Dahlias

Wow! That is an absolute beaut! Good luck. It's stunning.


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Most of my big Dahlias aren't flowering yet :( are rooted cuttings usually this slow? They're all massive too.

I don't think the lack of sun over the last fortnight has helped...

 

Here are two of our best right now

Still have about 10 non-flowering dahlias though :( I'm not holding out hope for this year now.


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Not all of mine have flowered yet. They were much better last year. I think it's been the lack of warm weather and sunshine this summer. Mine did keep flowering til November last year though, so there's still time.

 

Luckily all mine have flowered , and are putting on quite a show ! Especially the Bishops Children I grew from seed last year they look lovely . Except one that I planted in a far to small container for it - this looks a bit stupid !

 

Is it better to grow Dahlias from tubers than cuttings for flowers?

 

Growing Dahlia's for showing is all a matter of timing,i,e, when to stop your plant so that it then throws more shoots and makes a bushy plant.Giants like Alf Ramsey grown 3 up (only allowing 3 heads to form on 1 plant,)had I still got my note books on my stopping dates I could have helped you out but these went in the dustbin a few years ago.

 

Edinburgh.

 

Those two from you Jack look great, and yours Charlie. I don't think it makes much difference tuber vs cutting in terms of flowering. If you get a basal cutting (nicks a bit of tuber) then tjey seem a bit stronger, whilst a leaf node cutting can be a bir slower to get going.

The main factor this year has been a dull rainy August which has slowed everything down for me.

 

Does anyone know why most of my Dahlias are at least 50% taller than they are supposed to be? They don't look etiolated :-/ is it possible that I have over fed then and they've just bushed up too much? They're all starting to flower now.

 

Its a bit of a contradictory question Jack. They can either shoot up tall and thin, or wide and bushy. If yours are tall and bushy I will gladly swap with you If they are tall and thin then they might be in a shady position and be stretching towards the light. Or they might have benefited from "stopping".

Count the leaf nodes. For average dahlias (not dwarfs and not giants), they normally recommend stopping at five leaf nodes high. You simply pinch out the growing tip encouraging side shoots / branches and therefore get more flowering heads rather than something 6 feet tall with a flower on top like a sunflower.

Still not too late now if the weather picks up. If you meant rushed up rather than bushed up try cutting the tops off and making the most of September and October and see how they do.

Good luck!

 

Grew my first Dahlia plants from seed this year! Normally use tubers but I somehow had some seeds in my seedbox so thought I'd give it a go. They've flowered alright, not as prolific as my tubers have in the past - but then again, I don't live where they are so I see them every few weeks to deadhead, etc...

Do seed grown Dahlia plants grow tubers in the first year and is it worth me lifting them in a few weeks/months to save it?

cheers!

 

Hiya Kyle

I believe they do, yes. Keep the ones you like, bin the rest

 

I did have a brief dalliance with attempting to breed them myself, easy to do, but the results weren't great. I had 1 which had great flowers, but it just didnt flower well.

I prefer the single flowers myself, in fact, as a rule, I only have single flowers because they are much more beneficial to pollinating insects.

 

My Dahlia 'Emory Paul' has worked out better than I had hoped it's the plant I've been most looking forward to and late in the season, it hasn't disappointed with the biggest flowers!

I've messed up with my Dahlia staking this year. All the biggies have outgrown their canes/stakes and are flopping all over. This one in particular needs much more support of the individual flowers. I get about 2 weeks and then they snap under their own weight. A real shame as I think they would last for a month or so and look spectacular with a number of flowers at the same time.

Still, lots of fun and lots learnt for next year. And I'm pleased this Dahlia has worked out well thanks to everyone's tips


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