When to order dahlias tubers
Comments (12)
HU-196206895
3 years agoRelated Discussions
dahlia tubers rotting
Comments (16)I think it was King's Mums. They are nearly finished taking orders for the season, but it might still be possible to get a few. Some of them are in beautiful pink, white and yellow colors. I think I ordered nine starts, although it would have been easy to go crazy buying more. Thought maybe I should use some restraint since this is my first attempt with rooting and then planting them. If you don't want to try those this year, i will share next year, if they grow well for me....See MoreWhen to lift dahlia tubers
Comments (1)If you have a patch of ground 'out back' that has reasonable soil and good drainage, then all you need to do is dig out a patch for the Dahlias and plant them like a row of potatoes. If you know you have any particular insect pests then take precautions but they should 'over winter' in the ground with no problems. (I'm zone 9a. I get heavy winter rain and frosts to -5C. Bedding Dahlias are fine in the ground for me and return the following season with no problems. I don't grow for the show bench but 'ordinary' Dahlias will come through easily - particularly if they are fed with good compost.) If you can't do this then you might want to use gro-bags with some potting mix and divide the clump/s for replanting as you need....See MoreNEW TO DAHLIAS: When to dig the tubers?
Comments (5)What a pretty floral display! The pink one looks like Pinelands Princess, one of my all-time favs. The easiest time to dig in zone 5 is right after a hard frost, where all the blooms and leaves turn to slime. (Growers in warmer climates should dig before the winter rains are on them, or if leaving in the ground, provide good drainage or tarp well to avoid tubers rotting.) You chop off everything about four inches from the ground, leaving a 'handle' with the bottom stalk to assist you in digging and leveraging it from the ground. Dig a circle about six inches around each stalk, and pry it out using the spade and stalk handle. Storage is a whole different topic, and there are many ways to do it and even more ways to fail at it. ;-) 'Digging' is a much easier subject then 'Storage.' If you search this forum for 'storing dahlias,' the previous posts on this topic will keep you entertained for this millennia....See MoreHow do I keep my dahlia tubers from growing too many sprouts?
Comments (2)see if any of these might help: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=dividing+dahlia+tubers&iax=videos&ia=videos and why is it important to you that they have less sprouts??? the tuber is a storage unit for dormancy and once new growth starts.. one would hope it would put down roots to feed the new growth .. and eventually store energy for next dormancy ... one would think that it wouldnt be relying on said stored energy for very long .. as once the leaves emerge.. and start processing sunlight into energy.. the plant wont be using the stored energy .. the only reason i could see to limit sprouts.. would be if you were a hardcore grower who plans on entering flower shows and your goal is one single perfect flower .. and if you were doing that.. i would think you would have years of experience .. and would know the answer all that said.. you seem to have multiples .. so make notes.. and experiment on different plants .. and see what happens.. many of us.. didnt have the WWw to confuse us .. lol.. and we just did a lot of experimenting ... and that was part of the fun .. and frankly.. i remember my experiments more than anything i ever read ... good luck and have fun ken...See More
linaria_gw
3 years ago
Jeb zone5
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoEvery gardener has their own way of doing things, and most gardeners (usually through trial and error) finds what works best for them.
My average dahlia at the end of the season is close to 3' across at the base of the plant so I have to plant them on 3' centers. (One tuber every 3 feet.) I start them indoors in pots early under lights to get a jump on the season.
I have used dahlias many different ways, in the annual garden where they combine nicely with other flowers, in rows grown for cut flowers sold at market, and the dwarf varieties in pots.
Although Cafe au Lait isn't my favorite dahlia, it is not an ugly variety!
Here is a Cafe and an unknown variety growing with amaranth and canna from last summer.
HU-196206895 thanked Jeb zone5
FrozeBudd_z3/4
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
harold100
3 years ago
alexis munkres
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHi! I'm a flower farmer by trade. A general rule for when to purchase bulbs/tubers/etc. Is once the current crop is finishing up blooming/ producing, it's time to order new stock to the upcoming year! Sought after varieties sell out FAST! Check out Summer Dreams Dahlia farm, The Farm @ Oxford, Shady Grove gardens. Floret flowers also lists US farms selling tubers, as well, on one of her blog posts. Could also check the slowflowers directory of flower farmers. I believe there is a search function. Hope that helps!
For landscape plantings, I would space them out more. But for production here on our tiny urban farm we grow everything with very tight spacing. My dahlia rows are 4' wide by 60' long. Tubers are planted on about 15" centers in an offset pattern. I have about 160 per row, give or take.
Ours require 2 layers of horizontal netting for support, and T-posts every 8ft. We strategically fertilize, prune, and irrigate to ensure high production for such intensive plantings.
I find dahlias to be extremely easy to grow, and think you should go for it! Bloomingbulb has some pretty good deals right now to try out some , but those will be imported stock so be aware of what that means. Happy growing!HU-196206895 thanked alexis munkresHU-196206895
3 years ago@alexis munkres thank you so much for your very detailed response! Very much appreciated! I only have a raised bed 3x6’ Would it do more damage than good if I planted 10 tubers all 12” apart from each other? I’m attaching a pic of bed.
Kathy Powell
3 years ago
Jeb zone5