3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
In my opinion I think you should dig them up. I am in NJ zone 6b, I have tried leaving them in the ground but they never made it. This year I am digging up all 40 and storing them in the basement..they are just too pretty to let die again. Plus, I suggest in the spring you start them in pots indoors. I don't know how the squirrels are by you, but here the lil buggers dig up almost everything in the spring, even if its only just to 'practice dig'.
They drive me insane, anyway..I say start them indoors in the spring then when they have decent amount of growth plant them in the garden.
Good luck,
Daniella
First of all I would like to say that your dogs are beautiful!!! I enjoyed looking at all your flowers too. You certainly have a green thumb. If I were you I would plant the Dahlias and leave them in the ground. But I'm not sure exactly where you are located. I am in zone 8 and they would be fine if left in the ground here on the west coast of Canada.
Thank you for your response. I guess I'll try them in the garden. I am not sure if they are viable anyway. I can't see any 'eyes' on any of them. Not sure if the person who gave them to me knew to look for them. If they don't make it I'll definitely be looking for some in the spring. I've been looking at pictures; I never knew how gorgeous Dahlias were before!!!
I'm glad you like my puppies; they are my joy.
Roxanne
ok. you are new to dahlias; I sugest you do some searches here. you will find great info.
In short, generally either there are no seeds or you wouldn't want them anyway. The plant stores its energy in a tuber underground. Cut off the stalk to 2 inches and carefully dig it up and get all its parts. This is to be replanted next spring. Store the tuber, cleaned off and dried, in an open plastic bag (keep it open slightly) packed in peatmoss, spanish moss or the like. The point is to retain the moisture content of the bulb, without letting it rot. Be sure to store in a cool dark place. Temps around 40-50 F.
You bet I cut the first flowers! CAn't wait to get my hands on them and arrange them. No flower is safe from my flower snips! The sad part is when an arrangement I really like does not sell at my stand.... I feel so terrible for the flowers! I had one that was so delicous I wanted to eat it the other day....Grandma June (small dainty pink flowers with just a touch of yellow in the center), arranged with pink and yellow snapdragons, and pale pink English roses and lime green nicotiana....no one wanted pink anything that day or the next and it withered away in the sun. Meanwhile the purples sold readily. Atleast I get first chance to play with them all!
Mirek, it is so enlightening to talk to fellow gardeners from "the other side of the world" about these beautiful flowers which we all love so much. Thanks for sharing with us your wonderful photos of your beautiful flowers.
My secret is to start them early inside, and gradually get the young plants acclimatized to the sun. When all danger of frost is past, then I plant them in a sunny location. I admit that I do feed them regularly with a fertilizer with a higher middle number to stimulate earlier blooming. I stop all fertilizing at least a month before frost comes in the autumn. Then they are carefully dug up, cleaned, dusted with a fungicide, labelled and wrapped, and finally put into my cold cellar with does NOT freeze for the winter.
What are your secrets?
Two of the best secrets of growing dahlias are to pinch out the tip of the main stem while the plants are still small. See: http://dahlias.net/dahwebpg/Topping/Topping_1.html
AND to disbud the flowering stems before the side stems overgrow or crowd into the single flower you want to keep. See: http://dahlias.net/dahwebpg/disbudding/disbud1.htm
just a thought, white flies? this year has been particularly bad in my area, I have sprayed 4 times.
I do know that the symptoms described can be attributed to these tiny insects and the growth hormone regulators they inject into their host. I have, first hand, seen the dwarfing and yellows to death that white flies can cause.
FWIW
Thanks everyone- next year is always the one of hope- this fall I am going to add aged manure and peat to the soil and stock up on some pesticide -good advice on the white flies I seem to recall that they thrive in dry conditions(even though I hate spraying). Will also mulch to improve water retention- we had floods up here about two weeks ago (here in MN that is) and things bounced back. I think it was just such a hot nasty summer. chalk it up to that I guess!
Well, a few years back, my wife and I had a sucessful experience transporting dahlias from Denver to Minneapolis for a Nationl Show.
What we did was to get some balloons, fill them with a little conditioned water, pull them over ends of the stems and wrap them with rubber bands as insurance against leaking. On the stems that were too large for standard balloons, we solved the problem by getting a package of condoms and using them just like the ballons.
As an additional challenge our 7:00am flight was canceled, and we spent about nine hours in the Denver terminal with two boxes of dahlias following us everywhere we went.
When we arrived at our hotel in Minneapolis at about 8:00pm, the dahlias looked great and won their fair share of awards the next day.
Here is a link that might be useful: 2007 North American Dahlia Shows
I wonder if the new restrictions on carrying on water would make this difficult. Maybe the balloon trick? Probably should call the airlines and check. I would sure like to take a bouquet of my dahlias to my daughter in Maine in a couple of weeks!
Go for the 4 foot + varieties. In a border, where they need to fight for light, they will very likely shoot up higher.
Do they grow taller each year? I can't really say that is the case. I had some dinner plates that were huge last year, but not so tall this year. Others are much taller this year. I think the preparation of the bed with good nutricious soil makes the most difference.
Hey jroot and red-
I would like to hear more about this. My 3-4 year old "Babylon Bronze's" have shot to about 7 feet this year and its not for a lack of light as I have full sun in that location and no one is crowded. The new guys, ones I did not pinch back are at a maximum of maybe, at best, 5 feet.
Anyone else care to comment?
I doubt you could get the soil in the pots dry enough to keep the tuber without killing the dahlia. I wouldn't try it. As for the one you want to bring inside, it will probably get very leggy and not bloom much, but you could keep it trimmed when it does get leggy and keep it alive. Be sure to "harden" it off gradually when you take it back outside in the spring.
poochella hmmm got this from a garden center, threw out bag, these flowers are 9 inches.
The red flower? good question, beats me what it is....... although the flowers are medium sized 5 to 6 inches, and the type is Anemone.
misslucinda
Look just like yours! especially the first photo. Very nice. but if the color is represented correctly, then we are just close... My camera is dead on in color.
sorry I was wrong, the Red Dahlia, (which see below)is a Water Lilly type
I also Included the plant of the Melon/Apricot Dinner Plate Dahlia.