A few questions

Hi,

I'm back to get some help please. By the way, I'm the north east so some of my plants maybe slower than other people if you wondering why my plants are slow to grow.

Dahlias:-
My 5 dahlias arrived late, in April time so I had to get them into pots quick. All but 1 have grown very well and I've just repotted them to their final place. They are about 12 inch 30cm high now and can still see new shoots growing. When they were growing, I managed to cut 2 shoots, 1 off each dahlia and tried taking leaf cuttings from 1 of the dahlias. I wasn't keen doing the leaf cuttings, as I followed the instructions from a book where you cut below a node of a stem, cut above the node, leaving you with 2 leaves and you cut them in half. I was worried I would kill the main stem by doing this. Anyway I got 4 leaf cuttings, which I kept in a propagater for 3 weeks and kept the shoot cuttings in a pot in my porch. 1 shoot cutting has taken & doing well and 1 leaf cutting took very quick, another seems to be shooting, but the rest died.

My questions about dahlias, when can I lift the cuttings out to see if they've formed roots and to repot them and how do I look after them over winter as they won't form strong tubers? On the adult dahlias, do I need to nip out the first buds to promote more buds and when do I do this?

Chrysanthemum Allouise Series (I think that's the name of them)
I've just potted the 6 plants into a pot, but I'm wondering if they are a bit leggy as the stems are about 6 inches 15cm tall and not a lot else? How should I over winter them?

Bearded Irises:-
I've been given 1 and have some on order, which come in July. I know I should learn before buying, but that's not my style. Can I put them in a nice pot and enjoy them in my back garden or should they go in the ground which means in my front garden? The 1 I have got now is in a 15cm pot, but the bulb is sitting on the top of the compost growing tall leaves quite well. Do I repot it keeping the bulb on top and do the same with the rest when they arrive? What about protection from the wind and the winter?

Begonias:-
In April I potted up a load of begonia bulbs in pots (single), but I tried a different meathod by just sitting the bulbs on top of the soil instead of beneath after seeing it on TV and in books. Should they take ages to start sprouting? Because I'd say about 1/2 haven't started sprouting. But a funny thing is and I don't understand it, but every single bulb have gone underneath the compost and none of my family have touch them, any idea? I've already potted some none sprouting begonias out and can see shoots coming up. What's going on?

Gladioli and Lilies:-
All these are doing fine, but my question is can I get more than 1 flowering stem to form to get more flowers or is a case of deviding the bulbs/corns next year to increase the yield?

Mini Blue Mouse Ear Hosta:-
My sister and I saw these at Chelsea Flower Show, but wouldn't pay the price and she wanted 1. I found and ordered 2 off eBay and gave 1 to her. I can't find much info about them, like the size they grow to, conditions they prefer (wet, moist or dry), can they be grown in pots, do they need protection over winter. Do we just treat them like a normal hosta?

The reason I'm a bit late potting everything out is because I had a new porch built earlier and the garden has been in a mess after tha, trying to get it cleaned up and I held off until the end of May to start putting my plants out. Hence the reason I'm busy potting everything up and getting it all out.

I know there a lot of questions, sorry, but I'd be grateful of any advice. Thank you in advance.

Cheers,

Calum

 

I'm also North-East.
My Bearded Iris's have been in the ground for years. They have multiplied, been split etc and still flower, although they only last a few weeks, so I'm not enthralled by them.
If the Begonia Tubers are the Large ones, I would have expected them to be almost in flower by now, although I start them in early Feb in the greenhouse. I normally half cover them and they are an excellent show for a good couple of months.
A word of warning though. Lift them and dry them out for winter storage.
I, lazily, last year left them in the pot in the greenhouse - lost the lot.
I had been drying them out for several years with no problems.
I have one Dahlia in the front garden that was left in over the winter. It is nearly 4' high with loads of foliage, but no flower buds as yet.
The others in the rear garden were lost over winter - again I was not in a position to lift them for storage. Another salutory lesson.
Hopefully you will have years of enjoyment from your plants - as long as you protect them over the sort of winters we get up here.

 

Begonias:-
In April I potted up a load of begonia bulbs in pots (single), but I tried a different meathod by just sitting the bulbs on top of the soil instead of beneath after seeing it on TV and in books. Should they take ages to start sprouting? Because I'd say about 1/2 haven't started sprouting. But a funny thing is and I don't understand it, but every single bulb have gone underneath the compost and none of my family have touch them, any idea? I've already potted some none sprouting begonias out and can see shoots coming up. What's going on?
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The one's that you left on top of the compost haven't been taken by Squirrels or any other rodents have they by any chance?

 

Hello Clum - never tried dahlia leaf cuttings but normal stem cuttings can produce a tuber in the first year - need to keep watering. You can disbud if you like it simply delays flowering although some say that it makes eventual flowering more prolific

Down here the Irises are now over and looking a bit straggly. With any Bearded Iris it is important to plant on top of your soil leaving the 'rhizomes' exposed in order to benefit from the sunshine - you should not bury them.

Have no experience with Begonias, sorry.

 

Funny, but no, no squirrels or rodents in the greenhouse. The bulbs are there, as I've poked around.