3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

Zone 4, and your last frost date is Monday ? ? ?

Interesting, I am zone 5, and our last frost date, as printed in yesterday's paper is May 30th.

I would be getting them uncovered in the warm days, but still be prepared for a frost when you can cover them with an old sheet or such.

There are theories about the development of tubers if they are planted deep. I would think that if the lower leaves were removed, and that is all that is done, then there would be no significant difference. However, if there was some hilling of soil, or the plants were planted deep enough to cover the defoliaged leaf node, then there may be more tubers formed. That is just a thought though with no scientific proof to back it up.

OK, It's actually about a week away, but am afraid if I don't get the started dahlias in their assigned beds the beds will be lost to my 150 annuals I have to set. Figure to put them down 4 to 6 inches and fill in the hole around the shoot as growth continues.

Set my "new green stakes" in the beds. That should discourage annual setting!!!! Do you think 40 Blue Butterfly delphiniums (the little short edging delphiniums I started myself--about 12 inches tall) around the edge of the bed would have room?

Or would 4 or 5 magic fountain white delhpinium with a dark bee be good down the center of each bed instead of the center row of dahlias? I'm setting the dahlias 2 foot apart in all directions, and if I eliminate the center row to delphinium_____ suggestions welcome. Or would alyssum hanging down over the edges of the raised beds be better???

We are getting similar weather now as well, but if one looks at the long range, I still see a lot of dips in the evening temperature. This Thursday, we go down to just above freezing, but the next day will be in the 80's. Strange weather extremes!

HI,
I wouldn't chance it I'm zone 6 and it has been pretty cold here I'm not planning on planting any Dahlia out until June.
I left a Dahlia seedling out on my front porch (enclosed by glass windows) the other night it was around 40 degrees and the seedling turned to mush.
Today I read in a gardening magazine not to plant dahlias until the soil temp is a steady 65 degrees.
You could start them in pots inside the house to get a head start. I have some tubers in 10 inch hanging baskets from last years flowers they are doing great soooo tall!
Just be sure to remove the hanging device if you use them.
Good Luck!
Laura

I bought seven dahliettas last summer. I put six of them in a half-size whiskey barrel planter with good-draining soil (lots of perlite), located where they get full sun most of the day. They were given a good sprinkle of time-release fertilizer over the soil surface to feed them for several months. One went into a garden with marigolds.

With deadheading, they did very well right up until cold weather. I dug up a couple to try and overwinter, but they shriveled up (should have wrapped the tubers in saran/cling wrap.) Much to my surprise, though, four out of the five left in the planter have come up and are putting out leaves like crazy in the past couple of weeks. (I'm in Zone 6, but the weather has been more like a z 7 or 8.) The one I left in the garden has come up too, tho' it's obvious slugs or some other critter has been snacking on the leaves, under the pine straw mulch.

I'll fertilize them again and hope that they flower this year, too. They really don't get too large, so if you're only planting one, a 6" or 8" pot should be roomy enough.

The only thing I didn't care for about dahliettas was that the flower stems were quite short, so that the flowers were often hidden among the foliage. Too bad, 'cause they were very pretty.

LindaSkyview

Thanks,
I have a 8 inch pot I'll try it in that. I tried some from seed with no luck. I'll try the paper towel method in a week or so I'd like to get a few started from seed. I couldn't belive how many flowers the one I purchaced had on it. It's beautiful.
Thanks again,
Laura

It sure sounds like your stored dahlias have come out of the closet in good shape and the ones with green sprouts are ready to go in the ground as soon the threat of frost goes away.

There is nothing crazy about it. This is how you overwinter dahlias, and you could likely divide them to get more plants. That's when the crazy part comes in.

For the ones without sprouts showing, look for small obvious swellings in possibly dark pink, purple, or even green colors on the stem end of the tuber, right near last year's stem. Those are the eyes and will go on to produce plants.

The ones without visible eyes are worth saving for now. Expose them to some bright light, be careful they don't dry out, mist them with a spritz of water every few days if they do. Give them time to "eye up" and prove that they have life left in them. Some varieties are VERY slow to show eyes. Pathetically slow, really. Hideously slow.

If they are mushy, rotten, moldy or dried up like mummies toss them.

Good luck with your plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: dividing tubers-Colorado Dahlia Society

Great...thanks for the info! I appreciate it!

Jodi

here you go

Here is a link that might be useful: tree dahlia

A lot of people buy (or make) wooden steaks and hammer them into the ground when they plant thier tuber. (they put it in when they pant thier tuber because they dont want to put a steak through the tuber :o) ) You can get steaks like that at a hardware store. I think that even a plastic or metal treated pole or a tomatoe cage whatever you have will do the trick. :o)

Wooden stakes, pvc or rebar lengths are all easy to store in the off season. Tomato cages, fencing posts and strings or wires are other options.

Here is a link that might be useful: Supporting Dahlias

hehe there ya go! you have a dahlia! Mine are peeking through to and its really exciting

I would be tempted to plant ONE per pot. They need room to root and form the tubers during the summer. One per pot will also be less stressful when they search for water and food.

Bedding dahlias can be planted in mixed pots quite close together- I've put them in 10-12" pots with lots of other plants & they do very well so I would guess that you would be just fine putting 2 or 3 in a 10-12" pot. You don't have to pinch them back but be sure to dead-head all summer to keep them blooming. They will even grow some little tubers for you to dig up & store in the fall.

It should re-grow if there is any stem left at all by the tuber- it's been "stopped" for you so that you don't have to do it yourself!