New to Dahlias

I planted a couple of dahlias a few years back and never even got a bloom............. but I am really wanting to try again. I was listed as zone 7b until last year when they changed us to zone 8.....just in time for one of the coldest winters on record this past winter. We often reach temps in the 20s and sometimes the teens - this past winter we hit several days with single digits which did a number on several plants.


My question is do you think it is TOO hot in this area to grow Dahlias effectively? and would I need to lift the tubers in the fall? Or maybe the high humidity is a problem? Almost all my beds are full sun ALL day...... from the time the sun comes up until it goes down. I have a few places that are shaded by the house from mid day on....which would be best for dahlias? Realizing temps will go over 100 probably and humidity will be pushing 100 on some days as well .... :(

Thanks for any suggestions you can give a newbie!

Gen

Gen - I wish I knew how to grow dahlias in your zone but I don't.

You may want to contact Swan Island, by Email, and ask their advice. I hope anyone reading Gen's plea for help, who has experience in zone 8, will post and help her.

Here is the contact page for Swan Island:
http://www.dahlias.com/contact-us.aspx

Thank you for replying........... I am checking out their website now.

Good luck!

Maybe this will be of interest to you regards Ernie

Read more: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1357273/#ixzz2zmKydAxs


Five of Our Customers Say Yes!

Dahlias, it’s generally agreed, like it cool. They’re native to high mountain plateaus in Mexico where the days are warm but nights are cool, they bloom exuberantly in the fall, and they’re great favorites in northern states like Minnesota. So for years we’ve been warning Deep South gardeners away from dahlias. But our customers are constantly teaching us (thanks!), and here’s what several of them who garden in zones 8 and 9 South have to say about succeeding with dahlias where summers are HOT.

Georgia Dahlia Expert Offers Tips for Success

John Kreiner of the Dahlia Society of Georgia has been growing dahlias in the Deep South for 31 years. He planted his first ones in zone-8b San Antonio way back when, and today he gardens in zone-8a Atlanta. Here’s his simple but important advice:

“There are a lot of things that we in the South must do to be successful in growing dahlias but the two most important in my opinion are:


1. MULCH them.

“To keep dahlias alive through the heat of summer so we can enjoy the blooms that come when temperatures cool in the fall, mulching is a must. The sensitive feeder roots of dahlias grow just under the soil surface and can extend for up to two feet in all directions. To keep them cool, cover the soil with at least 2 inches of a good mulch that will let water through easily — and be sure to do it before July 1! Very light afternoon shade can be a help, too.”


Kidds Climax Heirooom Dahlia Flower
‘Kidd’s Climax’

2. Even more important, grow dahlias that are HEAT TOLERANT.

“We learn this by growing them. The ones Old House Gardens offers that I know will grow well in the South are:

‘Kidd’s Climax’ — “This is probably OHG’s best large-sized dahlia for the South. It still wins every year on our show bench.”

‘Juanita’ — “This plant grows very well in the South and still wins. I have always loved it because its form as a cactus is the best.”

‘Thomas Edison’ — “You don’t see it in the shows very often, but it grows well here.”

‘Bishop of Llandaff’ — “This does well here, too.”


We asked John to trial several of our hard-to-find favorites the past few summers, and some did so well he added them to his heat tolerant list:

Prince Noir Heirooom Dahlia Flower
‘Prince Noir’

‘Prince Noir’ — “This dahlia is the best of those you sent me. It was the second to bloom of all the dahlias in my garden, so it is an early bloomer. It had lovely, dark, maroon-red blooms that have been enjoyed by everyone who has seen them. It bloomed all summer and has grown very well. It put out plenty of laterals and lots of blooms and was a very nice addition to my garden. I highly recommend it as a heat-tolerant dahlia.”

‘Deuil du Roi Albert’ — “This lovely purple with white on the tips was absolutely outstanding in the HEAT this summer [2007]. It started blooming and never stopped until frost, with blooms coming continually during the month of August which had ten days of 100 degrees or higher. I highly recommend it for the Southern garden.”

‘Jersey’s Beauty’ — “As you told me, this plant does get very tall, taller than all of my modern dahlias except for ‘Spartacus’. The blooms after we started getting cool weather were absolutely beautiful, with a quality I really didn’t expect. I entered a bloom of it in our state fair dahlia show and got a blue ribbon. It also got a blue ribbon for an entry in the Tennessee Dahlia Show in Chattanooga by another grower, and I saw a very nice bloom of it in the Carolinas show last year in Asheville, NC. I highly recommend it as a heat-tolerant dahlia.”

