What makes you think you overwatered them? If they're in well-draining soil then you probably don't have to worry. I've just been planting and watering in pre-started dahlias. Mother Nature added another inch+ of water and I'm not going to be worried until there are puddles standing in the holes.

Dear ladybugsmon192: I raise dahlias in Marin county, Ca. Dig them up in early Jan. That way you can see how many more tubers you have of each variety and the joy of the "free" expansion of your tubers is exhilarating. Be sure to label them as quickly as possible as an unlabeled tuber is a "weed". How to divide tubers is shown in pics on the internet and you have to see how its done once and then you are off. Join a local dahlia society and you will have all the expertise you need at your fingertips. They probably have a local "dahlia" dell that they maintain and you can volunteer as much or as little as you want to gain experience.

Hi Poochella! As the say seeing is believing! I hope my photos will be as impressive when I get around to posting? I wrote the below and was ready to paste before I saw your 2nd reply with photos. Jim Hi jroot and Poochella and of course All! Thanks for your replies. I sort of thought someone would think I was not serious about the 8' tall Dahlia plants because Ive never seen them before either. But it is the truth as Poochella said. I candidly thought I was doing something wrong. But I will say this; my wife thinks their beautiful and likes looking out the window at them, plus my next door neighbor told my daughter when she sits on her patio she feels like shes at a park. Im so happy we missed the frost of Sat morning 9/30, here in the Syracuse NY area as I have a brother from Binghamton NY, actually Conklin which is 90 miles S of Syracuse who will be visiting this coming weekend. He too has never seen 8'ers. Amazingly with a 1½ degree southerly latitude difference between his home and ours, his area is classified as Zone 4a/b where ours is Zone 5a. So that could possibly be a great deal to cause the tallness factor. Longer warmth and as much as a 2 to 3 week more of growing season can make a big difference Im sure. I gave him a tuber this Spring but his never materialized to that height. I just went out to measure what I think is the tallest and it does measure just shy of 8', and Im sure with the temps in the low 50's to middle and upper 70's on a couple of days this week they'll reach beyond that height. I will get a couple of photos, hopefully today. Another thing I would like to point out is without trying to embellish is, first, jroot like you this is a favorite Forum. The learning content is great and the photos are exhilarating, and Im envious of the photography. To be so gifted. Second, as to the tall growth. I learned after the fact that its not so good to fertilize or should I say over fertilize. I'm sure it came via this Forum. Well, for the past two years Ive taken fresh horse manure, mixed it in a 5-gal pail until it was broken down and then added more until I had the pail almost full of manure. I then put this in my six cu ft construction wheel barrel and added collected rainwater. I fill the barrel at least twice and get possibly as much as 50 gals of liquid that I strain back into 5 gal pails. I also add five tablespoons of Miracle Grow to each pail. (Talk about over fertilization!) Then with a watering can I pour at the base of each plant and generally have enough left over and pour over the plant itself. I did this three times during the growing season. One thing Ive recently noticed as I pass a few properties where Dahlias are visibly growing, is the leaf structure from the stem base ½ way up on many or most plants have already turned brown and crumbly dead looking. I have very little to no brown on my leaf structure. The same areas of growing but why the difference? Is it the soil PH or the rich mixture? I have not a phantom of an idea. And 3rdly I have to add I enjoy reading the posts from this Forums Group. As much as I hate the thought of being just a few weeks away from Winter where our average snowfall is over 100", I cant wait to get caught up on the Groups Tips and Success after blowing out the driveway. Believe me, Id rather be Gardening, and the Gardening Forum is the closest I can get :>) Jim

Could be any critter out for a chew on your plants...that's not the worst of your issue though...from your picture, you are growing zinnias, not dahlias.