i got my first pretty (of course!) dahlia from my local home depot about 3 weeks ago. it's about 3 feet tall in one of their generic pots, and i can't tell if it's root bound - something i always try to check for when i get things from there - but suspect that it is.

anyway, i've been doing my best to care for it. we had an awful few days of heat (temps in teh high 90's) a few weeks ago, and i thought the heat had gotten her (i had posted about it actually), but like someone said, she bounced back after i snipped off all the blooms that had succumbed. i am a bit worried about this again as we are having another lil heat wave in my area (near 100 today and tomorrow).

now that you have some background, on with my questions - i'm wondering if i should put her in the ground or just move her into a larger pot with fresh soil?? (she's rather large, about 3 ft tall from the soil) also, any recommendations for a good fertilizer for dahlia's? and lastly...steaking - yes, i've already searched and found a few, but am looking for any recent new suggestions.

thanks for any help!

angela :)

Generally- they do better in the ground and they are easier to water that way. I use MG on mine every week at full strength, but many other generic fert. will work.

AS far as staking, you can use a lot of different 'things' upside down tomato cages, plain bamboo stakes, bammboo T-Ps ect. Just be really careful you do not pierce a tuber when you stake them.

Also- can you just move it to the shade when you get really hig temps? Mine wilt in the noon day sun but come back after 4 pm or so.

Let us know about the mature size

Keriann~

I would put it somewhere that perhaps it is shaded during the hottest part of the day.

I would also plant it outside of a pot. For a really large plant like that, the pot you will need is huge!! I have a neighbour that grows large Dahlias in planters very successfully, but urns are HUGE!!! Must be nearly 10 gallons!!

I have heard tomato fertilizer is good for them. My MIL uses MG with great success... I tend to forget and all mine grow fine. I have heard that high nitrogen can cause the tubers to shrivel up when they are recovered in the fall, I would suggest laying off it at the end of the growing season if you want to recover the tubers in the fall. I have also heard this is when they typically do most of their growing, in cooler weather.

Dahlias like soil that is not wet. It sounds like it either does not have a good root system yet, probably due to the pot being too small, or the sun is just too overwhelming in the zone you are in.... I don't know much about zones and dahlias past zone 6 though.

My dahlias like really dry soil. I have them close to the house and they get almost no moisture and lots of sun.... Your biggest challenge is probably that the pot is too small.

@keriann - i think it's going to get pretty big because it's already about 3 feet. i ran out and got some miracle grow (MG?) bloom booster and a general fert for flowers. i'm gonna take a chance and put her in the ground. we have a heavy clay soil, but i've amended it hopefully pretty well. i'm gonna experiment with different staking options and ties. thanks again!

@homemommy - i've gotten up the nerve to put her in the ground! i think you're right, with how large it already is, i'd need a huge pot. now i've got to figure out where to plant it so that it's not getting too much water. where i WANT to put it, where it'd be the prettiest in the yard, is where i have some impatiens, zinnias, and coleus, and they are heavy feeders.

thanks again!

angela

thanks again :)

I've transplanted 3 foot plants from the garden to another spot in another bed, but never out of a pot, so I'm curious what you decided to do and how it went.