3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
There are several types of wild dahlias, from small ones not bigger than a Sweet William to those towering monsters 9 ft tall. Unfortunately you don´t see them oftenly now growing wild, wild growing dahlias are a memory of my youth when I saw them growing along the road sides and in places where cattle used to roam right here in my grandfather´s ranch and I´m not THAT old. The reason why they like lots of water is because they grow during the rainy season from June to September, that´s when the Altiplano gets most of it´s rainfall. The way you can differentiate a wild one from a cultivated one is by the flower type, wild dahlias are single petal blooms with simple colors and are very easy to propagate by seeds, bees love them because they produce huge ammounts of polen.
Yeah, you don´t need those roots, funny, on all instructional sites about dahlias they always show a clean clump like the one in the second picture, you look at it and the first thing you think is that dividing is a piece of cake, then when you lift your clumps they look anything but the image you had in mind when you dug them up, and there you are, staring at that mass of roots feeling like an idiot not knowing what to do.
Store whole clumps and look for eyes in Spring as Jroot says or, just go ahead and guess at division now. If you think there might be an eye on a decent tuber, save it. I mark those "?Eye?" If it turns out to be a dud in warmer weather, not much was lost but a bit of time cutting it. You also don't waste much time waiting for a dud to sprout (as I do every Spring.)
I did something I hope will work. Like you I have been waiting for the usual frost that hasn't happened. I took all my tubers up last weekend and cut the stalks down to about6" long, bundled them up with like types together in paper bags and bound them. Then I hung them stalk side down - or upside down to cure. We are finally supposed to get some colder weather this week. I read the dahlia society pages and all their recommendations but I know I'm having 15 people for THanksgiving dinner and I have a lot to get done before and it sure looks like if I followed the Society's directions I'd be out there with the turkey digging tubers. I read on the P. Allen Smith website he recommended taking the tubers up and hanging them upside down for 4-5 weeks to cure. So I thought I'd try it. I don't know if I'll let it go 4-5 weeks because then I'll be running into Christmas and I just know me - I won't get it done and it will bug me. Hope this works!
It is so sad to see the ponds around us drying up!! My dahlias are ready to come out of the ground, tho. Frost has hit several times. These were my lst yr. with these dahlias...someone gave me a bunch of tubers and they are all very dark red. Boo hoo... They are impossible to see unless you are within 3 or 4 feet. I live on a busy highway and want COLOR!!! Better luck next year with something else. Enjoy your day; it's 71 here!!!
Hi ginnier,
Alas, a dahlia grower not to far from home. Have you dug yours yet? Mine are all out and the weather is settling in leaving me glad it is finished.
Will you have any tubers to trade? Take a list at my small offering of tubers to exchange if you are interested. Jean
We got our from Gardener's Supply Co. at 128 Intervale Rd., Birlingtom VT 05401. You can call them & get a catalog - 800-863-1700. Guess it wasn't in the mid-west after all- unless they've moved the mid-west a tad to the east!
Stuber's in Snohomish, WA also carries the mats. Both of these places are a lot less expensive than Charley's Greenhouse- much as I love to go there & drool over all their neat stuff, they are pretty high priced.
Most of the mats that are variable temp. you have to buy the thermostat seperately- but they're well worth it.
I would avoid the heating cables that you put in sand in a tray- they're a pain - temp. very hard to control.
Oh, now I feel like a twitt- the husband just told me (& had the paperwork to prove it- don't ya just hate that!!) that we got our heat mats from PRO-GROW Supply Corp. 12675 West Auer Avenue, Brookfield, WI 53005. They're not a wholesale place so anyone can order & they had the best prices of any we looked up. Good quality, too- we got the first one in 1992 & it's still going strong.
At least that's closer to the mid-west -- the part I did remember!
Here is a link that might be useful: PRO-GROW -- Heat Mat supplier
Putzer: good evidence that one should dig and divide annually to avoid that screaming hassle. Your neighbors will appreciate it! Even if you do divide annually, some clumps are still tough customers. With luck, you will have saved something viable.
Plantlady, did you use any kind of fungicide before wrapping or storing in vermiculite? I used both methods last year with great results. The year before storage in quarter clumps in peat moss with a sustained freeze was a total tear jerker though. Rot, rot and more rot. Live and learn, and learn some more, I guess...
We don't use any kind of fungicide on the tubers- used sulphur one year & I had a very bad reaction to it- ended up in hospital-- so now they have to get rid of their fungus if any on their own! We do use a fungicide during the growing season on the plants & that may help as we have really healthy plants & the tubers store well without any rot.
I hate powdery mildew ! when the rainy season starts down here all that moisture is not good for my dahlias. But I use a simple remedy my granny taught me when mildew attacked her roses, baking soda, 2 teaspoons in a pint of water and a light spray and mildew dies in an eyeblink.
I'm in zone 9a/b, northern California! I wait till early March to plant my tubers, but we don't get freezes(well, maybe once in while.) But I'm also a newbie with Dahlia, first year was great, 2ndyear nothing, so I'm studying & trying to remember all the steps to their good growth & health. Yes they are prolific in Mexico!
I am in Poinciana and am also new to dahlias. I ordered 6 tubers in March 2005. All have thrived beyond my expectations. I probably should have pruned them but at one point several were as high as the house (11') They got a big sunburned in August but are doing beautifully again now. I plan to leave these in the gound over the winter to see how they do. I will order new tubers for delivery in late January. I ordered from Corralitos Gardens and was very pleased.
That's a fine woman you've got there Jroot! I do the same thing in terms of doling out flowers AND exhausting myself LOL. We had very few bouqeuts actually stick around the house this summer. I see them all in the gardens. Give your neighbors some cucumber seeds and maybe they'll get the hint!
Jamlover, it's the end of the hard part; now you can while away a few weeks at the link below. One of the fun parts.
Here is a link that might be useful: How to Spend Your Winter Vacation
Is there anywhere in Oregon and Washington that isn't covered with fields of dahlias!!! So many places in those states selling tubers.
I bought a number last year just from descriptions and pretty faces. Didn't even realize there were garden dahlias and then cutting or show dahlias.
I am interested in knowing the names of some of the earlier to bloom garden dahlias so I can choose more wisely this year.
Been in your spot before I started using the saran wrap method.
My present concern is my so-called cold room___which it will be in another month is probably around 55 to 60, far to warm for winter storage. Always fear leaving them in the unheated garage for fear I will forget to move them later.
Plantlady, Your seedlings are something to be proud of....My O My!!!!The first one on the second page caught my eye, what a beauty.
Thanks for sharing, they are wonderful!
Jamlover- The new seedlings get a surprisingly large clump of tubers. The husband sometimes gets around 10 tubers off of each one. Darn- he's got all the seedlings cut up & in their bins for the winter or I'd take a snap for you- oh well- next year! When we started using heat mats to start the seeds the new babies got a bigger clump of roots than before which led to a bigger bunch of tubers in the fall. Then we put in underground irrigation & the clumps got WAY bigger. They love to get their water directly at the roots.
Willow- thanks- that one is the one most people on the dahlia net commented on, too.