should I put fleece on tomorrow

Hi,

I have recently put out three passifloras and they are climbing up a trellis, I waited until the weather warmed up but now I have heard on the weather forecast that tomorrow and Friday there may be snow showers and the temperature may dip to freezing. Should I go and buy some fleece to wrap around the base of them

Help!!!

 

If its a fairly exposed site then yes for the next week or so or when they give out bad weather

Until you get some, something like hessian sacks, bubble wrap or any type of insulating material will help

 

Hello everyone! My name is Dee I am new to this group and new to gardening here in the UK. So I have loads of questions, but will start with this one first and then go from there...

Question...I have Dahlia's that I want to plant and not sure what kind of soil they like? And second to that is I know they are supposed to be dug up in the autumn, but I have a disability that makes that part of the gardening very difficult for me and I really don't want everything I plant put into pots as I have been doing....BUT the above postings mentioned the fleece and Hessian sacks.. where can one get these? And would i just lay that over where the Dahlia's are in the autumn and put bricks on that so it doesn't blow away? I need to make things as easy on me as possible, I know me... and I will let it go and then all will be lost.
I have read many of the postings and there is so much wonderful information that you all have shared! Thanks much!

 

Hi Dee, I am not an expert on Dahlia's, and hopefully you will receive more advice, but I do grow a few. I find that they like a nice fertile soil which is free draining (does not hold water) and also they like to be in sun. I have Bishop of Llandaff in a mixed border, it is planted six inches deep and survives here in Scotland with no added protection. Some others I have in the ground stay out all winter too, I put a pile of straw on top of them and cover it with a bucket that I weight down with a brick. If you need horticultural fleece most garden centres sell it by the metre.
Happy gardening,

 

Hi Dee, i have dahlias in my garden, some i take up in the autum, and some i cover with fleece just to see if they survive the winter, up to now they do and flourish lovely up to now, hope you have as good look as me goblin

 

Hi Dee, I cheat & grow all mine in pots which I plop in the borders to fill gaps left by earlier flowering plants. At the end of the season (usually beginning November - don't wait for frosts) Bishop of Llandaff, and Arabian Night I put against the house wall & they don't seem to mind. Fascination & Royal blood I bung in the shed - I leave them all in their pots, none of this hanging upside down business - I just cut off the foliage when its withered. I bung them all in a heated propogator end of March with the Cannas & take cuttings which flower the following year. The main reason I don't leave them in is cos I use them as "fillers". Try your local �£1 shop or DIY store for fleece.

[ April 09, 2005, 04:59 PM: Message edited by: Bayleaf ]

 

Wine, Goblin and Bay..
Thanks for the information. I think with the condition of the soil, being clay, it might be best for me to pot them up. I just bought 18 Dahlia's! On ebay no less. I see �£$�£$�£$�£ for lots more pots. Maybe I will try a few in the ground to see how that goes. I guess one good thing is you can move them around if you want to re-arrange the garden a bit if they are in pots.

Bay, you mentioned that you put the Dahlias in a heated propagator?? In the pots they were planted in from the year before? And you have your cannas potted up as well? That must be a huge propagator? You also mentioned taking cuttings that flower the following year. Cuttings of the cannas and the dahlias? And how do you do that if the foliage has died down? Roots? (Told ya I was new to this sort of gardening.. I am more a 'buy a packet of seeds' kinda girl and grow them on from there, bulbs and frost and diggin' things up hasn't been in my vocabulary till now.

Also one last question on this post� how big a pot should I use. Is there some sort of size guide for things like this? Oh dear, my mind is a-whirl will so many questions.
Thanks y�all for the info.
~Dee

 

Hi Dee - wow! what a lot of dahlias!
I put them in pots just slightly larger than the tuber itself. I tend to clean the pots, put fresh compost in, then put them in the propagator (propagator = 4 big ones! like a production line this time of year!) I take cuttings of the Dahlias once the leaves have re-emerged, they tend to throw up a few good shoots, & when they get 3 0r 4 sets of leaves I "pinch them out" - it keeps the original plant bushy to leave 2 pairs on each stem - the pinched out shoots I pot into a gritty mix (1/2 & 1/2 compost & sharp sand -after stripping of lower leaves - leave just one pair) & pop back in the propagator. They all go out 2nd week or so in May daytimes for a week, then I leave them out - with plenty of slug protection (coffee spray, slug pubs etc..
I don't take cuttings of the cannas but split up the whole thing in the pot & treat as above.
Hope this helps!

 

Hiya Bay! Thanks so much for the info. I have been compiling a Word document with all this information on this subject. I just want it to go right and the flowers to be beautiful. Photos forthcoming... like in three months
~Dee

 

hi dee i found some info for you about dahlia the range of hight is about 60cm to over 1.2m. There home is the border for rockeries.

 

Thanks Steven for the info.
I did try for a varied mix of colour and height.... I think I may end up witha jungle out there, if everything that I have started from seed continues to keep growing. Masses of Sunflowers, Morning glories, Cypress Vines, Moon Flowers etc.... It's always an adventure!