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Dahlias for cutting, should I trim?

7 years ago

At the farm, I have compact, leafy plants. Yes, I knew about the issue of nitrogen rich soil but we have what we have. It was also off the charts in P and K when I had it tested. The ratio of blossoms to leaves is not what I would like but we are getting some very nice ones. Here's my question, as we begin to approach end of season, should I start removing some of the new growth? Like grooming for show flowers, will that give me more energy in the blossoms? In the tubers?

Featured Answer

cicivacation

7 years ago

I've never removed new growth at end of season, and haven't heard of others doing it. Not to say that you're not on to something.,,. I just don't know.

As the nights cool with still-warm days, the dahlia season is in its hey-day, made even better with some cloud cover to allow the most spectacular colorations to develop on the blooms. It seems like buds open faster, and the big boys have been waiting until now to show their color.

Under the ground, the tubers are continuing to mature and be made, with the older tubers much more likely to make it through the winter. The beautiful young white ones are often the first to shrivel up or rot, as the skin isn't tough enough to defend the inside starch from attacks.

Any nitrogen feeding right now is thought to weaken tuber durability, causing rot much quicker then if N was not applied this late in the season. Rule of thumb for most growers that store tubers: End of August is the end of Nitrogen feeding.

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Comments (8)

cicivacation
7 years ago
Wait... Hold the phone...

Are you referring to disbudding the side buds and secondary buds below the bud you wish to bloom? If so, this practice ABSULUTELY increases quality, and will encourage more new growth with potential flowers to take the place of the ones you cut. It also allows amuch more usable and longer stem on each flower you harvest.

Hope I'm helping, and not confusing (or being confused ;-)

Cheers!

CiCi
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"Dahlias like vegetable fertilizer, which is typically low in nitrogen (the first number on the fertilizer package.) Use 5-10-10, 10-20-20, or the best would be 0-20-20." Dahlias need more nitrogen than this. There are posts on this forum about the "low nitrogen myth" Nitrogen washes out of soil and needs to be replenished every year. At the Bonneyville Dahlia trial garden sponsored by the American Dahlia Society they only use nitrogen as the fertilizer because their soil tests say that they have adequate pohosphorus and potassium in the soil. Without doing a soil test, most people should use something like the 5-10-10 or 10-20-20 but do so in moderation and do so several times in smaller amounts until about August 1st. Many people who have used fertilizer in their flower beds for several years will have a build up of phosphorus and should use fertilizer with low phosphorus. By the way, the new "greener" fertilizers are lower in phosphorus.
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Forgot to ask-- did you cut a hole in the bottom of the small container so the sand stays REALLY wet- the water below isn't just for humidity- it's to keep the sand wet at all times. You're growing your cutting in the water- the sand is just to keep it standing up straight- which it will do if it's shorter. If you didn't cut a hole it won't be wet enough & the cuttings will wilt.
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eczekalski
Original Author
7 years ago
You were right the first time. The plants are compact and green, some with many side shoots. I'll try to get a picture next time I'm there. I'm sure that part of the problem is the high N, not that I added it. The farm where I'm growing amends the soil with horse manure and when I had it tested last winter was off the charts on N, P and K. I recently did a foliar feeding of a bloom fertilizer, no N. Not sure that does any good when the soil already has what the plant needs. But no one can tell me whether the too high nitrogen is a ratio issue or an absolute, if you follow that. So I figured a foliar feeding with no N in the mix couldn't hurt.
cicivacation
7 years ago
Nitrogen is water soluble, so I doubt much is left in the soil right now. It gets burned out pretty quickly, especially when there's a lot of organic matter using it up in the soil.

Also, the soil can be off the charts in tests, but if certain minerals (magn, iron, boran) are missing, the plants can't access them. That's supposed to be why Epson Salts added to soil or foliar feed is so successful- Magnesium helps the plant uptake other nutrients. Magn. is water-soluble, too, BTW.
eczekalski
Original Author
7 years ago
So here's a picture of Honeymoon, easy to get pic at the end of the row. I've picked more than ten beautiful, big blossoms so I'm not complaining but see all that lower growth? Many of those will never mature in time to produce blossoms this year.
eczekalski
Original Author
7 years ago
Bonus shot. Today's pickings. Yes, this is very small for a cut flower operation. It is sort of a proof of concept.
cicivacation
7 years ago
Many growers strip the leaves/branches 12-18 inches from the ground, to allow air circulation and avoid providing bugs nice entrance ramps to the main plant by low hanging leaves.

A couple of top show growers I talked to last month about this insist that bottom leaves are essential for the GROOMED plant to provide nutrients for growth/tuber development. I'm not so sure about that, as pot tubers thrive despite lack of foliage, but there you go. I've both stripped and not stripped, and I haven't seen an indication
that one is superior to the other. It makes the plants look more tidy,
and allows better access to soil for fertilization purposes. But it takes time, and I'm short on that, so I don't worry about it if I don't get around to it.

Always different opinions, and it's good to make up ones own mind about which to follow.
eczekalski thanked cicivacation
eczekalski
Original Author
7 years ago
So there you go <s>

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