3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Ladies, please help! Mine did ok in the sun here in my area, however, I'm not really sure when to plant them in the ground here in Danville Va. Last year I started them up in pots,....this year I have too many to start that way. Need advice. Thanks! Margaret
Where are they now? If they're in storage you could bring them out to be exposed to light, but still need to protect from freezing. Then you can see which are going to have eyes for sure and go on to plant them.
Below is copied from MSN house and home. Warmer soil and no frost is the guide for outdoor planting. I am in zone 7 and aim for the end of April.
Poochella
**Outdoor planting can begin as soon as all threat of frost is past. Dahlias perform best in a sunny location with rich, well-drained soil. To improve a heavy clay soil, work in plenty of organic matter, such as peat and compost. Mature height dictates planting depth and spacing.
Set tubers of tall types (more than 2-1/2 feet) 3 to 4 inches deep and 20 inches apart. Shorter varieties should be planted 2 to 3 inches deep and 10 inches apart. If you buy nursery-grown plants at local greenhouses, plant them at the level they grew in their pots.**
David, mine are currently planted in a mix of 2/3 soilless coconut fibre, and 1/3 potting soil. When I transplant to the garden, the amount of soil in the mixture will increase, but I do want the medium to maintain moisture, and also feed the plant. I will also be adding miracle grow or some other fertilizer via watering.
I didn't have to shout "Hurry up!" at mine. They are about a foot tall and growing an inch a day. I hope they don't outgrow the laundry room; I have to wait until mid-May for the threat of frost go away, and heaven knows when the soil temp gets up to 70 degrees in NJ.
And the package said 6 tubers, but I have 11 plants. Should I divvy them up now, or can I wait and do it when I plant them outside?
I'm feeling like a Dahlia grower, tho this is my first try. Let's all bow down to the lady Chroe.
Christine
Christine, I would divide them now, and then let them get established on their own. The division at the time of planting in the ground may set them back somewhat. If you line the pot with newspaper, there is minimal disturbance at the time of planting into the ground.
I note that you are in zone 6, NJ. I, also, have to wait, but for me it is early June. Many of mine are in the garage already, and I take them out on warm, sunny days, when I can. I am not into showing, so I will pinch the centre or lead stem, and force it to branch out. That will make it take a bit longer before it gets too big, and I will get more flowers from it as well.
I will not keep my dahlias in the sunny room at room temperature, as I feat that they will grow too fast, and become less strong in the stem.
My humble opinion, as always.
Ladders, flowergirl, ladders. I had some well over 6 ft, crossed the horizon of the garage gutters. It's a good stretch to get a stem to cut, but still the flowers are beautiful. Even with pinching or topping, some dahlias will not be contained...
Hi Tori,
Your pots look big enough to me, if they're about a foot tall and foot or so wide? I have never grown a full size dahlia in a pot before and would worry about it falling over, how to support it in a pot etc. Or are they short dahlias?
Topping is interesting. All the leaf counting drives me nuts though. I just wait til the plant is about 15-18 inches tall and carefully pinch out the center growth tip up top. Most of the time I carefully peel back the two little tiny leaves forming over that growth tip and then pinch out the very center mass (because I don't know if it's important to leave those little side leaves or not.) I've never had a plant fail yet that was treated this way. No open hollow stem to let rain water in, no failure of laterals to develop. No lack of flowers.
Maybe someone else who's grown in big pots will chime in on dahlia support in a container.
Good luck, it's nice to see your photos and I really adore that white door and doorhandle!
Here is a link that might be useful: Topping Dahlias Tutorial with photos
Courtesy of a great dahlia researcher in the UK- Dave Bates.
Ed Flaws of Newbury, OH is your originator.
Why he named it Alice Chalifoux I don't know.
To further check on dahlia originators go here:
www.dahliaworld.co.uk
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia Raiser Directory and more
The eye should be faced UP, but under the soil in your pot or ground.
Here is a link that might be useful: See today's posting about potting
I would plant it deeper in another pot. The shoot will continue to grow up taller. Why bother trimming it back? I have several that I potted up, that had stems and leaves showing. I covered them up, and very soon they came shooting out of the pot anew, but at a better depth. Not to worry.