‘Lavengro’ — “This plant grew real well in the heat but its buds didn't open then. When the weather turned cool, though, it put on more buds and now in October it’s blooming with wonderful color. The centers haven’t stayed closed very long but at this time of the year we don’t expect them to. I recommend it as a heat-tolerant dahlia.”

‘Surprise’ — “This dahlia grew well and did fine in the heat, but its colors would benefit from shading in the South. I recommend it for the Southern garden.”

‘Bloodstone’ — “Grew well and bloomed late in the season.”

‘Princesse de Suede’ — “Grew well, bloomed late in the season.”

‘Winsome’ — “This was the second year of growing this variety and it has grown well both years and has put on buds. Last year a chipmunk go it and this year the heat got it. It was blooming very nicely and when the 100 plus degree days arrived it stopped blooming and never started again. I also think in a normal year it would continue to bloom without any problems.”

Some dahlias John trialed did NOT bloom well for him, though, so we DON’T RECOMMEND these for the Deep South: ‘Andries’ Orange’, ‘Kaiser Wilhelm’, ‘Nellie Broomhead’, ‘Old Gold’, and ‘White Aster’.

In zones 8-11 you can leave your dahlias in the ground all winter, but John says they will grow and bloom best if you dig and divide the tubers every 2-3 years anyway. Most growers cut the stalks down at some point, and John recommends capping each with a bit of tin foil and a rubber band so water doesn’t collect in them and rot the crown and next year’s sprouts. He also adds 4-6 inches of mulch directly over the tubers for their winter rest.



This message was edited Apr 23, 2014 10:28 PM

Earnie, thank you so much for all that information! I am about to leave on a trip and will be gone a week, but hopefully I can at least experiment with a few bulbs when I return. Now, at least, I know which ones I should start with! I really appreciate all the great info!

Genna

Gen, just for grins, the "bulbs" are called tubers for dahlias. We welcome you with open arms to the dahlia bunch (we are all a little nuts about them) and will be really interested in seeing how you fare. I thought you were in Arizona at first (dumb) then realized it was Arkansas. That explains the humidity. How great to be able to just leave them in the ground. Even for two or three years running. Our average temp is 55 in summer so lots of sun is a saving grace ( at least in summer).

Here's hoping you have success and join our merry group!
Mary

Oh. Well I didn't have to dig mine? Did it anyway and they kept well in their fish bags full of lightly damp organic potting mix. I know NOTHING about Dahlia varieties, but will see what does well this year and see if I can find the name. I bought mixed stuff at big box stores with doubtful results last year.... Good thread - real varieties! Thank you.

You are best off by digging. Then can grow into a huge mass and slowly die out so you may think of disease, insects or critters but it's really the dahlia that wants to be divided. I've had it happen and I was impressed by the size it had become and stupidly thought I was doing great with dahlias: wrong! I lost the whole thing.

You can look at the various sizes and types of dahlias here, in the left hand column:
http://www.dahlias.com/

Congrats on keeping your tubers over winter. We struggle with it. Trying each other's 'sure fire' method sometimes to fail. It really is so dependent on the local, gardener, relative humidity, temp, etc. I swear we have tried every method anyone could devise. And sometimes it works well one year only to fail the next. Oh, did I mention variations in the time of digging, method of prepping for storage. lol. If it is a bad spring then we swear we won't bother again. But someone does well, and we think "I will have to try that next year." Like I said, a little nuts. :)

Thanks Oberon .... I knew they were tubers. Lots of people think we are in Arizona and strangely enough, we often get people who want to abbreviate our state as AK - which of course I am sure you recognize as Alaska - just a little distance from here! LOL

I think it is so late in the spring and our weather is so crazy, I may wait til next year to try these specific dahlias. I have copied the info and saved in a word doc so that I can access it. I am in the middle of a major redo of a huge flower bed and have my hands full on work to be done..... so i will probably hold off. I had purchased some no name dahlias at a big box several weeks before starting this thread so i will see if they manage to survive.

Seems like something that may be far too complicated with all the digging and trying to store etc. But I might try just a few. They are beautiful!

Strangely I would not have thought your growing season was long enough to grow them there! Do you get to grow many other things? Feel free to send me a dmail if you would prefer to keep this thread on topic. I am just amazed. It was almost 90 here last weekend with high humidity..... was 44 yesterday morning, and in the 40s again this morning. Calling for nice temps this weekend in the 70s with LOW humidity but back to almost 90 next weekend with high humidity again. Our temps are on such a rollercoaster that I guess I would assume that Alaska would still be cold! LOL But then I know a few times this winter we were a lot colder than parts of alaska. Strange indeed.