there's lots of websites out there that have good pictures of dahlias. The Colorado Dahlia Society is one of the best. There's also lots of info in the photo album called From Seed to Dahlia in Pictures at this site.

Here is a link that might be useful: dahlia care & culture

Well if I planted them 3 weeks ago should I see something or do they take a while to sprout? I've tried to look up info on what to expect and I may be searching the wrong way. How long should I wait and how do I know if the tuber is no good (nervous my dog successfully killed them)? If she did kill the. I would want to replace them or plant something else in their place but I don't know if they're just doing there thing and I'm being terribly impatient (I'll blame that on being a newbie)

Menace,
You don't say what zone you're in, or if you saw evidence of eyes/growth shoots when you planted prior to the canine excavation caper. Dahlias will sit idle and be prone to rot in cool, damp soil. Some varieties are slower than molasses to show up. So those are variables to consider on when to begin worrying.

If I have neighboring dahlias up and doing well, and a laggard among them, I'll gently dig up the slow/no show and usually find a dahlia in trouble, generally rotting. Those can be doctored and saved in many cases, sometimes not.

Did you plant outside and what USDA Zone are you in?
Did you see eyes/shoots on the tubers before planting? Without them, you may never have plants at all. If they were there and Fido broke them off, no worries, they'll come back.

I'm in zone 6 and from the little knowledge I have of dahlias they all looked to have eyes or shoots already...about 15 of the dahlias were the giant dinner plate kind? Are they slower than others? I planted about 15 more that were smaller...my garden bed is long and thin so the dahlia would take up most of the space...however if they aren't gonna grow then I'll have one boring garden haha

Eyes or shoots is a good thing. No, the larger flowers don't take more time. Time to bloom just varies widely by variety. If you have gaps from some failing later on, you can carefully dig up the growers and move them together, then plant something else in the empty spots, or put a bench there to sit and enjoy your hard work. Sounds like you're on your way. A little warm weather should get things moving in no time.

Just out of curiosity, did you put bone meal in the dahlia holes or is your dog just a natural digger? I had to quit using bone meal because it attracted every dog in a half mile radius :(

Okay I'll keep my fingers crossed that they come up :-)

I didn't put bonemeal in because I anticipated her wanting to dig...but even with a four foot fence in front she hopped it...I made the mistake of letting her watch me plant them so I think she thinks it's a game...she's quite a digger my husband and I are goi g to build her a sand box to try and deter her from digging up our yard hopefully that'll help because I don't have the heart to tell my friend the dahlias he gave me didn't grow because of my dog

Since my dog dug everything up and my garden and labels got all mixed up I don't know if one of these is a dahlia...get anyone tell me which one is?

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It is too hard to tell what kind of dahlia that is with the thousands of kinds out there. They can look very similar up till when they bloom and even then, they can look quite similar.

I guess you will have a 'suprise' garden :)

Maybe you can name them something new like 'Pups-delight' :)

Keriann~

Do either of them look like they could be a dahlia? I planted other bulbs and now I'm wondering if what I'm seeing could be one of those...i'm just being impatient mostly if u haven't gathered from my other posts

The first one looks like a lily and the second one isn't like any dahlia foliage I've ever seen. Neither is a dahlia, in my opinion. If your friend is any friend at all, he will understand about the foibles of gardening with dogs. I usually have a pruning shears in one hand and a tennis ball in the other!

thanks again...atleast I have something growing haha

okay so 3 of my 15 dahlia tubers finally have noticeable growth (hooray). Are the other 12 a lost cause?

I would dig them up at this point to see if the are mush (rotten).

They may just be cold and hiding but it has been a while.

If they are still hard when you did them up I would just lay them ontop of a pot of soil (under lights or in indirect sunlight) inside until their eyes are visible and show growth. The soil is very cool still so they may have rotted.. but you never know... they may just be mad and cold and still be okay with some warmer indoor temps for now.

Let us know

Keriann~

I think I spoke too soon because I went out today and I can't believe it but I counted 11 new growths total!!!!!!! This spring has been a crazy one so the poor things haven't gotten steady weather till this week! I'll keep my fingers crossed I get more!

That is great news!

Nice job :)

FYI- you will probably need to stake AA Dahlias, and it is a bit tricky to do without piercing the tubers.

I would plan to get stakes now, about a foot shorter than their mature height. I always put a 1 foot piece of bamboo in the ground when I plant them and they replace it with a larger (3-4')metal stake. I put the bamboo in so I can mark where it is safe to stake later, because I don't like looking at a bunch of tall stakes in the garden with little dahlias. I wait until the dahlias are 2-3 feet tall so they hide the final metal stake.

Keriann~

omg omg omg! So Every single one of the dahlia's I planted came up (even the ones with big chunks taken out by my dog) and today I went outside and there was a bud!!!

Oh how fun!

I am so excited for you!

Woo Hoo!!

Get ready to trade this fall *hint hint* :)

Keriann~

Hello FFM,
so good, that the Dahlias do sprout. I remember how excited i was when I started my very first Dahlias, pleased as Punch when the blossoms opend. So, get yourself a bunch of staking canes and make sure you have a couple of vases to enjoy the future cutflowers. And if you really get infected by Dahlias let some seedheads get ripe and grow some from seed just for fun next season. It is like a litter of barn kittens you dont know what colours you will get.
Happy Dahlia-ing, cheers, Lin

How about some pictures...?

=)

Here are the 3 that are blooming right now...the yellow one was mislabeled so if anyone knows what it is let me know :-) and I have to say the boogie woogie is fantastic!

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