Have your dahlias reappeared?

I've been waiting anxiously for last year's dahlias, left planted in the soil all winter, to reappear. I have spotted 2 so far, one looking very slug eaten.

What are other people's success rates like?

 

Living in North Yorkshire, I would never dream of leaving my Dahlias in over the winter. But yesterday I took some plants down to a neighbour a few doors down. I would normally let him place and plant them, but he has had trouble with his knees and can't kneel. So I planted them out for him including several new Dahlias. I had told him to ignore the old Dahlias I gave him last year as they would be dead.

When I dug the old ones out I noticed tiny green shoots on them. This was all the more remarkable as he hadn't planted them very deep last year and several of the tubers were exposed. Now I can understand a deeply planted tuber surviving and regrowing, but I was amazed that exposed tubers were also firm. healthy and producing shoots..

 

The only Dahlia I left out last winter was D. imperialis, its now over a foot high and growing like the clappers.

 

Couldn't be bothered last year to dig them up. Not returned this year when I dug them up they were all mushy!
Grew a load more from seed this year anyway
Wished I had dug one particular pink cactus one up though :wallbang:

 

Pete - I didn't know you had imperialis (should have known better ). How tall did it get outside, and does it flower for you?

 

Quite a few have come back this year, we normally treat ones in the ground as "bedding" then enjoy the bonus when they come back. I still have plenty to start off again this year so its going to be a packed border!

 

I grew it from seed a couple of years ago Peter.

Its too dry where its growing and I dont water it, but it reached about 8ft last summer.
Flower buds appeared in late October and were killed by the first frost some time in November.

So, no it doesn't flower for me, and maybe I should try that one you have which is similar.

 

Iv'e got the Bishop's children under the front room window in a dry border and they started to show about 2 weeks ago. I really ought to give them a drink to help them on a bit and say thanks,

 

Most of mine are showing growth, some stronger than others. Only two casualties found so far. No sign of Bishop of Llandaff left in the ground, although the one I potted up a couple of weeks ago is growing well. Should have a good display altogether.

 

Thanks Pete - that's very interesting about Imperialis. 8 feet is pretty good, but flowering, I think, is always going to be a problem if its not in a greenhouse. But in a greenhouse it would be a lot bigger and then size would be the problem.

 

Would have been all right last Autumn I reckon? (I do appreciate that's no consolation - unless we get a repeat performance this Autumn !!)

 

I had a huge imperialis living outside for about 6 years. The tuber looked about a foot across, too big to haul out of the ground. I lost it in the first very cold winter that I had not bothered to take any cuttings. I would love to have it again, it was simplicity itself from cuttings, each node on the cane would sprout. Wonder if I could try this with regular dahlias?
It never flowered but I loved it as an architectural plant. Just wish I'd put it at the back of the border.
I got it from Bernie's nursery in St David's, a great source of unusual borderline-hardy exotics if you happen to be visiting.

 

Dahlias won't root (AFAIK) from stems that are "hollow" - I take cuttings early on from new shoots, leaving the bottom leaf-pair (so that the 2 buds on it break to make the final plant), but many people take the whole thing off, at the tuber.

You can also take late-season cuttings, from the tips I presume, but too late on and you will have to mollycoddle them through the Winter as they won't have tuber's big enough to be self-sustaining.

 

The D imperialis even sprouted from hard old canes that had for some reason been sitting around in the greenhouse for months over winter. They were hollow but laid on their side in compost over heat many of them sprouted. I need to get another one so's I can make my fortune on Ebay!

Mostly dahlias still have fairly soft stems even into the autumn so I can see they would be problematic to overwinter. Might give them a go in August, though.