3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

I whacked off my very long or large tubers, painted the wound with sulfur dust and pot them up just like that. Last year, I noticed that my dahlias with large tubers grew a lot of leaves but not as many flowers as before. I still have several more large tubers to pot up. I'll whack them all off one by one before planting. :-)

HOW BIG ARE YOUR SLUGS? If they are as bg as our slugs they can stretch themselves up and over 3" easily. We have really big slugs here! If they are the small kind it might work that low down. I would put the band around the top, myself. Also make sure there is nothing close to your bed that the slugs could climb up and then swing over into the bed on. THey are masterful gymnests!

Thanks for the advice, Lizalily.
You know I've never taken the time to actually measure my slugs. Sounds like a slimy task to me! ;-)
Your point is duly noted and I'll check out the little buggers to see if they are petite or gigantor variety.
I'll put the copper band around the top now.

p.s. the vision of a slug gymnast doing a tuck, pike, and double back flip onto my dahlias is quite amusing!

Isn't it pretty high in nitrogen? If so it'd make them really tall & leafy & not so many blooms. Never heard of anyone loosing dahlias through using it, but with so many other products out there why take the chance?

Somebody else on this forum mentioned (and I have passed this tidbit forward myself) that Jobe's Tomato Fertilizer spikes make dahlias grow awesome. Push two into the soil, one on each side of the tuber when you plant out and every two months or so after that. I tried it myself last year and it works like gangbusters. Although there is still no substitute for proper growing conditions.

Powdery mildew maybe? Give them a spray w/ fungicide- or if you're really into organic- spray with skim milk- a friend controls mildew on her roses with it.

Sounds like mildew, you can treat it with fungicide or the cheap way, 2 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in a quart of water, spray and that´s it. Learned that from my grandmother, she also used to grow roses.

Hi - I have had great luck with starting tubers indoors, despite not exactly optimal light conditions. I even had a bunch sitting under a coffee table receving indirect light (glass top)! When they all finally went outside after risk of frost had passed, they took off nicely, and bloomed like crazy toward mid/end July right until frost. Starting them indoors really gives them a head start - I just wish I had more space - I fear that pretty soon, the dining room and living room will once again look like a crazy woman lives there!

I hope that helps,

Anna

I had great luck with mine last year. The only window I had that wasn't shaded by a tree was east: not optimum either. I started mine on Easter weekend: did the same this year. I set up a card table in front of this window and put the pots on it. Rotated the ones that were closest to the window with the ones in the back every few days.

Then when it was warmer (mid-May?) brought them outside on the deck for more pot growth until regular planting out time in late May. If it looked it was going to be too cold overnight, I pulled them into the house: that happened only twice. The increased light made them bush out quickly. Most had about 6-8 true leaves when they went into the garden. They didn't have that much time to get leggy.

HiNami,
I'm new to this Dahlia stuff too. They are pretty.
I live further south( Pembroke Pines) and planted one bought at walmart ,it is growing and it is in full sun. I went back to walmart this morning and saw they had a bag with purple variety( 4 tubers)( van bourgondien) on sale for $5.00 That was a deal!! So far the first one, is growing really nice big huge deep purple flowers with a yellow center and lots of flowers on the plant, ( the bag said it would be red:-(
If it does not survive the heat here o well, it was not expensive. I think your soil would be better too(loose sand) here I have lots of rocks in sand.
Well hope this helps.
Yinyang

Go to the Dahlia Society of Georgia website and select the menu item 'dahlias that grow well in the South' and then select the heat tolerant dahlias page. All of these dahlias should do well in Central Florida. Also, the growing guide on that same page is for the South so follow it closely. Make sure you mulch your dahlias and water them enough to get them through the heat of the summer and then you should get some good blooms in October and November. You can cut them back in the middle/late August and that will stimulate them to grow well when some cooler weather arrives.
We have a new member in the Georgia Dahlia Society that just moved from the Ocala area where he grew dahlias and I grew them in the San Antonio, Texas area for a few years so they can be grown in these areas.

Go to dahlias.net and then the big list to find where to buy these tubers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia Society of Georgia

I would think you have a fungus of some type. Are you using a fan for air circulation? Did you sterilize your pots or are you using new pots? I would try some half strength fertilizer to see if you can out grow it. If not I would try a weak fungicide on them. Usually you get powdery mildew but it has to be a fungus if they are not getting burned from the lights.

water them all if the soil is dry but don't over water.

Thanks Plantlady!

I just found the dahlia, 'Patty Cake' up for bid on eBay. I love the waterlily type dahlias. Very pretty. Has anyone bought tubers off eBay auctions?

Erin

I bought dahlias off of ebay last year from the guy who sells them in groups. They all came up and were all beautiful! It worked out really well for me last year. This I bought the specific types and colors I wanted.

"Patty Cake" was in the group I won, too. Very pretty.

-Kate

You may have been lucky! The key question is: Does the ground freeze in the winter where I live? If it is an unqualified yes then you are lucky and in a hard winter you may have lost quite a few. If the ground doesn't freeze then just mulch them with 4-6" of something like leaves or pine straw. I talked to a fellow one time that lived in Central Ohio and didn't dig his dahlias but he mulched them with a couple of feet of leaves. So they can stay in the ground if you do it right to prevent them from freezing.

Storing dahlias inside can cause dahlias to shrivel or rot if you don't use proper techniques so you must select one where you can be successful. Check out the Dahlia Society of Georgia web site menu item Dahlias That Grow Well in the South which discusses one and gives a website for another.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia Society of Georgia

Well, it is probably a combination. I'm zone 6 & the last 3 years I have overlooked a few dahlias when digging in the fall, & "knock on wood" :) those have come back. They didn't get mulched, since I didn't intentionally leave them. We occasionally get a winter with temps below 0, but haven't the last few years. We do get below 10 a very few nights though, & still I see them come back. The ones I dig though do better, but that may be because I just left a piece of one. This fall I may just mulch really well & leave them in the ground.