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| Thanks in advance for your input and please forgive such a long post. This is my first attempt at this & I really don't want to mess up. A friend from up North gave me 14 different Dahlias and I live right in the middle of a deer path with not a whole lot of places in the sun to plant! Tenting off an area is not really possible. I have decided to plant my dahlias in containers but I am a bit overwhelmed at the thought of so many. Do I have to plant just one in each container?
I truly have no clue! I currently have 2 large 18x19" pots and 2 tapered 17" and 1large 22x19 and could get several whiskey barrels. I just opened the box now to find some of them are sprouting!! What to do?? Here’s what I have with their descriptions: 1- VERA SEYFANG (AAFD) Introduced in 1958. 12" blooms are of a rich orchid pink. Very sturdy plant with excellent foliage. Great stems for such a large variety. Bush height 3'. Late bloomer.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Wow, what you should do is introduce me to your friend! You have some really nice varieties there and what wonderful descriptions he/she gave you. Here(at the link)is the best info on planting in pots I've found and am following it to a T right now for the first time. Read it, think about what soil you have available. Use well drained potting mix and try to avoid a high peat content which is tough to water. Get Soil Moist or a similar product to reduce watering needs. Get stakes (I'm using rebar to take up less space.) The pots I'm using are about 4 gallons? ~15" across by ~12" deep and will use whiskey barrels as well. Make sure you have good drainage holes either existing in the pots or drill some. If your pots are ceramic, I guess go with the usual rocks in the bottom for drainage. You'll need someway for excess water to pass OUT. Protect from slugs if you have them. You'll be happy to hear that I've had deer 3 ft away from my garden dahlias munching down raspberries and blueberry bushes while not touching one dahlia leaf. Ditto in the perennial bed: mowed down my phlox and glads, left the adjacent dahlias untouched. So the deer trail might not be a factor to worry about as far as eating goes: trampling maybe! Good luck, I'll copy this to your email address. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlias in Pots by Barbara Jenke- for noncommercial use.
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| Thank You! I read the article and it was a bit overwhelming in that I guess I need to plant individual pots. Do you hink it would be ok just to put the tuber down 6" if it is already starting to sprout? You are the first person to tell me deer have not touched your dahlia. Maybe deer out west and those here have different appetites:)...they probably do! Would you put more than one plant in a whiskey barrel? |
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| Yes you can put your tubers 6 inches down, but you might want to just add more soil as it grows so it doesn't have to struggle so much to break through. Yes, one per pot. Most of the taller dahlias are bushy. I fully expect them to take up the entire pot or whiskey barrel if they grow as in the ground. The only one you might try extras of in a whiskey barrel would be the 2.5-3 footer "Blue Bell." (I'm assuming that's plant height, not stem length. The description is a little misleading.) I was pleasantly surprised about the deer leaving the dahlias alone too! They sure ravaged many other things for the first time in 15 years though. Guess I should start discouraging them early this year. Good luck with your planting. |
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- Posted by Cheryl 4(cherylinif@yahoo.com) onFri, Feb 25, 11 at 19:04
| I was intereste in your post. I love Dahlias I was wondering how yours turned out if you planted them in pots. I would be interested in talking to you if you would like. my phone number is 1 208 523 8476 thanks Cheyrl |
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