3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Jroot did/do you teach math, perchance?
I agree, dig every year, or two at the most, and save yourself a lot of grief with gnarly tuber masses. You will have healthier plants (if they were healthy to begin with) and extra tubers to try out on the new dahlia exchange forthcoming.
I wish I would have taken a photo of a clump I'd left in a protected spot under eaves and next to the garage for 5 years. The mother tuber was a foot long and about 3 inches wide with a solid mass of mess surrounding her. If memory serves, I was able to get access to only 5-6 tubers out of 20 or so present. They just get too intermingled to easily harvest.
Hi I also just love to see my dahlia on the kitchen table. I also join the society and went to the show I have got a list of dahlia to buy for next year. I allready have 40 and on my list i have another 20. I think i have a little problem where will i plant them. Too bad there is no field near by. next year problem. Anna
Thanx everybody - I'm paying attention and learning - as I know lots of others will do all winter. Method and classification clarification is truly appreciated, are names and your photos. I will definitely disbud and cut earlier. Keep that bountiful-boofy-bloom info coming!
These are some dahlias that should meet your requirements. I would highly recommend any and all of them.
This is my favorite of all dahlias that I grow and dates back to 1940.
Kidd's Climax
This is a big, beautiful Orange.
Clyde's Choice
The next two are pinks or lavenders. Both are very showy.
Elma Elizabeth
This is a sport of Kidd's Climax introduced by a hybridizer named Almand.
Almand Joy
The following dahlias are two of the most outstanding Reds.
Kenora Wildfire
Zorro
Of course there are many, many other large dahlias that meet your needs but this can give you some idea of what you can expect.
If you don't need to worry about freezing, then you can dig up, separate, and replant. Up in the northern area, we have to dig up and keep up until spring, hence the wintering process inside.....a lot more work than you have to do.
Avoiding vandalism is another question entirely, and not one that I have to worry about here. I would be tempted to build a little artistic fence around it, which would serve two purposes, 1) anti theft deterent 2) something for the dahlia to lean against, and it might actually look rather classy, depending on the fence you choose.
Thanks, Jroot! Glad I don't have to worry about being weird and just moving them. :)
I've been wondering if it's legal to place wires with a mild electrical surge running through it. Probably not, even with a sign that says, "Warning, do not touch, high wattage!" I'll look into that fence.
Bonus! You certainly can pinch the sprouts off. The bonus is that you can see readily where the eye is, and can do your separating now. Sometimes, it is next to impossible to see where the eye is, and one has to wait until spring when one starts them up.
Not all tubers have eyes, and so you can readily see which are the best ones to keep.
Here is a link that might be useful: tubers with an eye
I live in Ks and love to grow dahlias. I usually plant in late April or early May, depending on the weather. I dig after the first frost, which will be soon. If I have time after they're dug,I get the soil ready for next year. Did in plenty of compost and a good sized handful of bone meal. I use large tomato cages to hold them up in our Ks wind, and sometimes have to put in an extra stake at that.
We use the cardboard cartons because they are shallow & when you are starting the tubers you just lay them on their side on the soil then barely cover all but the eye end with soil. The eye end gets left out of the soil- so they're lying there with their heads out & their bottoms under about 1/4- 1/2" of soil. I think the plastic & the coffee cans would be too tall- you could cut the plastic ones down to about 4" though.
I find that tubers are more variety-based on how they will behave than soil-based. Some are just small globules gnarled together, some are long, lean perfectly behaved tubers with separate necks; some are monster tubers big enough to serve a family of four.
I never fear that I will add too much compost or organic material to my garden, however. It helps in so many ways. And it smells good! Makes the soil easier to work, easier to dig, and I think easier to water.
Are those "little white warts" the eyes of the tuber? Are they near the stem? If so, they very well may be the eyes of the tuber which are next year's growth spots.
That being said, the tubers from last year will be old and withered, and beside that old tuber ( if it still exists at all) will be the young tubers which will give next year's plants.
Do your research before you pull off more "little white warts".
If you decide that they are diseased, do not store them with your healthy tubers, but discard them. Don't even compost them if your composter does not get hot.
Well, they're not eyes (that's for sure) The eyes I notice are more up at the top of the tuber. These little things are all over the body of the tuber. They're kind of fleshy feeling.
I wrapped these ones up separately just in case they are infected with something. Never know what I'm going to find in the spring. :)
Names, we need names...pleeeese, whine, whine. I want them all. I love the far left one in the top photo, no- the 2nd from the right, no- the big bright ones in the bottom photo, no-wait....
Lovely photos, thanks for sharing with us.
Poochella-Fast Indeed!!
Excellent advice from all of you.!!! Bravo Bravo
Willow, I hope you're going somewhere warm and dry for a change of pace. Have a good trip.
Granny, speed is my middle name! (Like a slug slithering along the forest floor here...) We must have been typing simultaneously.
PDX Jules, great observation on the water absorption. I did that digging test one year and was appalled at how little depth a couple gallons of water penetrated around a dahlia. I think I used peat moss back then. Now I avoid it unless digging a brand new bed, and will even use it sparingly there. I like compost as the very best thing for loosening soil and allowing quick absorption of water, mulching etc. I can't, for the life of me figure why Swan Island says "use no compost whatsoever" in their literature. It is my garden savior out here in the rockpile we inhabit. Maybe they have really rich soil in Oregon?