I don't know it, but based on the gorgeous photo and Old House Garden folks lamenting they can't capture the quality of the colors adequately in a photo, I'd buy it! Then I'd divide it next year and send Poochella a tuber.
It's worth a try, I really like the color and the swirling petals.
"Hi all, I have a couple of dahlia tubers but am unsure as of when.. " I am not sure what you are trying to ask. If it is when to plant, do NOT plant until all danger of frost is past.
"And, more importantly, how much depth do they need in the bed? I have a 8 inches high bed but it rests on concrete tiles so thats' as deep as it would get... " They should be 3-4 inches below the surface of the soil. It your bed is only 8 inches deep, then that is all they get. They will send out their roots horizontally. I would not plant them too close either.
Hi Poochella!
You wrote:
>well maybe I ought to try putting cuttings in rainwater, we are
>finally getting some here in the drought ridden Northwest!
Yes! I'm aware of your situation and ours is just reversed. We've lost close to 100" of snow (melt) in the past 1 1/2 weeks. Our ground is saturated and hoped we could get another stretch of dry weather for a few more days to dry things out. Unfortunately we can expect 2 1/2" of rain over the weekend here in Central New York (Syracuse area).
>About how long does it take them to form roots in water?
This does seem like a long process. I place my cuttings in a soda type or water bottle container so as the leaf growth is outside of the mouth and the rooting stem is supended in water. My first cuttings are about two weeks old and I am just beginning to see my first part of rooting take place. It appears as tiny blister type formations (white) and then eventually a spike of root. After the root growth appears strong enough (say five or six sprigs of root 1" to 2" long I pot in soil.) I don't have a 100% rate of growth during the bottle process but I'm pleased with what I can achieve.
Our last frost is May 9th and I take cuttings well up to that time and then place the bottles out of doors behind the shed so they are not fully in the sun, probably 80% shade. I have a raised bed area of 6' X 6' and of the richest soil I can make, compost, decomposed horse manure etc. and call it my birthing area or nursery. That's where I place these tender shoots and either leave them there for tubers or transplant.
> I tried taking cuttings on a couple tubers that were about 80%
>rotten but that had growth in order to save the plant. That didn't
>work, but I did save a couple other tubers that had rotted in the
>ground- cut of the bulk of the tuber, sprayed with lysol and
>replanted them after they dried. Two of those went on to bloom and
>even developed a couple new tubers.
I'm really new at this so I have to ask what does the Lysol do?
>On your stem growth, I have read on Yahoo dahlia group, another good
>place for questions about dahlias, that you can plant those stem
>growths and they will even go on to produce tubers. I had one of
>those myself last year: pulled it out of the ground and about
>halfway up the 6 inch stem was a thin but viable tuber with an eye!
I'm looking forward to see what happens to the 6 stems that I cut away from the tubers.
>Good luck with your dahlias. They are just amazing to grow.
I'm not a perrenial Gardner as I feel as long as I can bend and get on my knees to play in the dirt (daily) I'll do the tubers annually. Almost everyone in our area (we've only lived here since Dec 2nd 2003) have perrenials, with mucho green and evergreen. I must have pulled out 10,000 Hosta plants and planted our dahlias and four o'clocks and some gerniums for the first time "here" last spring. (Sorry perrenial lovers. I Know I'll be there someday.)
Our reward came when a woman who walked for health purposes one afternoon said to my wife "I've always walked (straight down the other street) but now I detour down your culdesac to see your flowers. They're beautiful."
Isn't Gardening just like Golf? It only takes one good golf shot (person) to keep you coming back for more.
Have a great spring season and hope your drought condition corrects.
Jim
I had a few that did that as well. What I thought was up, was down. Well, Mother Nature won. As soon as I realized what was happening, I took the tuber, and placed it sprout side up, and then potted. Honestly, sometimes it is VERY difficult to tell which side is up, if the eyes have not swollen yet.
If I were you, I'd repot.
I have a couple aiming Back toward the root end of the tuber. I trust they will seek the light and warmth and aim up eventually. If a shoot was really pointing downward, I'd turn the tuber to let the shoot aim up. Roots should still form normally. I hope.