personally, I don't have the space to do what you are recommending, so I clean well, dry slightly, dust with bulb dust, wrap, and store in cardboard box in my cold cellar which does not freeze. This has worked well for years.