3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
The cuttings do not always form a new tuber in their first season, so some people put the cutting in a small pot and plant the pot with the cutting still in it into the garden when they plant out their tubers. In autumn they dig up and store the pot, not disturbing the roots unless it is obvious that tubers have formed. In spring they plant out the root without the pot, and it will grow tubers in that second year.
Here we can overwinter in soil, so it doesn't matter.
Cuttings are true to the parent plant.
My feeling is unless the company's seed catalog or web site states that there's a high probability of plain/non-variegated flowers, you have a right to contact them to voice your disappointment(pleasantly, though) in their stock and your results. Usually you see mentioned that there's a 10% or other chance you'll obtain solid colors from such packets; your results are out the realm of acceptance. I would think that the 'Fireworks' growers would have weeded out plain-colored offspring to better guarantee one's success. Let the company know about your outcome, and they may send you a replacment packet free to test this coming year. Good luck.
Ted Kennedy of Hollyhill Dahlias recommended "Hollyhill Bridget" to me as a hot pink (similar color but bigger then Fatima). I am going to try it this next year. Its still a small sized dahlia nice for bouquets. Chimicum Katie is another gorgeous Deep pink...some would call it lavender, but to me it is a hot pink that glows and beautiful shape. Another favorite of mine is Wyoming Wedding but it has a nice bit of lavender and gold mixed into the pink.
Aloha Max:
I love Dahlias and am constantly looking for different/new ones. I have purchased seed from various sources that represent themselves to be dwarf (which I am looking for to surround the big babies) and love the different color and markings you can come up with during the course of a seasons growth. I think it well worth the effort and price. Some of the Sports I have kept for many generations. You decide which you wish to dig and keep for future use. Keep in mind that what the seed says and what the seed does do not always match. Some of my "Dwarf" have been taller than I. I'm 6'8" One of my favorites came from seed. Looks like fire engine red painted on black velvet. If you have the space.......grow for it. Partner in grime.......mm
When you replant in the spring and the sprouts start coming up, pinch off all but the largest sprout. When that single
spout is 12-18 inches tall, pinch off the center candle. This will cause the plant to be thicker, bushier, and have
thicker stems. You will have a 3-4 feet tall plant instead of
5-7 feet with thin stems.
Many people in warmer climate leave their Dahlias in the ground over the winter, digging them up every year or two (or three) in the spring to divide them. Any frost that you get would put them into dormancy and they would arise in the late spring like any perennial. I have not heard of anyone trying to keep them from going dormant over the winter.
So-so for me. Established plants seemed to slow way down; the others went into suspended animation till the nights turned cooler and then they bloomed their little hearts out. I'm still learning, and don't think I fertilized enough. I was also afraid of overwatering, so I probably could have given them an extra drink on those really hot days. I grow mine mostly in pots. Tuber production was excellent and digging was a breeze.
Surprisingly, my dahlias are still going even after 3 mornings where I woke to frost on the lawn and glass deck table. Apparently dahlias are more cold resistant than I realized! :) Some of the open flowers were damaged but the leaves weren't damaged much and new buds have continued to open. I've had temperatures down to 28F or 29F but I don't think it was for very long, maybe just a few hours early in the morning.
Most of mine are fried, but I happened to take cuttings to root indoors before the first frost, and today I put leaf bags on top of the outdoor dahlias which seems to be the most effective way to over-winter them around here.
Here's a blog on some of my dahlia blooms over the summer. I have since collected many more species.
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlia blog from over the summer
We have 2 or 3 cactus varieties that came from seed packets we got at home depot. Most seed packets you see in seed racks are usually dwarf types and they do well. I have a few beds of dwarfs but they don't give the blooms that the larger varieties do. Local florist like large blooms and they want long stems. We breed some and buy seed to expand our gardens.
I was hoping some breeders would connect with me and we could
exchange seed or I could buy some. It's not easy to breed dahlias a lot work is involved.
I like to let them go a bit past freshly closed. Tho it seems to slow down the flowering. I have found it best to time it about a month before the frost around here. (Early Sept. is when I stop deadheading and start letting selected ones go to seed). If you have the space I say you go girl....I have had some wonderful results and some that I have kept over seven years cause I liked them so well. They have even had sports that I enjoy also. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Pineapple sage is as tough as old boots where I live and will cope with living indoors for a while. Sweet potato should overwinter in sand. It will even overwinter uncovered and dry, in fact, if the tubers are of reasonable size, in the humid climate I live in. I wonder about misting rather than dousing your sand - going for moist rather than wet.
The moist coarse sand method sounds rather doubtful to me especially in a cardboard box. You are in a low humidity area and cardboard box will wick the moisture from sand very quickly. If you place the entire box into a plastic bag and seal it, the moisture will be preserved and you would have better chance. Dahlia tubers really dry out in low humidity areas during the winter unless they are sealed in plastic. The idea in high humidity or low humidity climates is to let the tubers dry for a day or two to the point where they are still firm and when you place them into plastic bags with bit of vermiculite or even some potting soil, that they will stay plump. Too wet and they rot; too dry and they die. Store at the just right stage in plastic and they will do just fine.