3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
Thanks CCvacation, I will try the milk spray. Seems like it would not be as damaging to the leaves.
Oh the gophers are terrible on dahlias here. We gas the tunnels, and it keeps the population down, but all it takes is one...
Another thing I may try is planting a trap crop for the gophers. Jerusalem artichokes are a lot cheaper to replace than a named dahlia, and I imagine the tubers are very similar in food value to a rodent.
I'll let you know how plunging the pots works. Because it's so windy here, the tallest dahlias I grow are 3 feet. I have some 10 and 15 gallon pots I can put them in, so maybe that will work. Between the heat and the damage from the baking soda, some of my dahlias look really sad! and many of the others are showing the beginnings of mildew. Crossing my fingers...
The soil in the sunk pots is definitely cooler. But I think that even my shorter-statured dahlias would be happier in 10-gallon containers. I know at least some of the fabric pots are meant to be in the ground, but I'm wondering how they hold up when attacked by gopher teeth. Anyone have any experience? I've also thought about drilling lots of holes in my containers to give the feeder roots more running room, while keeping the tubers safe. I'd think the heavier duty injection-molded containers would be somewhat resistant to gopher teeth, I'd appreciate some opinions.
I meant to ask if those might have come from Michigan Bulb. I know they sell those varieties and I have occasionally received a couple that were mis-labeled. The ones I have bought from there have never failed to bloom beautifully although MB does receive some bad raps. That pic you posted is a beautiful. I always say, I've never seen an ugly dahlia.
The name boogie sounds familiar. I may have bought it and neglected to write down in my notes. I may have bought it as a tribute to the 70s. It does match the other two so the colors don't clash. I only have a small garden. I can't have too many , but they are increasing in size so I will have to give away some by next year. I don't think the company was at fault, as I have both big pink and floodlight. If the bulb was wrong it was a bonus bulb, not a case of a mistaken order.
It's pretty late in the season to be taking cuttings with the intention of getting fully blooming plants this year. If they were my plants, I'd leave them alone, and plant clearance annuals from all the sales going on right now in the empty spaces you have.
In trying to gain more plants, you might very well destroy healthy growing and soon-to-be blooming plants.
Cheers!
CC
I think you have time. I planted a clearance bulb last summer (late June or so). It bloomed vigorously until October. I was hooked from there on out. So, if you can find them at a discount, go ahead and plant directly in the ground. Here is a pic of one of last year's blooms.
Thank you for the feedback!
The damage seems to be on about 25% of the leaves, or less. It does not move up the plant quickly, but there are a few of the middle leaves that are affected.
Based on CCvacation's feedback, it does sound like I'm underwatering. The bed they're planted in gets about 8 hours of sun and is right up against the side of a house which radiates the heat. I've seen the leaves look a little limpy during the peak hours of a hot day, but they perk back up with a bit of supplemental water. But I guess I need to rig up a second soaker hose for them.
Many thanks!
Hi Katrosa
Assuming you mean Oakland CA - my experience may help you.
As you can see, I live in San Francisco (I guess people could think I meant Santa Fe or something!) and this spring/summer has been very sunny - especially for me in the Sunset. I have sandy soil and I know it drains well but I am watering (not heavily but certainly giving each plant a good soaking) at least every other day unless it is foggy. Then I back off to every 3rd day unless the dahlia leaves and buds are drooping.
If I went to twice a week, most of mine would fall over. And I know Oakland is much sunnier than western S.F. So I cast my vote with the underwatering analysis also. Underwatering stresses any plant, which then leaves it vulnerable to any virus in the area. Which is what I think you are getting.
But if your buds are not drooping (which is the first indication of lack of water) then perhaps you aren't underwatering. But I sure know I could NEVER water mine once a week. Even last weekend when it rained I had to water mine on Wed and it actually RAINED Tues night! But again, my soil is amended sand and it drains REAL FAST so it needs more moisture than most gardens I guess.
The Harlequins are a bedding dahlia, getting about a foot tall (or less).
I've grown single plants in 2-gallon pots, where they did reasonably well. So if you want to plant three of them in one pot, I'd go with a 7- or 10-gallon pot.
One-gallon pots are too small in my experience - the roots get too hot.
I like the Harlequins, and I save my favorites. They make tubers just like real dahlias!
I saw little six packs of bedding dahlias at one of the small nursery set ups around here for the first time this year.
I grew some from seed last year and again this year, and was wondering why they were not popular with the growers. I didnt grow Harlequins, and I grew them in the ground, but the two types I have tried ended up being 12-18" tall and wide. They bloomed well all summer.
This subject has been discussed on dahlia sites for very many years. Part of the problem that is never mentioned is that computer monitors need to be calibrated also. The deep purple color does not appear on a computer screen easily. We have two digital machines, the digital camera and the computer and monitor that must be in total sync.
I have taken some better purple flower pictures with the sunlight coming from behind the bloom and shining through some of the outer florets. Carefully focus on the center of the bloom and set the camera to show the center clearly and even though the light coming through the florets may be
over exposed, the center of the bloom will have accurate color. Easier said than done. I suppose one step further would be to reflect some light onto the center of the bloom also.
The mother tuber grows larger and uses the same eyes next year to grow again. It is certainly is not too late for some other tubers to form and be large enough to divide. Here in Oregon, during a really wet season, one grower was not able to plant until July 1st. She had enough tubers from most varieties to have a good season the next year and the great majority of her plants bloomed before frost. .
Where are you taking your cuttings from? Are they just the tops of dahlias that you snipped off to encourage lateral growth, or are you taking side cuttings, where a side leaf, it's stem, and a little part of the main stem are removed?
Even though I didn't need more plants, I decided to try and see if I could root some tops. I made the mistake of putting my pinched tops indoors in the a/c to avoid the excessive heat and sun. I thought they would die in the heat and sunlight outside. Well, it took a while but most of them just never rooted and died.
This year I've just pinched them and stuck them in different places outside in different soils to see what works.
Wow, Steve, your cuttings yield awesome results and plants. I have good results too eventhough I do not give them the ideal growing conditions as you did. I found that some dahlias are better at rooting than others. In fact, some of the cuttings that I started in April now have flower buds.
Ah, yes. That's how it starts.
I remember looking online wanting to see what other colors dahlias came in, other then pink, purple and yellow.... and I got lost in the sea of shapes, textures and blends possible with this amazing species. Over two hundred varieties later, my wish list is still a mile long.
Here's a simple shading system that sure beats using umbrellas for each plant!
Here is a link that might be useful: 60% shade cloth on cables with grommets
I wish there was another spray on other than Miracle Grow. It has a ton of salt in it. I am in CO and there is already salt in the soil.
I add a healthy pinch of bone meal to each hole as I plant the tubers. You can also scratch it into the surface around the plant.