3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
I ordered a dahlia last spring from White Flower Farm called 'Karma Choc' that has very thick stalks and didn't need any staking until the end of the summer when some of the smaller branches got a bit floppy. You might try this dahlia. It has a beautiful full flower and is as close as you will come to having a dahlia that doesn't need staking. The only problem with this dahlia, from my perspective, is that it is not resistant to powdery mildew, which got worse as the summer went along. Still I plan to overwinter the bulb and try again next year.
Jerry
Swan Island Dahlias do not stake their dahlias. They grow them to about 2 feet tall and then mow them down to about 1 foot tall to create laterals. They also push the soil up and around the base of the plants as they come up. The plants are held up by the extra soil. They also get extra drainage from the mounded soil.
Most gardeners tie up their dahlias. It is not nearly as time consuming as one would assume. They only need to be tied to the stakes two or three times. If you leave your dahlias in the ground during the Winter, they will come up with weaker stalks. Best to dig and divide them each year.
Nice, Teddahlia! How big does it get? I have Lyn's April that looks a lot like your Lyn's Marilyn. I'm assuming they are the same breeder with that prefix. I absolutely LOVE my Lyn's April. It is very prolific, long-stemmed, and long lasting. It does fade a little on the back side when it gets older but I think that makes it look a little "country". When the bloom reaches that point, it always makes me think that it would look good with denim--maybe in a vase sitting on a denim tablecloth.
Anyway, nice shot of a pretty dahlia. Thanks for sharing it.
Annabeth
I grew Lyn's April and Lyn's Marilyn for the first time this year. I am not growing April again(I just did not like it) and alas Marilyn made almost no tubers. The best Lyn's that I grew was Lyn's Concord and it had lots of tubers and the really dark purple-maroon color was excellent.
"They" say that it's easier to see the eyes in the spring."
It is easier to see the eyes in the Spring. But the clump will dry out and toughen up making it much more difficult to divide. You will also lose tubers trying to get it divided. Also, if the stem has rot in it, the rot will continue down to the tubers and kill the eyes on the tubers. Best to divide in the Fall if you can.
Tonight, I'm listening to the rain pouring down on my roof, and know that it's seeping into the ground where my tubers lay up until just a few days ago. The tubers still looked good when I dug them up, and hopefully, I'll keep a lot more than last year (when I lost most.) At least come early next year, with a review of my boxes, I will know what "garden must haves" that I "don't have." In prior rainy springs, there was no opportunity for a casual inventory. And by the time I got all my tubers dug in the spring, either my favorite varieties were sold out, or growers that carried my favorites had closed down for the year. I'm feeling pretty good about the storing decision this year, even though it's a lot of work. Now, I just have to keep an eye on them . . .
It's possible that you could make the plant more attractive by pruning it. E.g. you're supposed to snip the growing tip when it's still small; and I've read that the more flowers you cut, the more you get.
Another idea might be to place 3 of the same variety of dahlia in close proximity, to get a fuller look - the same as what people do with roses.
A third idea is to look at plants with smaller flowers, 3-4 inches. In my own experience, those have been more prolific and nicer looking plants.
I love shopping online for dahlias for the better selection. I've bought mine from Swan Island and had great luck. You could call up and ask their advice, too.
You can get a list off the Dahlia Society of Georgia website that will tell you which dahlias do best in georgia. Here is the link
www.dahliasocietyofgeorgia.com
Make sure and read the newsletters
Here is a link that might be useful: Check out the Barry Gardens
I would be interested if somebody has tried this as well.
I have done this for cannas for a few years without a problem.
I have a bunch of dinnerplates, some of which I am going to leave in the pots. I use bark based mix which drains very well.
For over 20 winters, we have had some in pots, and just put the pots with soil and tubers, foliage cut off, in our drywell of the basement windows. Hubby has the drywell or window well, whatever you want to call them, covered with wood. Keeps it dark, and the window well is made of concrete block, which seems to keep them from freezing. In all these yrs. only lost a few tubers. Some we have in a patch, we leave in the ground, zone 7. We remove the stems, and cover the patch with that blue plastic stuff. They come back every year, but protecting them from water going down the hollow stems seems to be the answer, besides keeping them from freezing.
Darlene
Pitt,
The eyes show 10-14 days after a hard frost and then retreat. Since it's about 4 weeks after a hard frost you probably won't be able to locate them. Last year I stored the whole clumps, brought them out in Feb. and was able to locate the eyes after a period of time (week?).
This year, I washed them and left them on a table outside to dry. After just a couple of days they were beginning to lose their firmness. I'd get them into storage asap.
Gail
Don't put peat moss (the regular peat moss) in the soil for a dahila.
They need very good drainage and peat moss will hold the water and rot the roots.
You are talking about bringing the tubers in the home for winter right? In a pot?
If you put it in the soil outside for your tubers next spring, you can put a little peat moss in the soil. A little.
Peat moss is an excellent soil conditioner and one bag of peat moss would break up clay soil or add organic material to a small (10 x10 foot) garden. It is a bit acidic but that is good if your soil is too alkaline. Most of the expensive potting soils have a peat moss base. They add a surfactant to allow it to take up water quickly and some lime to increase the ph.