3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
On the holes in the leaves I would guess slugs, possibly a caterpiller or other wormy thing but they tend to snuggle up in my blooms and dine, not in the foliage. Slugs are big foliage afficionados.
You don't say how far along your buds are, but in my experience black spots can also be pest poop. I've not had black spots on buds, that I recall. It might be worthwhile to let the buds open and see if there is any harm being done before coming up with a treatment plan. Do any of the leaves have black spots? Botrytis is one disease that can affect dahlias.
See if anything at the link below jumps out as a possibile cause.
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia diseases
I think it was a mild winter in our area (I'm Chicago area). I have glads coming up: and I hadn't bothered to pull them before last winter.
Now I wish I had left the dahlias: as I lost all of mine to rot in winter storage. Maybe I should have left well enough alone and left them in the ground!
Do slugs eat flowers as well as leaves?
The only sure way of finding out what's eating them would be to go out after dark with a torch and catch the "eaters" in the act. If it's slugs/snails, I can recommend using slug pellets that contain iron phosphate instead of metaldehyde - it doesn't seem to harm any wildlife other than the slugs/snails themselves (although research could prove this not to be the case - as with most things that sound too good to be true!) If it's earwigs, then do as Plantlady2 advises. You can use plant-pots as well as cups.
That's how I've stored some of mine in the past, but in my unheated greenhouse, and I didn't lose any to rot or dessication.
I can't offer any advice on dividing tubers but I'm sure others can. My only thought is that perhaps dividing really large tubers on plants that are several years old will boost the vigour of the plant?
As to pinching buds, I've only heard of people doing that when they're preparing Dahlias for flower shows (pinch out the flower buds below a main bud, so that all the energy goes into producing one large flower per stem). What I do try to remember to do is to pinch out the growing tips several times so that the plants make lots of side-shoots, grow bushier and give more flowers.
I also have lots of 'Bishop's Children' grown from seed last year. They went in the ground far too late last year, having been neglected and pot-bound for months, then had to endure an unusually cold winter (the ground froze solid several times) with probably inadequate mulch... but they've all come back! Some of them were still so small when they were planted that they didn't manage to flower last year, so I'm waiting excitedly to see what I'll get. They really are beautiful plants, both for foliage and flower colour.
Thank you so much for your answer!
I actually have a little space for planting in the front yard, and since 29 of the 30 seeds I started have turned into robust little plants, I feel that I have enough Dahlias to turn this into an experiment:
I'm goint to plant the Dahlias with the least purple/bronze in them in the ground and leave them there for the winter. My front yard stays several degrees warmer than the back and it slopes enough to keep the soil from getting completely saturated like the flat back yard. With some rain-resistant mulch -- like fern fronds, which I have plenty of -- I'm willing to bet that they survive the winter.
The darkest Dahlias are going in pots and overwintering in the crawlspace, the medium ones are going in the ground and getting dug up and stored as usual in the winter.
This thread will be long gone from this forum by next spring, I'm sure, but I'll come back and let everyone know how it went.
Thanks again!
:-P Thank you, Willow & Poochella. You are good for my ego. :-D I had to fight to arrange them my way. Now they treat me gingerly or the gardener/arranger disappears. :-)
Poochella, those are curly Willow stems from the same tree I gave you cuttings. I also have two huge clumps of perennial Helianthus to divide. And a few well rooted Cornus alba 'Ivory Halo' and Cornus sanguinea 'Winterflame'. 'Winterflame' suckers, but I love the color of the stems. They are stunning in the middle of winter. The yellowish green leaves are pretty all summer long too.
The wedding is over, right? You have time to plant?
Thanks again for the compliments.
Hi Kate, I had the same thing 2 years ago only mine turned red. After some investigating and a ton of reading, I found information on "sporting" this is a mutation that can occur in Dahlias. I will post a link that can better explain it for you. I haven't had it happen since. Hope this helps.
Here is a link that might be useful: Color Mutation/Sporting
yes. In miami, you can start in the winter, and grow through till summer. wait till winter would be my advice.
Good dahlias,
steve w
Here is a link that might be useful: floridadahlias
Did you go ahead and plant them? Most dahlias need to be staked as they get so top heavy with all the beautiful blooms. I would think that the spot you described would have enough sun. Dahlias need well drained soil. Read the FAQ for digging and storage info. And then ask more questions. It isn't hard work, just takes some time and energy.