3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
It may be a bit early to be requesting spares, as they have to be overwintered successively before anything else.
The best time to be asking is in May, when the grower knows how many he/she will be planting, and has a good idea how many extra sprouting tubers can be sold, traded or gifted.
Though this may sound harsh, I say this through experience and to assist... Growers who are offered a similar-valued plant/root in trade are much more likely to send dahlia tubers either for postage or for trade to those folk then random requests for freebies from folks they don't know.
I have not been back to this post for awhile so I cannot respond to the interest. I have alot of Blue Wish that I can give now. It is getting a bit too cold to be sending them but if you live in the south, I am happy to send them to anyone for postage NOW. Please email me directly via GW if anyone is interested in Blue Wish dahlias. I may not have any next spring because I do not store bulbs well. And I cannot guarantee that they will not be frozen while in transit.
Hi there
I got the mc Laren book as a parting gift when changing jobs some years ago, so good it even made it across to Europe....
It is written very no-nonsens and acurat,
covers some history, the classes, basics on growing, storing, pests diseases
And has a large section of Dahlia portraits.
Now, after abot 8 years opening it every now and then, the only draw back is that those Dahlia cultivars tend to be out dated or are hard to get after some years.
And the Dahlia pics are all the same sized small square, regardless whether dinnerplates or mini dekorative.
But then it is very wise to take a peek at actual Dahlias in showgardens.
The author draws from decades of Dahlia growing, and even if it is not the cheapest thing to buy, it is such a beautiful book
Well, have a nice time researching,
Bye, Lin
Here is a link that might be useful: McLaren Dahlia book
Computer ate my rather lengthy response...
Here it is in a nutshell...
All the serious growers in that region that I know ALWAYS dig in the fall to avoid rot. One has excellent drainage in raised beds, and still digs annually.
It doesn't look like you have space for many plants... Perhaps just buying new ones every year might be the way to go. Just because you CAN save the tubers doesn't mean you HAVE to. That will allow you to try many different varieties, and not stress on if they come back or not. If they do, GREAT! If not, time to try new ones!
Check out the images at this local Vancouver Island dahlia vendor on Facebook... She has detailed instructions on digging and storing, and is a very accomplished grower.
Sorry, American folk! She only sells to Canadians.
Here is a link that might be useful: Connie's Dahlias
Thank you. I appreciate another perspective.
There is far more room on the other side of the fence although you cannot tell from the pic but I will take another look at what's there and reassess for spring.
You may have a point about starting anew each year. I was raised to never waste but it's also a lot of work! (this garden is only a small fraction of total beds).
I have decided to use this as a learning opportunity. Leave some in-ground and store some. See what happens. If I have to buy new ones I can pick put my favorites. If I am successful and end up with too many tubers well, gifts for everyone. I figure I can learn just as much from failure as I can from success.
Checking out the website next. Nice to have a more local input.
Cheers.
Same clump pulled apart. Didn't need to use pruners on this clump, though often the stem or tubers are attached to two pieces and must be sacrificed.
I tried to do this to another clump today, and the dratted stems popped right out of the clump, leaving the same tight ball of intertwined tubers. I grabbed half with each hand, and sharply twisted the parts away from each other, with the same effect as the image here.
Granted, this is with one year clumps. I have not had the dubious pleasure of trying to divide a five year clump!
I've heard of a couple of growers using it in divided tubers with no troubles. Peat moss often causes too much moisture loss, but haven't heard that with perlite.
One oldtimer said he used perlite for a storage medium one year, but there was too much dust for him to continue. I remember thinking that the same could be said for peat or vermiculite...Don't remember what he uses now.
Did you fully split the tubers or store and re-plant a large clump? Clumpy dahlia that aren't fully split can produce weaker, less supportive stems. It's the one disadvantage to my dahlia as I never fully split the things.
I'm not directly familiar with Oo La La, it may be that this cultivar requires staking or a tomato fence most of the time. I'm sure somebody who is familiar will be along.
It might have gotten less fertilizer, sun, space or water this year. I'd grow it again if you like the bloom, being sure to provide as much of those four as possible. If it was great last year and not so good this year, it can still come around to be great next year, since it doesn't sound virused.
Incidentally, many growers that are serious about showing dahlias put absurd amounts of fertilizer on their plants by using low levels every day. The leaves and blooms show the difference, and it is amazing how fertilizer can transform a variety you've grown for years into a work of art you don't recognize! Many have complicated recipes that they only grudgingly share, which have been tweaked over many years in their show gardens.
Watering daily during bud formation can increase size of the blooms, and I bet it would help stem strength a bit, too.
Dear Snarg, Thank you so very much!!!!!! I really appreciate your time and your photo! I will report back. If I can save any of them, I would love to send you some. I think they are called Bodacious or Flamethrower. Thank you so much Snarg! I really appreciate your time and your help!
That is normal, as the skin cures and toughens. A week seems to be about perfect for most growers... Longer then that, and too much moisture starts to evaporate. Less then that, and you risk the washed tubers getting moldy in storage.
Take your packing material of choice (vermiculite is my preferred medium, but use what works for you) and put them away soon. Make sure whatever you use to pack them will let out access moisture, keep mice out and keep some moisture in.
