3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Most of mine are planted in acidic soil, so I don't know what others will say about the lime, I think they like a bit of acid in their soil. I dig to a depth of 12-14 inches, plant at a depth of 4-6 inches. This allows plenty of room for tubers to develop underground. I add compost every year and mulch with more to maintain moisture. sounds like your stunted veggie patch might benefit from some more nutrients.
Dahlia roots are fairly shallow, hence the advice not to do anything but superficial weeding. I don't know that I'd even make raised beds unless you like the look of them.
Good luck!
Poochella
You really don't need a raised bed. I dig a hole in the ground about 12" deep and 12-20" dia. I sift the lousy soil from the hole through a 3/8" X 3/8" screen and into a wheel barrow. I take the rocks and put them somewhere else on the property. I mix compost, top soil, and some pete with the sifted lousy brown soil. I put a few inches in the bottom of the hole. Place the tuber. Stake. Fill the hole with remaining good dirt. Water and watch them grow like crazy. I use the same holes every year sometimes making new ones. This cuts down on the work from year to year.
KD, Our damp conditions might be the reason, but almost all the instructions from growers out here say DO NOT WATER til the plant is up, there is plenty of moisture to feed the rootlets without rotting the tuber. I try to wait til the plants are about 8 inches tall before watering, unless really warm and dry weather occurs. Our dry winter and Spring might call for "Plan B" though this year.
Poochella
I behaved very badly as a Birthday Girl, Liza.
I came away with 18 new tubers, a free birthday tuber and a membership to the PSDA! Now I'll be really dilly-dallying in the dahlia patch. This is on top of what I have already ordered, and the ones I got at the NW Flower and Garden Show. I need a rototiller!
After swearing for years I would never branch into the red colors, I branched into the red colors with Prince Valiant, Rejman's Polish Kid and Helen's Alvin,Sr. Got a few new laciniates, some waterlilies, some others I killed last year planting too early that I really wanted: Just Peachy, Hissy Fitz, Brookside J Cooley, to name a few.
I will have fun planning where they will go. And
I will not plant too early
I will not plant too early
I will not plant too early.
Just Peachy is one of my absolute favorites! Love it with purples for an autumn arrangement. Beautiful with many peach and apricot shade roses too! IF I Could only take 6 tubers with me in an emergency, Just Peachy would be one!
Oh what a fun birthday it sounds like!
I usually get to do my birthday (Jan 27) at the Tacoma Garden and Home show where they have the BEST plants on sale! And then there are the bulb people.....But hey, we can pull the car right up to the back to load, and they have a Flower check stand so you don't have to carry things around all the time!
Besides, it is in a different month then the Northwest GArden show so charges don't go on the same month on the charge card, LOL.
Hi Loretta,
Follow the link to the big list of suppliers, many with online catalogs. Florida doesn't show any dahlia association sales coming up. The closest looks like it would be in Atlanta, but there are many people here who have ordered from various suppliers with complete satisfaction. No reason you can't do it too!
Good luck,
Poochella
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia Suppliers
Ione, I bet if you dig them up carefully you will find shoots formed already. The winter, here at least, has been so mild. You can dig, decide if you want to divide to get more plants and replant. The worst you'll find are some rotted tubers which should be removed from the clump.
I have successfully left clumps in the ground without problems, but dig most of them annually.
Good luck,
poochella
I asked when to start Dahlia seeds indoors and someone replied that it is possible to WS them outside. Check out this thread
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/wtrsow/msg0217225414544.html?17
I'm going to try this. Good luck!
Best regards!
Jane
The first season that I grew dahlias I only retrieved half of the tubers undamaged. I have mixed beds of roses, perennials and annuals, and they are admittedly crowded. The tubers that I did retrieve did not survive until the following spring. This time round I am planning on either storing them in their pots or plastic wrapping them. I also read someones post on using a transplant shovel. I could also just leave the tubers in the ground and mulch heavily.
How much less tuber production will you get using the pots?
Sharon
Wow JRoot: great photographic tutorial or demonstration. I sort of shuddered viewing this thinking my kitchen could easily look like that! Do you ever worry about too much moisture being held in or does the light help stave off any fungal attacks, etc?
Bad sign here: I bought an exacto knife. This could be bad for ever getting my house cleaned before planting season. Kitchen table looks alot like last November: covered in tubers, sulphur dust and baggies for the big unpacking.
Me too, Poochella. I purchased my new knife yesterday after work. I shall be watching the sprouts carefully, and cutting out the part with the sprouted eye, and putting that into a nice large pot, already wrapped with newspaper so it is easy to slip out of the pot and put in the ground. It worked well last year.
I don't have any fungal attacks yet, but I check it twice a day. I did have fungal attacks on my castor seed put into a baggie with a damp paper towel. They are toast now, I think. So far, the dahlias look good.
They will indeed dry out if not stored properly. If I were you, I would carefully cut out the particular tuber that has the growth, dust the freshly cut end with a fungicide powder, and pot it up. Put it under lights or in a nice bright window. I am doing that to mine already. You may have to pinch the growth down, but that is okay if you want a lot more flowers on a bushier plant.
Do the balls grow well in the South? I live in metro Atlanta. Thanks!
Butterfly, I bet you can grow any type of dahlia there.
Inquire at the link below. They will be able to answer more zone specific questions.
Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Dahlia Society