3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Body count LOL! I hope to end the year with all ten digits attached to my hand. I've always got nips from the shears or scissors on my fingertips but today I caught part of my forefinger skin way down by the first knuckle in the pinching pruning shears, not even the blade, but it drew blood real well. Clearly, I need a butler to help me with this carving task.
I am asuming you want smallish ones for bouquets- not AA's so I'll go with some of my favorites that bloom non-stop all season & all with long enough stems to have nice cut flowers. However, you have to be aware that you have to disbud any dahlias a certain amount to get a nice cut-flower stem. You just pop off the 2 side buds of each central stem & you'll get a good sized stem on just about any dahlia.
White- Arctic Frost; Pink- Chimmacum Katie or Valley Porcupine- this one is so cute & lasts a full week+ as a cut flower; dark - almost black- Shadow Cat or Rip City; hot pink- Camano Electra or Pretty in Pink. (And of course- there's the old standby- Chilson's Pride that will put out a ton of blooms- it's pink with a white center - we don't grow it any more but it is a good cut flower.) I cut at least 40 blooms a day off of these plants & the color combo is GREAT- we have a couple of plants of each one at our son's place-- way away from the AA seed parents!
Suzanan: I use the Karma series for cutting. They are specially bred for cutting, long sturdy stems. I planted 50 mixed ones last year and I am still n the process of dividing them. The plants continuously produces all summer and fall. These were a HOT seller at our Farmers Market. Good luck. HEIDI
Poochella,
Your many words of wisdom in this forum are taken to heart. I very much appreciate your experience and suggestions (esp. your post with the dividing pics).
I planted in pots as soon as I could after receiving my shipment this year (late April/early May) but I'll certainly start my divided tubers next spring much earlier.
As a general question, has anyone ever tried layering spring bulbs and dahlia tubers? I might experiment next spring with a pot or two.
Thank you all for suggestions and your expertise! I think I'll just leave the tubers in ground this season as they are starting to bloom. Crazy weather here as in most of the country. We're still in the mid 80's & all my gardens think it's spring. I've even got daffodils poking up!
Try going to the link included below. The Colorado Dahlia Society article is a highly illustrated step-by-step presentation that will probably answer a lot of your questions. And, maybe raise a lot more.
Here is a link that might be useful: OVER WINTERING DAHLIAS
Go to the Colorado Dahlia Society Site & look at the Suppliers list. It goes from A to W & will keep you busy all winter deciding what to get. If you have a particular dahlia in mind to buy you can usually find it at the Colorado site on the Big List.
Here is a link that might be useful: Colorado Dahlia Society
I am by no means an expert in the field of Dahlias but can share a story with you. Two years ago I had a poor performer Dahlia which I dug up and stored because the tubers looked strong. Last year I changed its location and increased the fertilizer and it did a little better. This summer I changed both the soil mixture and location and my Dahlia is very strong and the many blooms are beautiful. Maybe I just got lucky but I think all Dahlias deserve a second chance.
When more than one stalk comes up in the spring, cut off all but one nice strong one. Do you dig & divide? When dahlias are left in the ground from year to year you usually get many stalks & not much bloom-- when they are divided & one tuber is planted they are much more apt to get one nice strong stalk that you can stop & then it will branch out & give you more blooms.
I always dig and divide in the spring and several could have been clumps with multiple shoots. However a number were from cuttings. The leader stalk kind of withered and was later replaced with a number of stalks that ran horizontal for 1-1/2 feet then turned up. I tie then up to the stake but it is difficult with the right angle curve in each stalk.
Fran, seeing as how you planted them when they were supposed to be in full flower I think it comes down to your accepting that this season is a lost one....and you should look forward to planting them next spring about the time you put out your annuals.....maybe a little sooner..when the soil has warmed up sufficiently.
As it is, you may as well leave them in the ground until after a hard frost....which will turn the foliage black.
Then you dig them up and store them in a cool, dry, dark environment. Bury them in peat moss or dry sand.
Let them dry though for a day or so in your garage so as to not store them in a too moisturized condition.
Moisture around the soft tissue of your dahlia tuber can initiate mildew or rot. Let them dry out a bit before you store.
Lauri, try instead going to dahlia.com....or Americandahliasociety.com.
You could have waited until after a hard frost---a frost that would have turned your foliage black....that would have been your cue to dig them up.
What you planted last spring is not what you had in the ground...you saw that...the clump evidently got huge.
In one of those websites there is a method by which dahlia clumps are taken apart...i.e. the clump's tubers are removed one by one and cocooned in plastic wrap, then stored in a cool environment.
The other method is to store the whole clump in a cool environment buried in peat moss or dry sand.
The key to their coming back is they must remain cool...temperatures between 35 & 50 fahrenheit.
They must not freeze....and they must not be given moisture or warmth that could initiate growth. Just cool..dark and dry.
This is also a good method of keeping over geraniums.
Linnea,
You don't have to wait for a hard frost now cause they are already cut down. Just make sure you dig before a hard freeze and store your tubers. I am digging mine now, just after a slight frost. I still have blossoms and the stems are still in good shape but can't wait any longer. Will be leaving for Florida and must get the tubers stored before I leave. I can't see any eyes now either. So, I cut large bundles of tubers in half for easy packing and the ones that have just 2 or 3 tubers I leave alone and pack as is. I hose the tubers off with water, let dry in the garage a day or two, cut those that need cut, shake on bulb storage powder (kills any bugs and helps prevent rot), pack in plastic grocery bags with a bit of vermiculite and the labels, then into boxes that are lined with newspapers. I keep them in the garage on an outside wall till May. Garage is heated but it's still very chilly in there. I'm not here to check on them but last year I only had one rot slightly. Come May the eyes are very visable. Voila!!
Have fun digging,
Sue
I so want that one back! Just beautiful.
What a gorgeous color!!