3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
1. Is this a good price? - average price for good quality tubers is $7.00
2. How long do they bloom? Would they work like annuals that I can put in a hanging basket? - They take a few months to start blooming, then bloom continually until frost - they range in size from 15" to 7 feet tall, so while a few types are used in baskets, most need much more room. Just read the labels carefully.
I once purchased a small dahlia already growing in a hanging basket, it was lovely all summer. After dividing the tuber for three years, I now have 15 of them and use them as part of the border of my veg garden. They grow bigger and better in the soil than in a basket.
Where are you in California, harmony? I did not dig mine also. Some of them are already sprouting, but some are not yet. Yes, we have to be patient. I actually dug one, a Ferncliff Illusion, in November. It had so many tubers. I left it outside on a table, but I planted it back on the ground 2 months ago and now they are sprouting. I thought I lost them because they were already shrivelling and I did not see any eyes.
Near Stockton. Was my first year for Dahlia's. Really loved them, but was too lazy to dig them out for winter. I am anxious to see how many come back. It's tough as you go into a nursery, and see greenhouse dahlias with lots of growth, and forget that nature doesn't give same results.
Same issue with my hibiscus. I'm tempted to pull them out and replace with roses as they look like sticks, but trying to be patient to see what is to come.
If it is the same as Mel's orange Marmalade the link below has them
Keriann~
Here is a link that might be useful: Mel's Marmalade
Your welcome Christine! I sure do miss Connell's....I'm pulling my tubers out of the garage and cleaning them now...whenever I find one of my Connell's tubers that didn't make it through the winter...I feel like another variety has gone extinct. Still have fond memories of one of my favorites, "Summit Festival"... sadly I lost it this year
Janice
I wish I could do that overwintering thing. This is my first time at digging up & saving tubers (may I say what a lot of work!). Granted, they were a Costco purchase but the dinner plates were outstanding & gave my mom (& the rest of the fam) such joy with armfuls of bouquets for 2 months! I didn't use fungicide or vermiculite, didn't do any dividing, loosly following some bad directions I saw online. I have LOTS of shriveled tubers & need to really inspect now for eyes. Got any advice?
You must live in a dry climate. Time to put the tubers in a plastic bag with some damp potting mix and put them where it is about 75 degrees. If they are alive, in about a week, the eyes will swell and you will have successfully stored them. If it is too early to plant(and I assume you are many weeks away from planting time) put the sprouting tubers back into a cooler storage area.
Here is a great link to answer all your questions... with pictures! : )
Keriann~
Here is a link that might be useful: How to Grow Dahlias
ok, i'm definitely pulling them up and potting them! i just read on the american dahlia society website (http://www.dahlia.org/index.php?page=growing-dahlias-in-pots) that a soilless mix is recommended. how necessary is this? can i use a regular potting soil?
also, i'm wondering about lights...i don't know if i'll be able to provide close artificial lighting like the article recommends. the best I could probably do is place them right next to an east facing window. will this be sufficient?
thanks again for all your input!
-jen
I use a plain old MG potting mix. My gardnen soil has too much clay in it and i am not a fan of bringing garden dirt (and the bugs) inside. You can also get other brands, and it will set you back about $20 bucks, well worth it in my opinion.
I they will do okay in a window, but much better under a shop light. I pinch mine back pretty good when I plant them, so if they get leggy by a window it is not the end of the world. Just make sure you harden them off before you put them outside. Hardening off is a process of slowing getting them used to the sun and wind outdoors.
I hope that helps!
Keriann~
Oh sorry just set myself up. While I have this up
thanks to all who comment. And thanks to Poochella, plant lady and JRoot for all their info and words of wisdom with dahlias I have been reading their posts for a couple years now. Im trying Jroots newspaper in a pot trick this year hope it gets me a good head start.
Try eBay. That's where I found mine in the past. You can get tubers or stem cuttings with nodes which grow just fine. I don't have enough time for them to bloom but if I can get them to 14' in AK, you should get bloom from stem cuttings. Here's one current listing.
Multiple stems:
The smaller the dahlia flower, the less need to prune to one stem. Large flowered dahlias do not do well with multiple stems because the multiple stems cannot hold the heavy weight of the flowers. Also, the flowers would be smaller. Large flowered dahlias do not have a lot of blooms either. I would say the Miniatures and Poms and such could grow with several stems with no problems. BB sized(4-6 inch flowers) are a lot better with one stem but having two or three is no big deal. B sized (6-8 inch flowers) and larger should have one stem.
What a lovely flower! I really like that gold background to the pink color. Does it have a name?
My first tuber orders are arriving, and i will be potting them in my greenhouse today! (I request mid March delivery so they are tall and strong in gallon pots when I plant them. Come on SPRING!
Hi all, thanks for the comments, Honnat in this area many properties are quite large & many are situated like this one on top of rolling hills with volcanic red soils.
Lizalily sorry can not help with the name of the pink flower with yellow tones, as I did not write it down when talking to the grower. Will visit the grower again soon hopefully get some new flower as well as a few names (as I would like to order some of the large flowering ones to add to my garden).
Here are some images from my garden today;
A fimbriate dahlia Nenekazi 
From Mar 18, 2011
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlias in my garden today
I think it'd depend on the size of the Dahlia. We grow miniature Dahlias in large (12" or bigger) pots on the patio. But I think it'd be difficult to grow the bigger varieties in a pot unless it was a dwarf plant. I can't imagine a dinner plate dahlia in a 12" pot.
I grow all my dahlias in pots. They are started indoors in a heated garage until they can safely go out June 1. I will transplant a few into my beds, but will sometimes just sink the whole pot in the ground. MOST of them stay in their pots all summer....Easier for me to get good size until they can go outdoors and easier to unpot and store at the end of our short summer.
The bigger the dahlia, the bigger the pot. As a novice, I used regular nursery pots (including for dinner plates), not realizing the issue with staking. I now use sturdier plastic pots for most of my dahlias. They are 9" wide by 11" tall. But I use #7 nursery pots for my dinner plate and tall dahlias. This is what the greenhouses sell their dahlias in up here. They are 12" wide, but 13" deep....An issue we have up here because of our 24 hours of daylight in summer is that everything grows taller than projected, including dahlias.
That gives you two schools of thought geographically...LOL