First Dahlia flower- after first frost! Can I improve next year?

8 years ago

I got three dahlia bulbs at a nursery late last March, labelled as "electric flash". I put them in soil in pots and gave them outside warm sun during the warm days but moved them in for the nights until early May after I was sure frost had passed. Planted them out in early May in the sunniest spot I have- sun from 8-3 most of the year.

I finally just got my first bloom ths week (last week in October), despite having light frost last week (this pocket may have stayed a bit warmer, protected by the house), and sleet on Wednesday. It's beautiful and I love it! Also have three other buds but I'm afraid they won't make it to bloom before winter hits.

My question is- Is there anything I could have done (or can do next year) to try to get these to bloom earlier? We're having a nice warm fall here, but in a cooler fall With typical frost dates, I don't think I would have gotten a single bloom.

I don't know if any of these affected the late bloom, but I figure I'll mention them:

- one of the three plants died mid-summer. Seemed to get brown foliage that withered away. This one is only 1.5 ft away from the other two that did fine, similar conditions and treatment

- Planted in soil that is quite sandy. "New" soil that i just brought in to make this slighty raised bed last spring.

- I didn't stake them up straight when I should have: They were probably 2-2.5 ft tall and with around a foot laying sideways and a bend with 1-1.5 ft tall vertically when I finally staked them. I gently bent the, more vertical and tied the, up, adjusting the ties a couple of times to gradually make them straighter but they still have around a 30 degree bend near the base.

- I did a general liquid 10-10-10 diluted fertilizer once in June, once in July. In late August and early September did some high P (5-25-5?) fertilizer around once a week for around 4 weeks.

- Or maybe this variety is just a late bloomer? With such a late bloom I'm tempted to not give them my prime sunny location again next year - If I move them to an area with less sun (4-6 hrs of somewhat dappled sun) and more wind (which could dry them out more) in a heavier soil - will they be better off or worse off?

thank you in advance for the help!

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Comments (3)

cicivacation
8 years ago
That's a pretty bloom.

Sounds like you've given lots of thought to growing these plants, and have the makings of a dedicated dahlia grower. Truly, personal trial and error will serve you better then all the well-intended advice in the world.

So here's the well-intended advice- Ideally, they would like more sun, and will grow taller seeking light instead of setting more flowers if put in mostly shade. But mostly, water and fertilize more often, and don't worry about the location quite as much. Just make sure the soil can drain away excessive moisture so the roots don't drown. Those plants should have started blooming inJuly for you since they were planted out early May.

Dahlias want to grow and thrive, and once they are given regular food and drink, most will spring up and tackle the world with blooms until frost. This species thrives from Alaska to Mexico, Miami to Ontario, all with a bit more care then native species.
mnwsgal
8 years ago
What a bright bloom for this gray November day!
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jtflowerman
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Engrgirl, there can be a great deal of variation in bloom times from one dahlia to another. I grew 30 different dahlias here in CO this year, and the first bloom on one of them was around the end of July. Another one, treated identically didn't offer the first bloom until mid-September, with the others falling in between. It was a season with a late start because of lots of cold rain in May, so I didn't get them out until late May.

I agree with cici that more shade will only make your problem worse. Did you remove the plants from the pots when you planted them? I've had good success in past years by starting the tubers in big 2 gallon pots, drilling lots of holes in them to allow big roots to make their way out, and setting pot and all into the ground at planting time. I would recommend digging some balanced fertilizer into the soil at planting time, especially in new, sandy soil that doesn't already have anything in the way of nutrients. I have well drained soil and have to water my dahlias almost every day. It's also a good idea to put your supports in the ground at the same time as your dahlias. I use five-foot long rebar.

If your plants were already flopping over to the ground at two - two and a half feet, it sounds like they were either already stretching to reach more sun or subjected to a lot of wind.

If your soil is really sandy, it may not be holding the water and nutrients well enough for the plants to make use of them, in which case some added organic material such as peat moss or shredded leaves worked into the soil might help.

I hope you may find some of this helpful.

First Dahlia flower- after first frost! Can I improve next year?

Comments (3)

cicivacation

mnwsgal

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