I am starting a thread so we can post our pictures of dahlias sprouting, and eventually blooming! I planted 2 of mine in containers, ran out of soil, and planted the other 2 last weekend. The first two I planted are sprouting!!! I apologize for how dark these came out. And of course it's the dark green leafy sprouts, not the lobelia behind them. :)
And my other one...
Are these the small border dahlias, Jamie? If not you'll want to do the pinching and topping they recommend.
Here's a good article with photos.
http://www.midislanddahlia.com/Learning/Controlling/index.html
Brenda-
3 of the ones I got were under that "container" category (all get 1.5 feet tall it says). The 4th one I got was in the next category "8 inch and larger blooms" I think. It says it gets 3 ft. Should I do the pinching on that one ya think?
Edited to say that is a great link- I really need detail explanations and detailed, labeled pictures when it comes to gardening stuff. I am a little learning disabled in that department. Ha!
This message was edited Apr 21, 2005 1:22 PM
thanks Brenda
All the bulbs i got on the co-op are sprouting :-)
Dick
I finally got all my dahlias potted up a couple days ago. I followed the suggestions posted here for growing dahlias in pots:
[HYPERLINK@www.dahlia.org]
Many of the ones I planted were already sprouting a little. A couple I could not tell for sure where the eye was, so hope they will grow. I followed the advise above about only filling up the pots about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way and will then add more potting soil as they grow. I mixed the moisure crystals into the bottom soil. I have only grown one dahlia before and it did well until late summer when it had problems with some type of fungus on the leaves. I also bought 3 short dahlias that were planted in the garden. This should be an interesting year seeing how they all do. Hope to have photos to post.
Susan
susan, it was more than likely powdery mildew. Dahlias need air circulation. If they are planted too close to something else or if they are tied up/bunched up too tight, they'll get it.
Great thread Texasgarden. I'll be back with pics when I'm able to plant. Up here we are hearing reports of approaching s-n-o-w showers and much colder temps. I can't set my tubers out for 3 more weeks. I found a website by a guy who uses tomato cages to support his dahlias. I'm going to try his system this year. I got 17 dahlias in the co-op and am looking forward to a great display this summer, I hope I hope I hope.!!
I am reposting the link to dahlias in pots since it did not show up above.
http://www.dahlia.org/seasonal.guides/dahlias%20in%20Pots.html
This week we are having low temps around 34, so I went out and carried all 14 of my dahlia pots into the kitchen last night. I may just put them in the basement under lights since it is suppose to be cold all week. Guess that will teach me not to get in a hurry with planting things in Nebraska! Last week I had the air-conditioner on, today the furnace is running again.
Susan
Susan, I've been running in and out of the house with my dahlias too! Most of them have sprouted, one didn't seem to have much of an eye and it hasn't sprouted yet.
Darleen, I want to try the tomato cages too. The garden center is charging $10 a piece for the large ones, I have to find them a lot cheaper!
Psssst.....please remember if you have named Dahlias, as they begin to bloom we'd love to have their photos in PlantFiles - if you need help creating a new entry for some of yours, we'd be happy to help you do that, too!
Sure, Terry, be glad to. I added the names of the cultivars I ordered already, I will add pics when they bloom. Hopefully we can all add our ordered plants.
Good grief Oceangirl, c'mon down. I just got mine for $2 each (tomatoe cages)
But who can plant tomatoes or dahlias when there's snow falling????
Do roses bloom in snow?
I'll be there as soon as that snow is gone! LOL everything is so expensive here, and I don't have the budget to keep up.
Our Wal Mart and HD don't have garden centers because they weren't allowed to build new buildings, just fit themselves into existing ones.
You should post some snow pics in the Weather Forum!
John
Gosh I forgot to watch this thread! (I keep doing that!)
Jamie - yes you'll especially want to pinch and top the larger one. If you saw it (maybe it was another website I"ve bookmarked!) they say that the top is what gives you more blooms because it allows the laterals to grow on out and form blooms.
I've still not gotten mine potted or planted, mostly due to lack of time but now I'm kind of glad I'm not dragging pots in and out. I check my tubers every day or so and they are fine although one was getting kind of dried out so I misted it. I've got them in the dark to try and prevent them from sprouting too much more.
I did have a dahlia in a container last year and basically just brought the pot in to the basement and set it on a table that had a flourescent light overhead (not a plant set up...just a table with a shop light) and also put my potted daylilies there. I kept them watered sparingly through winter and moved them to the new house and put on a patio in a protected corner back in late March. The daylilies have stems and buds and the dahlia is about 10" tall! I've got to start pinching. Yikes!
Thanks, Terry for the reminder about the PF entries. I'll check my varieties later this week and make sure they are in the database and waiting for photos. :-D
Brenda-
On my two that have come up I did pinch out that middle piece that comes up between the first set of leaves. Now I have several sets of leaves but I am waiting to pinch one lateral shoot off each set in a staggering pattern like that website said. I sure hope I'm doing this right! But now I am concerned b/c I put the 2 smaller ones (1.5 feet tall it says) in the same big container. I really hope that doesn't crowd them... we shall see. I am paranoid to dig and move them to another pot b/c of all the stuff I read about how senstive their root systems are!
How goes everyone's dahlias?
I must confess to being very late in planting mine and have only a few up at this point. I actually have a couple more still to get planted.
Finally, last night got all mine (16) in the ground. Silly of me, but this is so exciting. I've only had one dahlia (last year) in my garden, and I have been captivated thanks to it! And I never knew it's name.
