3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Full sun, well drained soil is preferred. I'd water the hole you plant it in and then rewater to settle the soil once planted. After that, water once a week "about an inch" or if it's really hot water twice a week. A bulb type fertilizer or tomato fertilizer as Triple said should serve you well. Mulch around the roots with compost or something to help keep the shallow roots moist and retain moisture.
Keep deadheading old blooms and more will appear! Good luck.
Well he said that diazanon works the best for killing the symphylans. Of couse it is off the market cos it is really bad stuff. We have actually ruled out collembolans, since they are mostly beneficial to soil and wouldn't cos the damage to the tubers. When collembolans do wreak havoc with plants it is apparently the greenery and above the soil line (symphylans hate light and keep underground.) I will have to ask him again about the current products that can be used - he rattled off a list of chemicals and fungicides and not necessarily brands of stuff.
I really hope that they never make it into anyones yards..
I attached a link to a helpful pdf that tells quite a bit about the symphylans and what they do - tests etc
Melly
Here is a link that might be useful: Symphylan Info PDF
Been a while since I have been able to get back here. So Sorry!! I am down loading that PFD as I am here to see if what we are talking about, could be the same thing. I don't know where they came from but it killed an enormous amount of tubers most of them before they could come up (discusted!!) I have treated the whole yard with Ortho MAX...I hate using pesticides since I have pets. I know I put in this Flower bed about March and it had all new purchased dirt in it, so I thought they might have come from either the tubers (dahlias &/or Hostas) or maybe even the new purchased dirt. ( An unwanted bonus...Yikes!! ) Then in the flower bed that has been established for some years prior to purchasing the house I put in Cyclamen about February, and they were doing wonderful I mean really great, set seed and everything, then 3 of the 4 went what I thought was dormant...so 2 weeks ago I decided to plant other bulbs in there place, as soon as I dig them up they were sitting in these little creepy bugs, the tubers/bulbs were not damaged just the leaves, I washed them off gave them a good inspection sprayed them with a fungiside and replanted the little ones with a good dose of Ortho Max, The leaves are once again starting to come back up slowly but surely. This is why we decided to treat the entire yard...I put in a new flowerbed this weekend with Glads and young strawberry plants, I treated the bed before I put the mulch in, I have never had to put anything other than a bit of dish detergent on my Strawberries but I hope to ward off any creepy crawly root chewing scavengers before flowering season starts, once fowering season starts for my strawberries I won't use any pestisides in that flowerbed ( they better not like dish detergent ) It was a bit amusing though when I showed my husband a handful of dirt with the pesty creepy pests in it, all he said is he would be back in a bit, when he returned and he said with 2-20 pound bags of Ortho Max we will just treat the whole yard, those things are GROSS...Just to give you an idea of the over kill, I live in a Mobile home park my entire lot is 40X70!! He has since calmed down he said he would treat the yard that day ( he did )and then in another 10 days then we would do some digging in a few places to determine if we need to continue treatment or change treatments, but just to let you know my cheep Dahlia tubers that I purchased to replace the exspensive tubers, I planted last week are in fact coming up already and don't seem to be bothered by the Ortho Max or the bugs...the expensive tubers that did survive are not doing well even to this day and are always having to be treated with a fungiside, they weren't a good quality when I recieved them so I shouldn't be surprised. I hope you are doing well in the garden with your Dahlias, for me I am keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the information... I'll be back
I just planted mine. Took advantage of posts from the old garden fence (that is no more). The flowers may be a moot question because at least one of mine was in an alarming number of pieces. Can't look a gift horse in the mouth...
I wonder if you received the same ones. I got
Lavender Perfection (now more like Lavender Crumble)
Barbarossa (red)
Glory Van Heemstede (yellow, and I hope I spelled it right)
S.
...Or else fertilizer with too much Nitrogen, The first of the NPK numbers. Some brilliant person on this forum suggested tomato food spikes. Push in two per plant and they are slow release (redo every 2 months) and those dahlias will bud like a hot d**n. Worked for me! When you think of it, they are just the perfect formulation for dahilas. With tomatoes you want lots of blossoms which would ultimately result in lots of fruit. With dahlias you want lots of blossoms too. So simple, and it works! It really does!
I have photos of a dahlia called 'Wheels' that looks similar to that. The online ADS handbook lists the originator as Swan Island Dahlias-- check the link below to compare.
Here is a link that might be useful: Swan Island Dahlia's page for Wheels
Wood chips only leach out the nitrogen if they are mixed into the soil. They are fine to use as mulch and will definitely help to keep the ground damp and cool. I put several inches of wood chips around my plants and water less and I'm in Mesa, AZ with a full sun garden.
Mulch Away and Happy Gardening,
Pam
try cocoa mulch if you can find it; it is high in phosphate and serves as a good humus source when it breaks down (but in hotter climes does tend to get some mold on it and clump but the mold doesn't seem to do harm and when I use it the dahlias are spectacular! also the roses and hollyhocks and peonies!
PS not a good winter mulch but I take my tubers up in October anyway.Oh and cedar does leach out the Nitrates first but as it degrades it adds potash.
Well, looky what I found. Although it says 'partial list' of toxic plants, there is that San Fran number listed you can call. Or how about checking with your vet, or National Mackaw Association, or whatever.
Here is a link that might be useful: For the birds!
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Dahlisp.htm
says here only the tuber and leaves are if eaten.
It is hard to say. I had some that appeared to be healthy, with good shoots growing for a month and a half, but when planted turned to mush. Who knows why...they were the most expensive ones I had this year having purchased them from a reliable dealer. It just happens some times. The ones beside these ones are strong and healthy, although I must admit they did have larger tubers initially.
The size of the pot may be a factor. They need root room. The temperatures may be a factor. The watering may be a factor. Sooooo many variables.
I regularly cut off the bottom 6 inches of leaves. This helps with better air circulation. Of course, one has to leave adequate leaves on the plant to sustain itself though, so it depends upon how advanced your plants are. If they have several good strong sets of leaves above where you wish to trim, then it is a good move.
I hereby recognize your dahlias as gorgeous! I agree, the combo is wonderful and the purplish foliage is really attractive too. Very nice!~
I wonder if you could put them in the gallery section of this forum so we can all get a fix of flowers on a future rainy day? I know I'll want to see them again.
Do you know the name of the dark pink one?
I love your pictures - I have a similar if not the same type of Dahlia (2nd pic).
How does one post a picture with message as you did?
I've tried different ways but no luck.