3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Thanks Poochella! Last year I had several "dahlia bushes", with few blooms. I grew them in large containers. I used good garden soil amended with compost, and in a few, just as an experiment, I inserted tomato fertilizer sticks. This tip was promoted here last year as I recall. Perhaps they just don't grow well in containers???
Anna
Unless you have a few acres to devote to it, I wouldn't bother. There are so many beautiful varieties on the market, and you would probably have to grow many hundreds of seedlings to come up with one as pretty or prettier that one of the parents. That's why I stick to hybridizing African Violets. But sometimes after growing, potting, and re-potting a hundred seedlings, nothing is as nice as the parents. To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump!!
Can you just turn the planter around so the tall is then in back and the shorts in front? If not, I'd say move them sooner rather than risk breaking off delicate growth when they're taller. Dig carefully around roots and gently replant. I do it all the time, no problem.
Get some tough low sedums, they bounce right back.
Lamium. TELL them to step on it, dare them to kill it.
Thymes are nice and tough besides. I like woolly thyme.
Rockcress, a nice low matt that can take some occasional stepping upon.
Well those are all perennial. How about alyssum and/or lobelia? Cheap at the big box stores in packs/flats and nice for color or scent.
Dahlias should be planted in a sunny location. The soil should be rich and well-drained with a pH of about 6.5. Wait until all danger of spring frost is past before planting.
Bedding dahlias can be planted 9 to 12 inches apart. The smaller- flowering types, which are usually about three feet tall, should be spaced two feet apart. The taller, larger-flowered dahlias should be spaced three feet apart. Dig the planting hole slightly larger than the root ball of the plant and incorporate some compost or sphagnum peat moss into the soil. Plant dahlias so the crowns are just above soil level. Tall, large-flowered cultivars will require support. Place stakes (five to six feet tall) around plants at planting time and tie stems to them as the plants grow.
Here is a link that might be useful: garden secrets
There doesn't seem to be much activity here in Dahlialand, so...
Here is a link that might be useful: Colorado Dahlia Society
Crystal,
I'm a newbie to growing Dahlias too, but I've been doing some research over the past couple of months. I attended the Dahlia Society of Georgia's auction in April and picked up some helpful literature. Some of it's on their website too (but it's been down lately) - www.dahliasocietyofgeorgia.com
1. I don't think it's too difficult to grow them. The ones I purchased have been in baggies and the sprouts were growing in there.
2. They said that you can leave them in the ground in Georgia. (Just mulch heavily in the winter)
3. They recommended mixing Black Cow manure in with our clay...and I think they even suggested removing the clay all together. I just added the manure.
They suggest planting in May 1-15, but I waited because of the unusually cool temps we had at that time. Plus, they don't like soggy soil, so I waited until there wasn't much rain.
I still have 3 more to plant...so I don't think it's too late.
Let me know if you have any other questions...I'm at work, so I don't have all of the information that they gave me, and I can't remember everything that they said.
Well one survived. Never say die - mine were the saran wrap (first time I tried to store dahlias). Some rot but because of the layers the rest of the package looked okay. I've had these in foil pans with soil since March. They went outside in April. I decided that I had goofed in separating them and had no eyes on them, but lo and behold last week I saw a sprout. We've been really below average in temps here, so I'm waiting to see what happens when it finally warms up.
I must say though that when I dug up my wonderful Carribbean Fantasy it was so huge (and I loved it so much that I was afraid to lose it) that I found a five gallon bucket, wedged the whole thing (undivided) in sideways and filled with soil. I left it in the unheated unattached garage with a blanket thrown over it. We had temps in the single digits even though it was a milder than normal winter and this baby got planted last month. It's already been pinched once and it's about half a foot tall.
This is interesting. I store my dahlias the same way I store all my other stuff (callas, other summer bulbs). I dig them up in the fall, shake the dirt off, and toss them in a bag. I don't wash them. I leave the bag in the basement over the winter. I never do anything else with them. Come april-may, I open the bag and there's usually green in there, as they are already sprouting. I didn't lose any this year, I don't recall past years. Some of these are 5-6 years old. I don't divide them, though. Maybe that is why I have better luck?
We've also had quite a bit of rain here recently. I planted the dahlias in 2 separate areas - it appears that only one area has the rotting problem. Should I move the plants to the other location? I didn't think the two areas were that different...
Thanks for helping me with this!
If you don't dig & divide the tubers every couple of years the plant won't work as hard to put out flowers as it has a big enough tuber clump to keep it alive-- so less blooms each year. They also like full sun most of the day.
yeah, what she said, too!