3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I didn't hear anything that would indicate an insect infestation. Sounds more like chlorosis to me, or too heavy soil, poor root development, too much water, etc.
I'd make sure the site drains well for the tubers and feed with bone meal, tomato fertilizer or Espoma's Bulbtone.
Nitrogen promotes foliage development and you do want that, but in a bulb or tuber, you don't want a high N fertilizer - it will rot them out. You want a fertilizer that promotes root and flower production - a higher Phosphorous and Potassium level than Nitrogen.
This year I'm trying something new, in the garden I amended with Sweet Peet and composted wood chips to improve drainage and porosity and double layered Bulbtone down in the planting holes. I also grow 60 gallon containers of dahlias on the deck where my mix is very porous this year - I'm using 40% composted wood mulch, 40% Sweet Peet and the remainder is ProMix - a peat based soil-less container mix that holds water. I double layered the Bulbtone in there also to give the roots something to grow to. And just getting ready for first extra fertilizer application - I will use Mighty Plant 2 times, July and August then stop because it has a lot of N. According to Dahlias.org, you stop the high N fertilizers in August because a tuber that has been over-fertilized will have a greater tendency to rot over the winter. I've done this in the past with good results.
One of the real easy ways is to place some vermiculite in a brown paper bag. Wash the newly dug tuber and while still damp put it in the paper bag and cover with vermiculite. Leave the bag open. Sprinkle with a little water occasionally during the winter. If you have a nice cool place to store it should be raring to go come springtime. Steve in Baltimore County.
I would leave them in the tub and move the tub into a garage or area that stays cool but doesn't freeze. Plant your poppy seeds somewhere else and then transplant them into the tub after hard freezes are over and the tub is back outside. The dahlias should take light freezes if no top growth is showing.
This solution is easier for the novice dahlia grower than trying to keep the tubers inside after digging them.
FERN RIDGE PAINTED LADY DanÂs Dahlias
FERN RIDGE PAINTED LADY Mingus Dahlias
FERN RIDGE PAINTED LADY Parks Dahlias
Those 3 vendors have them according to the Big List of dahlia varieties/sellers. I can recommend Dan's Dahlias from experience, but don't know the others (yet.)
The 'Big List' is another great feature of the Colorado Dahlia Society website and one that everyone serious about dahlias should have bookmarked, for all kinds of helpful information.
Here is a link that might be useful: www.dahlias.net just bookmark it
Poochella posted this link some time ago. Hope it helps. BTW Plantlady, if you are there, I found 9 pages of Dahlia seedlings on your site but wasn't able to find your pictures showing the collection process...Are they still there?
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia seedlings
Some take longer than others to get going. I have a couple that are only about 7 inches tall, right beside others that are about 2.5 feet tall...and they are all the 4 foot varieties.
If you want bushy plants with lots of blooms, leave them as they are. If you are growing for show, and want fewer but taller and bigger, then you can select the best stem, and cut the others off. It is your call. Personally, I like bushy plants with lots of flowers, so I leave them.
Trim them off. Once the plant is about a foot tall, you can start to trim off the lower leaves, bearing in mind that the plant needs its leaves for nurture. If the plant is tall though, I always trim off the lower leaves to about 4-6 inches depending on the size of the plant. This helps with air circulation, and helps to avoid the development of mold on the leaves. It also makes it easier to water the plant without getting so much water on the leaves,- again helping to reduce the chance of mold.
If they are brown, cut them off. The aren't doing the plant any good anymore.
Are any other parts of the plant visibly hurting?
It sounds like it might be botrytis. Cut off and dispose of or destroy affected parts and perhaps you can control it. I have one little dahlia in a planter box that is doing this: browning dry petals on not-even-open bud. I cut it off.
There are also tips for other common pests that plague the dahlia. I've already squished a couple crops of black aphids.
See the link below for anything of help.
Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down for Cultural problems/tips
I am very new to planting dahlias. I just planted 8-12 inch plants with one or two blooms in a place that gets full sunlight. i used good organic soil and fertilizer. the plant seems to have taken and the leaves look green and healthy. the blooms are all turning dry and brown though! can you please help!!
thanks
sangita
Morning,
Haven't been back for awhile. Dahlia plant is slowly doing better and now getting taller but it is quite a bit behind the other dahlias in the bed. I don't know what critter dug it up but could be rabbit, chippey or deer. Usually the deer leave all the dahlia's alone. I'll have to check which dahlia it was. Will go out and do that now. It's "Micks Peppermint" SC RW A. One that I ordered new for this year. It is so far behind the other dahlias growing in the dahlia bed. Oh, well, will wait and see how it grows..
Thanks for all your help DB and Poochella..
Later,
Sue
I would say that they are probably still in shock and drooping is normal for that.
could also be too much water..do they droop after you water, or do you water because they are drooping?
you shouldnt water from overhead with a hose, best thing to do is to use a watering can and just water the dirt around the base of the plants. good luck!
I have 46 dahlias planted and about 15 have buds. 2 have just opened their first flower. They were planted the first 2 weeks in May. We had lots of rain in June and it was 60 degrees. July is very hot at about 90 degrees. Not much was happening until the warm weather came.
Happy Growing!!!
If you have a patch of ground 'out back' that has reasonable soil and good drainage, then all you need to do is dig out a patch for the Dahlias and plant them like a row of potatoes.
If you know you have any particular insect pests then take precautions but they should 'over winter' in the ground with no problems. (I'm zone 9a. I get heavy winter rain and frosts to -5C. Bedding Dahlias are fine in the ground for me and return the following season with no problems. I don't grow for the show bench but 'ordinary' Dahlias will come through easily - particularly if they are fed with good compost.)
If you can't do this then you might want to use gro-bags with some potting mix and divide the clump/s for replanting as you need.
CRAP
It is gorgeous!..not crap at all...lol...savona