Some of my dahlia's aren't doing so well, any ideas as to why?

12 years ago

I live in zone 9. Southern California. Most of my dahlia's are exploding. I can't even see the leaves on a few of them because of the flowers. But a couple of them aren't doing so well. Two of them are in a state of constant wilt. They are still throwing out flowers like crazy. But all the leaves are a little droopy. No matter if i let them dry out, water them, shade them. Nothing seems to help. Another one of my dahlia's is a purple one. It's doing really well, throwing out tons of flowers, green and happy. But within the last 3 weeks its petals started changing colour. It started out deep magenta purple, but now it has a white line down the center of each petal, that spreads out to cover the tip of each petal. Any idea why? All the ones that arent doing well are giant's. I would say between 10 - 15 inch blooms... All the rest of my dahlia's including the giants are doing really well. So why arent these? Should I even be concerned about the purple one? I'm really new to dahlia's, and well, gardening in general. The locations of them in my yard vary. The ones that are doing the best are shaded most of the day. I know they like full sun, but the sun down here is a bit hot. So I decided to try and spread them around my yard. The shaded ones are doing really well, but the few that I chanced in full sun are a little wilted.

Comments (4)

john3
12 years ago
Wilting could be part of their DNA. Mine, in pots, do that every sunny afternoon, but 'recover' after sun retreats. The color change I've experienced with seed grown container types. Actually adds attraction when the colors(one was purple, with lavender tips) present change to different shades, near petal drop. Beautiful trait in my mind.
john3
12 years ago
Regarding wilt: what are your day and night temperatures? The site gardenguides.com, states that ideal temps are 70-80F day and 45-55F night. If your temps are warmer during the day, wilting could be a cause. This is a good question for the county extension agents, knowledged about flower culture.
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ordphien
Original Author
12 years ago
The purple giant turned bright white on the tips, magenta on the middle, and deep purple in the center. It looks fantastic and is doing wonderfully. Two of them have perked up. Ive noticed a difference in the structure of the... um.. bush? and foliage. The ones that look wilted tend to be less full and bushy. Much more lengthy, Also I felt the leaves, and they are perfectly healthy, firm. Not wilted at all. But their leaves look as though they are in a state of constant wilt. Because of out heat I try and keep them in shade. Dahlias do much better here when shaded for most of the day. They definitely aren't full sun plants down here. I try to plant them where there is full morning light and dappled shaded light during the afternoon. Some of them get hit by the after noon sun for an hour or so unfortunately. During the day it averages around 87. I say this because one day its 80 and the next its 90. We rarely reach 3 digits. and normally dont go above 95. I live nearish to the coast so it helps keep things cooler. At night I would have to say we reach from 60 - 70.
Spongey600
12 years ago
I live 1 mile from MIssion Bay, My dahlia's get direct sun from 3-sunset and they are throwing out lots of flowers and the leaves are healthy and it has TONS of them! i water about every 4-5 days and i use MG plant food slightly diluted strength, and i add a teaspoon of vinegar and a teaspoon of a witches brew i read about in another forum(take 1/2 cup garden lime, put it into a cottage cheese container and add vinegar, let it sit with out the lid as the reaction causes gas and foam. once the reaction settles take a teaspoon of the liquid off the top(it contains Calcium and MAgnisium) and my dahlias LOVE thsi mixture) good luck!
Eric