3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias

I'm in Zone 7 and last year I experimented with some cheap dahlias to see what happens when I left them out over winter. I left 5 in native soil (clay ammended with compost) I left 5 in a raised bed - compost and bagged topsoil. I put 5 in a ziplock with some peat and put it in an attached garage.

Of the 5 in native soil, only one survived. The rest completely rotted away. In the raised bed, all 5 survived. In the ziplock, all 5 survived.

For people in different zones, we got a few days of snow this year but our ground never freezes. It was a fairly wet winter overall which probably didn't help the ones in the ground. In the future, I will be lifting all of them except those in raised beds. If I were farther north, I would lift them all.

Thanks Bill, good infomation. I admire your scientific approach.

Wow that is gorgeous!

I like your disclaimer-not as long as all those on most legal docs I read :) Wouldn't that make a great dahlia!

Hi Dapper Dahlia!
Thanks for the info...I'm sure I'll have tons more questions when my "Blue Bell" arrives.

I received email confirmation today that my Dahlia Blue Bell has been shipped. I should get it this weekend. I can't wait! My very first. Boy, I hope it grows.

Thanks again!

Don't count on it being blue as there aren't any blue dahlias. No blue genes in dahlias-- hence-- no blue dahlias! Really ticks me of when companies advertise so-called blue dahlias, sell them to people who are then disappointed when the flowers aren't blue at all. A pox on them!!

The Mid-Island Dahlia Society on Long Island has a well illustrated article on how to top and otherwise control dahlia growth at the link included below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Controlling Plant Growth

What a great link for info, UpWithDahlias! Thanks!

Now, is that recommended only for dinner plate and other big dahlias, or all of them?

Also, can I use the same theory on my gardenia cuttings that are busy building away at strong roots?

Thanks!

Great shot, Bernie. My problem is keeping the temperature low. Already my "cold cellar" is 58*, and yet it is about 40* outside today. Unfortunately, the sun hits one wall of my "cold cellar".

I also leave mine wrapped until ready to pot up. The area mine are in now is 60 degrees and the tubers I still have wrapped up are just fine. Some may have a 2 or so inch sprout already and some are just starting to eye up. If you unwrap them and leave them unwrapped they will dry out.

Thank you! Glad to know it isn't anything to worry about. I think it might just be the variety, since I have 2 colors - yellow and red - and only half of them have the purple stems.

The red ones have the purple stems.

Hey!!!I thought everyone yelled at their plants one time or another. Maybe that's why my kids keep asking me if I'm ready for "assisted living", they hear me talking to my plants and sometimes I get downright cranky with them! I guess the kids think I've lost it, but then I remind them how they talk to their own kids sometimes. Not very nice maybe, but oh so effective!

Well, I figured I was missing out on something; planted my new babies (all 39 of them) and have them under glass in a cold frame. So, today since you all were taking a peek, I dug into 11 or 12 of the pots and found a shoot or shoots coming on all but one of them. The mix seemed so nice and warm I was surprised with our weather having a chill factor and below freezing temperatures the past 4 nights and no sun during the daylight hours.
I told them "see you later when you have a flower" and put them back to sleep. Am I now an official dahlia watcher? He he he.
I didn't tell dh what I was up to___ he'd say in their own sweet time_____when they are ready, they'll be up!!!

Plant it on it's side, wait a week or so & if it's still not showing a sprout, gently dig it up & check it for sprouts. Sometimes the sprout will be headed down & you can just turn it over & it'll be so happy that it didn't have to grow all the way around the tuber neck & back up that it will give you lots of nice blooms all summer long >:)

Thanx Willow & plantLady...
this was helpful to me too.

First timer nervousness hit when setting in my first few yeasterday. I wanted a picture of exactly how a happy tuber should look in it's initial growing space. Good that I can come back here to clarify a areas of uncertainty.

You all are the best - thanx for sharing!

....sounds good to me, DapperDahlia.

We dig the hole 6" deep but only cover the tuber with 1-2" of soil to start. Then you can fill in the hole as the shoot gets above the ground. This way you don't have the water run off when irrigating, as it does when the tuber is planted shallow & then hilled up.

In New Brunswick, I'd be waiting until the first frost in the fall. The leaves will turn black after that. Then, I'd dig the whole plant up, and cut off the top. Clean them up; let them dry; separate if you can; dust with a fungicide, label them as to variety; wrap in saran wrap or recycled plastic shopping bags; put into paper bags; put into a cardboard box covered with newspaper; and store in the cold cellar for next April.

Then in April, you lay them out slightly covered with a growing media;

pot them up once they've started to sprout;

give them some light outside, but be prepared to take them indoors when it is cold;

and plant after ALL danger of frost has passed. Did I miss a step?

Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it. However, the reward is definitely there.

We just put them in berry flats full of potting soil--tubers so close together they touch -- to get them started. Then it's out into the garden with them after they have shoots & the weather is right. It doesn't hurt them to be close together at that stage as they're not growing tubers, they're growing some feeder roots but not enough to get all tangled up or anything. The berry flats are lined w/ newspaper so the soil doesn't all fall out!

Well, I know I am late to this one, but 36 degrees isn't going to harm them, just put them to sleep with little growth.

Thanks Prestonwright! I did cover them and there was frost on the burlap. My neighbor did not and some of her leaves look burnt. From your comment, I assume my neighbors will be okay?

Thanx, this info helped me too. I only have a couple that look that way - but the colors are important to my Newbie planting plan, so glad to hear they have a good chance.

I lost one last spring and finally found it in fall in a pot, still dry. I planted it in the ground but didn't see anything come up. If it ever comes up and blooms I'll report.