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birchhill_road

Plant your dahlias in full sun??

birchhill
9 years ago

I'm fairly new to growing dahlias--only my second year.

Most instructions call for dahlias to be planted in full sun. I planted mine in an area that gets about six hours of direct sun which is the best I can do in the middle of a wooded lot.

I started my dahlias indoors about six weeks before I set them out in mid-May and they are the saddest looking plants I have ever seen. They look fine in the early morning but after an hour or so in the sun the leaves wilt and the plant droops. I have had to rig up screens made of garden fabric to protect them from direct sun and then they seem to be happy.

Am I doing something wrong? Do dahlias need to be coddled this much?

Comments (4)

  • SequoiaMatt99
    9 years ago

    Two options I can think of:
    1) How much are you watering them? Once established, gDahlias need lots of water
    2) Were they acclimated to outdoor conditions for about week before planting outside? Intense sun makes plants wilt at first, but just keep the shielding for a week or so, water them plenty, and hopefully they recover.

  • linaria_gw
    9 years ago

    Could you post a pic?

    Sounds like they were not hardend off or used to sun, so now they are in shock.

    How tall are they? You could cut off the tops to reduce transpiration. All in all they should get better in a week or so.

    I started mine in pots as well but had them on a sunny balcony for at least 3 weeks, rather 5 I think. Moved them inside on very cold nights. I don't have a grow light, and thus they grew very compact.

    No problem transplanting them.

    They do like sun, get more energy for flowers in full sun. 6 h should be ok.

    Some cultivars bleach in full sun, but good ones dont. They definetely grow more compact in full sun, so you probably have more effort with staking.

    As to watering: what soil do you have?

    When I grew Dahlia on sandy soil, I watered or drenched them once or twice a week. They would droop around noon and perk up in the afternoon.

    Now I garden on heavy soil, they hardly droop. Last season I watered about five times, only after they didn't bounce back in the evening.

  • mandolls
    9 years ago

    Mine are planted in similar conditions - only about 6 hours of sun - you will end up with taller than normal plants, and less flowers, than optimum, but they will still be nice - just be prepared to stake them well.

    Mine often look a bit wilty during the heat of the day, but bounce back - don't screen them more - 6 hours of sun is minimal.

  • portia
    9 years ago

    I started mine indoors as well but for the last month they have been outside on our screened porch getting morning sun for about 2-3 hours; then I moved them out and put them onto a chaise lounge where they got 4-5 hours and I just am transplanting them now--did 5 last week and they are doing great so far. I agree it sounds like maybe yours needed some hardening off outside first before planting in direct sun, 6 hours is pretty warm if they were only getting filtered sun through windows etc.

    This is my first year too so I expect a few mistakes, good luck! Thankfully Dahlias seem pretty hardy actually--less fussy than some plants!

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