Set the upside-down tomato cages over the tubors. Rains started falling this afternoon big time, so I guess I got them in the ground just in time.
No pictures of dirt to share, but I am ever hopeful all this rain today, tonight and tomorrow will give them the boost they need to shoot up.
Our last official frost date is tomorrow. Temperature predictions are to reach the upper 70's on Saturday.
A couple of the tubors I planted last night had already started to sprout so I'm hopeful I'll soon return here to post a picture of the first leaf.
Mine are still not planted. In the last week we've had 6 inches of snow, and today it was almost 80 degrees. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next. LOL I'm going to get them planted this weekend hopefully.
How deep do you plant them?
All of my new ones are doing very well. Most are several inches up and going strong. All the others from years past are also growing big and beautiful.
Had a bit of a problem with snails and slugs, but that is now under controll ( I hope)
I'll post pix as soon as they start blooming.....6 weeks or so I'd say.
If you would be interested in a Dahlia forum, please go to this thread and let Dave and Terry know. Thanks!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/511689/#new
All my dahlias are growing well except one and I can see a tiny shoot starting on it. Some are 8" tall. I am going to take 4 that are in pots and put them in the ground, now that I have a place for them. I've been redoing one bed and it will have the dahlias, some short cannas, daylilies, False Goatsbeads, sedum plus a few coleus to fill in the holes. Can't wait to see the dahlias bloom!
Susan
I had a squirrel and rabbit "situation" with mine. I don't know yet what will live and what won't. Good thing the little buggers are cute, or we'd be having stew. . .
I'm glad I re-found this thread. 5 of 6 have sprouted and the tallest is about 8" tall, so I need to start topping.
What did I do wrong?? Not one of mine have sprouted? I planted them about 3 weeks ago and nothing yet. It's been stange weather here but for the most part it's been 70-80 degrees. We did have a couple 60s days but I still don't see a single sprout. I generally have great luck with plants or bulbs. I probably planted 8- 12 bulbs and nothing.
Any suggestions? I put tomato cages around them as I planted them so I do know exactly there those little guys are. Should I dig in and see what's going on?
Kathy
I'm new to the plant myself, shihtzumom, but all BUT 3 of mine is through the ground in roughly 2 weeks. We're colder than you, but maybe we've had more rain. LOTS. How deep did you go? Were the "eyes" up and the tuber laying at a slight angle (like horseradish)? Somewhere I read that some folks don't even "dig" a hole for them. In their situation laying the tuber on the ground then covering with a few inches of soil works good. Anyhoo, I'm sure hoping you get sprouts soon. Good luck.
Edited after I put my glasses on. Three are not up: Almond Supreme, Art Nouveau and White Nettie. Weeds don't count I guess.
This message was edited May 28, 2005 7:37 AM
Squirrels and bunnies took many of mine. Dig real carefully on at least one of them and see if it is still there. They can rot in too much moisture but may still be dormant in cold soil. My weather has been okay but my soil still feels cold to the touch. I potted all of mine and the ones I have left are going gangbusters.
I would give them more time with this crazy weather. I'm in houston and 3 of my six are above ground and the other three are still not out. But I peeked into one of the bulbs and it was nice and firm with a "thingy" starting to point out. If it's warm here and they're moving so slow, I can only imagine how much lower the process must be in your neck of the woods (unless squirrels, bunnies, etc. had something to do with it...)
A couple days ago, I moved 5 of mine that I'd started in pots into the ground. Being my normal clumsy self, I broke one shoot of right at the level of the tuber. I went ahead and planted it anyway. Does anyone know if it will still grow?That was the only eye. One other one had only a little growth showing at the eye, buy some of mine are about a foot tall now and I have started pinching them. One looks like it may have some tiny buds, but I'm not sure.. It's so much fun to see what they will do.
Susan
Oh I did something very similar. put the spud back and am crossing my fingers. I think it'll be OK
Shihtzumom - I agree....hang on a while longer. Some take longer to sprout than others and don't let them get to soggy or they'll rot.
Susan & Nery - I think you're fine if the shoot broke off. When I got the tubers from Wayne there were a few "eye sprouts" I noticed had snapped off during shipment to me and I emailed him about it. He said they'd be fine and that another shoot would be sent out from the same eye.
i have a bud ..... it is Hy Mallow
Dick
wow strever!
Here is a pix of Black Narcissus dahlia. Two of my 3 BN are out, the other doesn't want to come out and play yet. Brenda, I'm been pinching for bushiness.
The 3 of another variety I bought (can't remember name right off) are also out, but no more than 6" tall.
wow pinching at 6" ?
mine are 12 to 18" in pots & i'm just starting to pinch
i pinched off a kasasagi bud & see there is another bud on the 2nd stalk
so if these are going to bloom at 12 to 18" maybe i will let some of them bloom :-)
Dick
these are the picts from the co-op
This message was edited May 30, 2005 3:47 PM
Mine here in Ohio are just through the soil. Here is a picture of the sprouting winner in my back yard, Pinelands Princess. I figure I'm a ways off from pinching.
oh no I'm not pinching at 6". The black narcissus was about 1 ft before I started pinching. I have not started pinching my other dahlia which is about 6" tall. The picture above of the BN is AFTER pinching. I have 3 branches now. The pic is kinda misleading because it looks smaller than it is.
From the co-op (taken today). Sorry, I can't tell you the name.
This message was edited Oct 13, 2005 6:40 PM
wow terrie, fabulous. mine grew but never flowered. wonder if they will come up and do better next year.
