3,226 Garden Web Discussions | Dahlias
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
I have never heard of baking soda being used as a fungicide. I have heard of Cinnamon being used.
FWIW, most growers do not use peat moss for storing tubers. It tends to pull out the moisture. You could search the forum other techniques. They have been fully discussed.
Gail
Thanks everyone!
Bad news: I never did get around to digging out the dahlias - too cold and even snow, and I was at work.
Good news: DH (amazingly) offered to do the deed. I would normally never expect him to do this, but he saw how sad I was to lose all my plants - so he did it!
Anna,
If there was more of a chance of saving some with DH's help, then I would do it. All you need is an eye and out of all the tubers you probably have, he can't ruin them all - can he?? Just show him how to get one out of the ground and he can do the rest. Maybe he can even clean them off?
Yep, I'd go for hubby's help! :O)
I learned from Swan Island to choose the low growing varieties for those of us in the colder climates. They told me that all the low growing varieties were early bloomers. I had quite a few dahlias that did not bloom as well as they should have this year because they were later bloomers and I ran out of summer! Fall came quickly here in upstate NY. They also told me they're going to incorporate this type of information on their website at some point. From now on I'll avoid anything over 4 feet. For me, they get ridiculously tall and I plant them in as much sun as I possibly can.
Hi, I would be interested in trading some in a couple of weeks. Mine are still blooming at the moment but we are expecting a freeze tomorrow night so I will be digging in a few weeks. I only have 13 varities right now because I lost quite a few last winter. If you are interested in any of these let me know.
Tahati Sunrise
Unknown orange cactus from Lowes
Fire Magic
Bahama Mama
Pure Magic
Candlelight
Bodacious
Show-N-Tell
Helen Richmond
Grand Finale
Moonlight Sonata
I'm A Hottie
Bewitched
Linda
Lots of dahlia pictures being post to Flickr:
Here is link to see them:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/dahlias/
I have horses so any manure used around here comes from them. Try asking at your local stable or doing a walk and nock at a farm and ask if they have any aged manure they would like to sell. Most people will probly just give it to you. I put my fresh manure in a pile all winter until about march when I start a new pile. I stop adding to the first pile in feb. and start using it in april. So about three months from being fresh manure to being usable. If you ammended your beds even with fresh in the fall it would be fine for spring planting. But again I was told by several dahlia farms to not use manure on dahlias aged or not. Of course I didn,t have that info. years ago when I grew dahlias and I don,t seem to remember any problems.
Hi Lizalily
Beautiful pics. Always a pleasure to see more dahlias when I'm at work versus in my garden.
I have a Q about Sunny. I planted Sunny this year and it is a very low growing plant (2 - 2 1/2') that gave me about 4 really large blooms. Then it went into hibernation and is about to bloom from a lateral but it has been weeks since the last bloom. Is yours like that or maybe (I suspect) it is because I just planted it (year one) and in a pot to boot and maybe it needs seasoning?
I have had Sunny for a number of years. It grows tall for me usually, but this year it was the survivor of a freeze that killed 2/3 of my tubers. I moved it and it was a bit shaded by other large growers and decided to crawl along the ground and bloom where it poked out,,,Not good form but not its fault. I presume that if I give it its proper location it will be back up there where it should be at 4-5'.
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