3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Dahlias aren't like tulips & daffs that require a "rest" in a cold or cool place. We have customers in South Africa & in California & Texas that leave them in the ground until spring, dig them up, divide them & replant them immediately. They have better luck "storing" them in the ground that way than digging them up & trying to keep them over the winter.
Over in Houston, I've invested heavily my first year planting the tubers. I'm attaching a photo that I took a couple of weeks ago of a sprout that was after about 6 weeks. I planted mid-late april. I plan to keep them in the ground the whole winter and see how that goes.
I planted a couple that might not work so well with the color scheme, but I'm going for it this year. I've got Kogana Fubuki, Tahiti Sunrise and a pastel mix of gladiolus and Oriental Lily Girosa in the front, and "Crazy Love," a Blue Moon mix of gladiolus and the Golden Lily of Japan for the back. We'll see, I may have planted them too late for our southern heat, but we'll see!!
Thanks for the reminder on the State tuber sale. The sale started at 7.30, and by the time I got there at 9.30, most of the stuff was gone! The lesson for next year is to take the WI dahlia society membership, as the members-only sale happens the week before. It was a great deal to buy plants that were already a foot long for $4.00. I got about 12 new plants. I turned on the email; will send you the list.
So, after waiting for 5 more weeks , staring at that inert little dark shoot, it started sprouting, yey. I had kept it very dry so it wouldn't rot, watering very carefully, and now there are even roots visible.
It's Cherry drop, part of my first order from Swan Island. Weather got warm, so it will go outside soon.
Have a nice weekend, bye, Lin
wasn't this called the black dahlia ? anyhow, I don't know why you had to order them from the u.k. as thom/choca-mocha is widely available here in the usa with. british postage being much higher than our own!
I used the format for the name, as they are one and the same plant, so your 'seedlings' are actually all vegetative propagations of one original plant, rather easily & quickly propagated from cuttings that easily take root.
. I actually prefer the old original 'chocolate cosmos'.as
it was one of a survivor from Kew gardens for many years & self sterile . although it does actually produce tuberous roots, whereas the newer cultivar doesn't seem to, although maybe much more quick to reproduce & make rooted cuttings at a much faster pace, lending itself to rapid culture & sales.
I have both, this year, in hopes to make a few seeds, if its even possible. But to me it's worth a try...
It really isn't extinct in the wild from what i understand, at least the locality is being kept quiet, so as to prevent it from being extirpated from the wild due to theft. of possibly the entire population.
plants aren't legally taken from the wilds of Mexico & the law has been that way, for many years...
By now, I suppose yours have either grown or rotted. Here , its readily available, unless sold out for the year already.
I much prefer the old 'chocolate cosmos' that survived in Kew gardens in the U.K. as it does produce the tubers and the new form has stringy roots. It didn't want to go dormant last winter & then simply died. So it's more like an annual.
Good luck, as the ones sold potted here, at least by mail order are already in growth.
I thought it looked slightly different, but didn't catch the alternating leaves. Thanks for pointing it out! Sometimes I overlook the obvious. ;)
I would say that right now this plant is three, maybe four, inches tall. It sprouted within the last week (between weeding days). I might let it grow some more to see what it is.
I wish. No, as you can maybe tell from the 'gray sky' I am in the Sunset.
Don't know why my last pic didn't get posted but the very back in front of the fence is what I call my 'hospital' section. Any dahlia not performing well goes into the 'hospital' and either recovers or gets the boot after one year. You can't see them yet as this pic was taken a few weeks ago but the back area is ablaze with 3-4 Loverboys blooming now and one O'Condah.
this really helps with sub par tubers-might have to tweak it for alaska-i make a hot compost heap in a half wine barrel-this year i used chicken scratch and alfalfa-cover it with old potting soil-surface plant on sides lightly cover with compost and let it rip-brings back the most miserable withered winter storage damaged raggedy ass tubers
this really helps with sub par tubers-might have to tweak it for alaska-i make a hot compost heap in a half wine barrel-this year i used chicken scratch and alfalfa-cover it with old potting soil-surface plant on sides lightly cover with compost and let it rip-brings back the most miserable withered winter storage damaged raggedy ass tubers
mandolls
On the website it says full sun and 2-3 inches depth of planting, and they have a guarantee so I'll just go with what the website says and if they don't come up maybe we can get some more. Will have to wait until they come around again. I honestly don't know how much longer Dad's going to be around :( Has been having heart pains and won't to go to the doctor. I have literally gotten on my knees and begged through tears to no avail.. (Maybe he is just ready to go.) Mom calls him a stubborn Norwegian.
Thank you!
Usually the largest flowers tend to take the longest to bloom, but its not an absolute rule. Some plants simply come one much faster than others. I have a couple of medium sized dahlias that usually flower before some of the poms, and one larger flower that comes on before most of the mediums, but as a general case that is true.
Planting at the end of May should definitely get you some blooms by late July, early August. In my dahlia patch, almost everything is in full bloom by mid August, and I am cooler and probably shadier than you are. (I mean my yard - not me)
Thanks Mandolls. I will try the ziploc-potting soil route. See that you are also in WI. Are you already planting outside? I am in Kenosha, and am a bit nervous about the 20 or so tubers that I already planted out last weekend. Don't know what would happen to them with the rains we are getting... :(
I don't plant my dahlias out until the end of May. The standard rule is if it is warm enough for tomatoes, then its fine for dahlias. I am a bit further north, about an hour east of St. Paul.
Cold and wet encourages the tubers to rot. If you have good drainage in your beds you may be just fine.
I wake up my tubers early and grow them in pots under lights, so that my late planting doesn't slow them down as much. Some are so much slower than others, I have a couple that are 18" tall in gallon pots. Most are in 4" pots 6-12" tall, and some are just starting to get above the soil line. I am planting about 80 this year, about 60 different types. I don't have the space for more - but I say that every year, and then seem to find ways to squeeze in more. They get kind of addictive - watch out.
I highly recommend American Meadows for dahlias, BTW. Their selection is a little low no, at the end of the planting season, but they've got a ton of varieties during the spring.
Here is a link that might be useful: American Meadows Dahlias
This post was edited by cagoldbear on Thu, May 29, 14 at 10:56
I grow border dahlias from seed, but even they get to 18-24" tall. The tubers that the small ones produce are pretty tiny, which makes them more difficult to store over the winter, as they dry out easily. The first year I grew them, I did try to store the tubers, and got maybe 50% to survive? For me it is just as easy to re grow them from seed every spring. (actually I start them in Feb)