Cheers!
CC
The most complete list of dahlia vendors are on The Big List at the Colorado Dahlia Society website. Has great 'how to' articles, as well!
Here is a link that might be useful: The Big List
There is a technique called 'stopping' or 'topping' that growers do with dahlias that would help you in your shady area next year... You pinch out the top sprout after 3-4 sets of leaves form on your plant. This forces it to put energy into growing lateral branches, and will result in more flowers on a shorter plant.
In addition, I see that you are growing in pots. I have never had much success in pot growing with dahlias, as I am really bad at watering individual plants every day. They require more water then an in-ground dahlia, as the feeder roots can't reach down into the soil for extra moisture if it needs it. Lack of adequate watering might be why the pots further from your door seem to be smaller.
You might consider increasing your amount of fertilizer by feeding weekly, since the plants are confined to the soil you provided. The type of fertilizer isn't as important as the consistency and quantity. Nitrogen is not a bad thing, as long as you stop feeding late August, after the plants have gotten off to a good start.
Good luck!
CC
Ah! Okay, so you are keeping the clump intact, then, and only cut the clump into pieces every few years... I would imagine it hard to separate the individual tubers if I did that multiple years in my beds, as my clumps often are massive with just one growing season, but I have never tried growing clumps from spring.
I've heard that growth from clumps are quite vigorous, and folks in the
UK make all their cuttings in spring from last year's clump, throwing out the 'mother' clump after it is spent or they don't have need of more plants.
If that is what Morpheus was referring to, that makes more sense.
For an active trader/seller like me, I wouldn't dream of 'wasting' tubers by throwing them all in the ground for just one plant. However, that is exactly what I was suggesting to some older folk I was just helping earlier today. They only want one plant of each variety, and don't have the dexterity required to splice out a dozen individual tubers from each clump they have. I was showing them how to cut down the clump of any extra broken tubers and squishy mother tuber, so it would store better and they would be assured of spring growth.
>>I've heard that growth from clumps are quite vigorous, and folks in the
UK make all their cuttings in spring from last year's clump, throwing out the 'mother' clump after it is spent or they don't have need of more plants.
>>If that is what Morpheus was referring to, that makes more sense.
Pretty much. I remove the mother tuber(s) from the clump at the end of the season. They're clearly spent and not in great condition, but...well...
OK, I'll admit it. With 2,000 square feet of garden, I'm too lazy to split everything that gets lifted every year. My Sky Angel had seven or eight mothers, and I don't have room for another seven or eight Sky Angel dahlia. They're nice, truly gorgeous, but would take space from the zinnia and salvia and marigold and Easter eggplant and...
So instead I have two absolutely enormous, jungle-like clumps of those, plus (at this point) eleven other enormous, jungle-like clumps of other dahlias.
When I do split, I immediately start looking for people to adopt them, but I rarely do more than divide the clump in two.
Again, time. My dexterity and vision are up to the task, the amount of time I have during the window of frost to freeze is not up to the task.
Older clumps sprout earlier (of course, some of those eyes are more active than others and sprout first), produce huge "bushes" of greenery, and bloom profusely on many branches at once...so of course some blooms appear earlier.
Care of larger clumps differs, including keeping a close eye out for fungus, and they do seem to like a heavier feeding than a smaller single-tuber dahlia would. That's fortunate as I don't isolate them from the rest of the (demanding) garden.
Large clump dahlia perform well--I've included a link to my garden images, which get updated about once a month or so at worst.
I like to use them as central showpiece items with smaller plants around them for accent and color contrast. We should point out that I never met a saturated flower color I don't like, nor do I approve of blank space in a garden!
Here is a link that might be useful: Garden and Lawn Photos
It should have no effect on the tubers at all. And since one normally rinses the tubers to clean them and hydrate them before storage, any lingering PM spores will be washed off (PM cannot survive in water).
It certainly won't hurt to dust with cinnamon or sulfur before storage but probably not necessary.
You have some nice blooms and growth. I do definitely like to buy the packages when they first come out, to make sure they are in relatively good condition. But then when that 50-75% sale comes around, I pick up any additional ones that I liked or just want more of.
It's a good bargain.
Sometimes tubers start to sprout when they detect moisture, and they decide it must be spring. Definitely make sure to dry it out if it seems at all damp before storing again.
I've heard arguments both ways for snapping the new sprouts off and for leaving them on... Honestly, I've done both, and if the tuber was healthy and sprouted because of too much moisture and warmth, they do just fine either way.
Sometimes they sprout during dormancy and perfect storage conditions because there is rot inside the tuber, and sprouting is the last-ditch effort to save itself. I've been able to rescue many varieties for my garden by taking cuttings from rotting tubers and growing them on into plants. But it's a bit too early for that... The resulting plant would have a hard time of it surviving for months at end before you could plant it out.
I would check the firmness of every centimeter of the sprouting tuber, and if it gives under your finger at the end, slice the end off with a knife. If its white and beautiful, let it dry for 4-7 days and re-store. If it is brown, gooey or has a ring inside, slice until you have only the crisp white tuber left. Sometimes, you end up with only the neck and sprouts, sometimes you are fortunate and have caught internal rot early enough to save the tuber.