3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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!
Rabbits do this in our garden if we don't put chicken wire around the whole field. They do it in the rose garden, too-- & look you right in the eye while they bite off a stem & leave it there, then hop away! I tried blood meal in the rose garden & that worked until the first rain & then they were right back at it but the big garden is just too big to do that so the husband puts 3' high chicken wire around it until the plants get a couple of feet high. They don't seem to like the plants after they get big-- too tough I suppose.
I'll bet you're right! I've seen cutworms (I've always called them roly poly's) in my garden before, but I have never had a problem with them destroying my plants. They didn't touch my zinnias that I had planted last year.
Now off to research cutworm control!
Thanks so much, this is a great forum!
Happy gardening! BTW- my windowbox dahlias are FULL of buds, I can't wait to see what my first dahlias ever look like. I feel like an expectant mother!
Well the little bums! Steel wool or a layer of small mesh hardware cloth (1/2 inch mesh) might help. We have our old kitchen cabinets in the tuber room in the garage and there isn't one drawer that doesn't have sunflower seeds or peanut husks in them LOL! I store in styrofoam coolers and to date have had no trespassers.
I hope you can trim the chewed tubers and still use them. Aside from the rodent attack, did the Saran wrap work for you?
Actually the Saran wrap did work. There was no freezing or drying out and the chewed tubers were otherwise firm. When I discovered the destruction I didn't have the heart to look to see if any eyes remained. I'll have a look tomorrow.
Sharon
The only way to know for sure is to watch the clump for additional eyes/sprouts to form. You might want to place the clumps ( and long tubers fallen from the clumps) into some damp peat or soil and keep an eye on them for a couple weeks. If nothing else, plant the clumps with the known eyes.
If you see other sprouts, there is a long thread on dividing tubers from last October/November or so.
Good luck.
Oh no!!!......
I have never had a problem with my dahlias getting eaten........but I do have a problem with columbines......its tiny green worms that attack the columbines and last year they were found on some of my roses.
Now I don't know if this will work or not for your dahlias but when I sprayed the roses last year with a solution of 1 part whole milk and 2 parts water....for mildew....the little green worms disappeared as well. I plan on trying that on my columbines this year. Who knows??? but if it does work, it will be a safe spray to use...
Good Luck,
Sierra
