Dahlia

Consider it done.:thumb: Would you prefer Cactus, semi Cactus, Decorative or Pon Pon?

 

Decorative, Dai. Maybe something with a tight form ?

 

I`ll intensify my search.:thumb:

 

Good man :thumb:

 

Freddy
Do you remember the pic i posted of my dahlias,one of those was a lovely red cactus, i don`t know if thats the red you like, you can have a cutting in spring if you want
i can post the pic again ?

 

Hi there Pam. I didn't actually see the pics you posted, but what I'm after is a 'decorative' Dahlia. So, thanks for your kind offer, but I'll have to decline (wouldn't mind seeing them though ) Cheers...freddy.

 

this is it Freddy, and its still got about 10 flowers today, starting to look sad though

 

Hi there Pam. Thanks for sharing the pic, it sure looks good. Had I more space, I would have taken you up on your kind offer. All my Dahlias are now finished, the frost had 'em :( They're all tucked up now for winter. I've been VERY pleased with them, I had a constant supply of cut flowers (for 3 vases) for months from just 5 plants. Myself, I prefer the cactus type, but 'Aunt Sally' ( aka she who must be obeyed ) wants a red decorative type. Gotta keep you gals happy eh ? :D Cheers...freddy.

 

That is a lovely dahlia, I grew quite a few this year, but got plagued by tiny little snails, that did a lot of damage to the leaves, Slug pellets did no good, I was going to ask for help on this, but it's too late in the season now, In fact I've started lifting them.

 

Hi Wee Tattie
I think that dahlia suffered more with earwig damage than slugs as the ground in that border is very stony ,have since mulched over and covered that with coffee and egg shells,
I dont lift my dahlias i like to plant them deep and cover with mulch in winter,also i live near the coast and we dont get hard frosts

 

Hi again folks. My thoughts are now turning towards the coming season so what I'd like to know is, once I've started them into growth, how do I best look after them, bearing in mind that I'm not looking to increase the stock, is it just a case of planting the tuber in the ground after the frost has passed ? Cheers...freddy.

 

So that's it ? You're gonna leave me in the lurch ? :(

 

i will start mine of soon in wooden boxes, just covering with soil, and being careful with the water

 

Hi Freddy - I have just been doing my own today. I am no expert on Dahlias but I asked members of the British Dahlia Society a year ago at the Harrogate Flower Show. So what follows is essentially what they told me.

Planting Dahlia tubers is a two stage process. The first is similar to "chitting" potatoes, ie just getting them into growth and the second is actually planting them. The first thing to be aware of is that the tubers you have consist of two parts. There are the tubers themselves, which are simply storage organs, and they are joined at the top to a wooden crown. New growth comes from the crown, not the tubers. This is where they differ from a potatoe. Technically speaking, Potatoes are swollen stems, and can produce buds like any other stem. But Dahlia tubers are swollen roots and cannot. So if you have an orphan Dahlia tuber without the woody crown, there is no point in planting it - its very unlikely to grow.

If you put Dahlia tubers straight into the soil, there is a danger that the crown could rot, and hence the whole Dahlia is dead. So you "chit" them first. To do this you place the tuber in a shallow pot or better still you spread it out like an octopus on a seed tray (but I can never get mine to cooperate on a tray) and half cover it with compost. The object is that the lower half of the tubers are covered so they can grow roots, but the crown is not covered so it can't rot. You then keep it in a frost free place - preferably in the sun. I understand that ideally you want to get the sun on the tubers to bake them. But don't worry about that - I don't have the space to do that. You can use old exhausted compost for this, because at this point all the food is coming from the tubers.

Once growth has started the crown won't rot. So when the new growth is four or six inches high you can plant it. I then asked how deep, and was told the deeper the better. Even 18 inches deep. If you plant it deep enough, it probably won't even mind if there is an odd frost, until the foliage comes above the ground.

You can propagate them either by division or by cuttings. Only divide Dahlias just before the chitting process. Seperate large bunches into two or more. But you must have part of the crown with each part. Today mine seperated by themselves, but last year I had to use an old bread knife as a saw to cut through the crown. The other way is when the growth is six inches high to take a cutting. I don't have details of this as I have always used division. But the Dahlia society people all said they used cuttings rather than division.

 

I'm taking the plunge with a Dahlia this year so interested in your advice on chitting them. Is now a good time to do this?