Dahlia Planting and Position ?

Prompted by another thread I am thinking of growing a few Dahlias from corms - Wilkos have a nice selection at a good price, on a 3 for 2 deal . Now the "cactus" type I like are big plants 3 to 4 feet tall , would these look a little strange in a large container ( with other plants around the base ) ? Would planting in a bed be better in a group of 3 ? It says leave 30" between plants ! That is a huge distance do they need this spacing ?
TIA

 

I love Dahlias & plan to grow them this year in numbers. Do you take them in over Winter or like my mother in law leave them out & hope for the best?

 

I have bought some bare root dahlias this year, can I expect them to flower this summer? Did anybody see the dahlia garden featured on Gardeners world last year? Was very impressive!

 

I have left my "Bishops children" in the border FT and it has been exceptionally wet this winter. They have come through previous winters but this will be a testing one , that's for sure,
Jenny

 

If you mean Dahlias Tubers then yes they will flower this year....just be sure to protect them from slugs

 

The problem with growing such large plants in pots is they are easily blown over even in reasonably light winds.

If you can anchor the pots in some way e.g sinking them into the soil or alternatively tying them into horizontal wires this will help.

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Dahlia/Dahlia.htm

 

Lets hope its hot this year. Last year my Dahlias were very poor.

I like to put them in the border. Its very easy if you are going to dig them up in the late autumn anyway. I feel that Bishop types are good for the border - not too big and blousey - so the don't look out of place amongst other border plants.

I have never had any problems with Dahlias in pots - but I do put them in big pots.

But as Loofah says - try it and see.

 

Thanks all for the advice I will go with Loofahs idea and stick them in the border .
I did grow a couple about 4 years ago and seemed to produce a lot of leaf and not so many flowers.
The Bishops Children do look good

 

I think they would look fab as a huge bush of a single variety in a big container. Needs to be big to balance the size of the top growth. I wouldn't plant anything else with them as I prefer things to look simple and uncomplicated and concentrating on one plant adds to the impact, IMO. In fact, it's giving me ideas! I find growing good dahlias very hit or miss, however.

If they grow well they could easily take up 30" of spacing. It's a bit annoying if you expectantly give them loads of space and then the slugs eat them, as happened last year, so you only get a few desperate stalks.

 

I grow several dahlias in large pots but most are potted up anyway in good sized pots before plantIng out. By mid spring I have large plants and you can see which are going to be the most vigorous. Leave a bit longer and you can see the exact colour and this helps make sure plant associations complement. Dahlias in large pots are great for placing in the garden for summer colour but hidden by surrounding foliage of plants that have finished flowering. To all intents and purposes they are growing in the garden soil.