Question from some one who has no clue about Dahlia's

Ok I just bought this one:
http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=310&account=none

But I really have no clue about them. I have always wanted one and have stayed away fromt hem because of our heat and then my really cold winters but I just cold not control myself. Do these like heat? Cold? Please share what ever information you can.

Thanks

Marie

Welcome, Marie! You do know you can never have just one dahlia, right? LOL-they are addicting. You should never control yourself when it comes to dahlias! I won't tell you how many I ordered for next year and still have no idea where I will put them.

Where to start...Yes, they like heat, and they like cool nights, if that's an option. They dislike too much rain and freezing temps. I'm in zone 10 and can grow them. Not as well as they can in the Pacific NW, but I am happy with their turnout. You should plant them at the last risk of frost. They should bloom for you around the beginning of summer and bloom until your first frost. If it does get super cold, then you should dig them up. See how-to on the Dahlia Resources thread/sticky at the top of this page. If you don't dig them up, then super insulate them in the ground. Not sure how cold it gets there. Plant them where you get a good amount of sun, throughout the day.
One tip I learned in the hot zone: While they love full sun, 10-12 hours of afternoon sun in our zones may be too much...? This was great in April, May, June but I found that once July, Aug. came-it was just too much for them. Next year, I am putting them in a partial sun spot. And keep the roots very well mulched during heat of summer-helps keep roots cool and conserve water.

There are so many here, who have so much experience, so I know they will give you tips. The main thing is just reading up on them. I thought I did last year, then come this year, I learned so much by doing and screwing up here and there.
Good luck and enjoy.

Carrie

Edited to add this link http://www.oldhousegardens.com/Dahlias-For-The-South.asp

This message was edited Oct 23, 2009 2:10 PM

Dahlias were known to the Aztecs as acocoxóchitl. I think it's Mexico's national flower as well. If it's natural there I'd think you'd be fine in Arizona. Carrie's comments make good sense regarding cold and sun. What elevation are you?

Great summary Carrie.

Glad I was never required to take Aztec as a foreign language in school! Maybe it'd be easier to learn once the alphabet was mastered, but still...looks complex.

Hi Marie ^_^ Welcome to the Dahlia Forum.

Thanks for the welcome and sorry it took me so long to respond. I forgot to "watch " my own thread.

I think our elevation is 1000 feet or so. it is very hot is the summer and the nights are too. At my place I can get into the 20's in Dec, Jan.

Hi, Marie! I'm certainly not one to provide advice on growing Dahlias in hot climates because most of my attempts have failed. We have the added challenge of nearly constant oppressive humidity in northeast Florida, so even if the dahlia can survive the heat, it may still succumb to the fungi that proliferate in the warm moist humid swamp-like conditions where I live.

My only success with Dahlias is in growing a Tree Dahlia, Dahlia imperialis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56917/ D. imperialis is the Dahlia that is the national flower of Mexico and it should be ideally suited for your hot, dry climate. It will die back to the ground with the first freeze of winter, but should return from the root crown as soon as warm weather returns in the springtime.

I was surprised that Annie's Annuals didn't provide the botanical name for the Dahlia you bought because Annie's website usually does provide both common and botanical names, but after doing some backtracking, I think your new acquisition is the red-flowering variety of Dahlia coccinea http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/106513/ I plugged this botanical name into the Annie's Annual search box and it looks like Annie does provide the botanical name, but only on the page showing the "mixed colors" collection of D. coccinea that is sold by Annie's Annuals.

There is limited information on D. coccinea in the DG Plant Files, but if you use the botanical name of Dahlia coccinea in a Google search, you will find lots of resources for additional information about your Dahlia. You can also try Google searching for "Dahlia coccinea Arizona." That combo of key words brings up a web page from the Univ. of Arizona Herbarium in Tucson ( http://ag.arizona.edu/herbarium/projects/floras/rio-mayo/rio-mayo-checklist/asteraceae ). D. coccinea is included in the herbarium collection. I don't know if your climate Zone is similar to Tucson, but you might be able to send a query to the U of AZ Herbarium folks and get some specific advice on growing D. coccinea in your area: herbarium@ag.arizona.edu

I hope your D. coccinea grows well for you!

Jeremy

Jeremy thank you for all the wonderful information. I will look into purchasing that tree dahlia.
I think I will send an e-mail to them and see what they have to say at the U of A. My winters are cold like theirs but I am about 5-10 degrees hotter than they are in my area.

Sounds like a plan, Marie! and I'm happy to be of assistance. Your hotter summers would not be a problem for a Tree Dahlia --- they will thrive in the heat and will rebound from winter freezes if the freezes aren't too severe (we had low 20s F here as a colder than usual winter last year, and my Tree Dahlia didn't seem to care).

Not having any experience with your wild Mexican red-flowering Dahlia, I'm not sure what its temperature ranges might be, but the U of A agriculture professors can probably give you a definitive answer on how to grow it.

Keep us posted on how it grows for you. I will probably want to get one for myself (in every available color! LOL ) if it does well in your climate.

Jeremy

Hello dahlia fans,
I too am new to these wonderful plants and have a question I hope one of you can answer.
I am in zone 7b (I think...we just moved!) and am not sure that I have to dig my tubers. I did
dig one last week and set it on a rack with my caladiums and the dahlia is almost completely
shriveled up, it looks beyond saving. Am I supposed to store the tubers in peat or vermiculite
right after digging them? Or, since I may be in a warm enough area, just mulch them and leave
them in the ground?
Thanks for any advice!