Dahlia Question

[Mimi]

Last year I admired my sis in laws beautiful dahlias, they really where stunning.  Ive just received some tubers from her for me to try.  Ive never grown them before so where do I start. At the moment the just look like big fat individual fingers.  Do I just lay them on compost of plant them upright? Can I plant them out now or will it be to cold (hers where still outdoors having overwintered in the borders - she lives in Shropshire)  Haven't really got a clue.  Can anyone help?  Thanks  :-*

[Mimi]

[Tee Gee]

This link should help!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Dahlia/Dahlia.htm

[Mimi]

Thanks TG.  Have had a good look and followed your advice.  Nothing as yet.... fingers crossed.  ;D

[LittleBean]

That article is very complicated!  Guess my way of doing it.... digging hole, putting tuber in, crossing fingers and hoping for the best... isn't going to work then!

[laurieuk]

It is too early to plant them outside so if was me and I had a greenhouse I would lay them in a tray cover them with some compost keep them moist but not wet.They will start to produce new growth and then you can decide if you want to take cuttings or just plant them out when the weather is warmer. We can always make things sound very hi tech if we want or just let nature do the work for us. I now have to say what I would do if I still had a greenhouse and garden but we lost both when we had to move  from our tied house after the owner died and I retired so it is all in the past now.

Last year I admired my sis in laws beautiful dahlias, they really where stunning.  Ive just received some tubers from her for me to try.  Ive never grown them before so where do I start. At the moment the just look like big fat individual fingers.  Do I just lay them on compost of plant them upright? Can I plant them out now or will it be to cold (hers where still outdoors having overwintered in the borders - she lives in Shropshire)  Haven't really got a clue.  Can anyone help?  Thanks  :-*

[Kea]

My dahlias are still sitting in their tray no sign of any shoots yet....is it still too early?

[sunloving]

Here in lancaster we have month old cuttings from tubers with heat that went in in mid feb
Tubers in pots in unheated greeenhouse with small shoots on which went in about 2 weeks ago.
But no signs of shoots from the tubers outside yet.

It depends where they are.
I would give them a blast of heat and a water or knock them out and check that they havent rotted off. Have a look at the stalk area and you should see little buds.

Dahlias shoot from the central stem and the tubers are not separate entities You didnt split each of the fat fingers off?
Good luck
x Sunloving

[saddad]

My dahlia tubs got scorched in the polytunnel last week by the frost... but they are recovering now...  :)

[Kea]

No i think my problem might be that I didn't want them watered when i was on holiday and my non gardening neighbour may have watered them with everything else, though the tubers still seem firm but the soil is wetter rather than moist. It has been quite cold, they're only in my plastic mini house.

[Deb P]

I bought two large packs of Dahlia's from Costco and put them in moist soil in my cold greenhouse and only 3 of 18 tubers sprouted!
I rang customer services who said they would refund me, but when I went to the store today they wanted me to bring the failed tubers back before they would refund me. .....okeydokey,I now have a binbag full of unsprouted tubers ... guess I won't be growing many Dahliahs this year!

[sunloving]

Well i would say that unless they have rotted off then they will shoot. They really do need some heat to shoot before may and if you are keeping them rather than returning them i would put them back into the soil and give them another chance now its warming up a bit. You can also check the stems for signs of buds so have a good look at them it might not be to late.
Good luck either way.
x Sunloving

[Robert_Brenchley]

Is it still too early to plant them out?

[Deb P]

My greenhouse has been kept at 10 degrees plus and there wasn't a single sign of a shoot on any of the ones I unearthed... A few of them had the odd soft 'lobe' but were otherwise just as I had put them in, the soil was just moist not wet so I don't know why they failed this year. I've started them off like this and had a good growth rate every year before now, so don't know what I've done differently this year ?

[sunloving]

How odd Deb and frustrating. Good luck hope they stage a late comeback!

I would normally plant out around 10th may but the overnight lows last week set this back . I was hardening them off outside in a cold frame but they all had to come back in last weekend in the frost and so are still int he greenhouse here in Lancaster. The few tubers that i had planted all had the growth frosted off but should shoot again with any luck if the temp picks up , if it stays wet and cold the whole tuber will just rot off.

Might plant them out next week.
x sunloving

[gp.girl]

Just planted mine out. 3 of 4 showing signs of growth. Stored overwinter in black bucket with the gladioli in cold part of house! Started adding water to bucket 4 weeks ago. Not a normal method I know but the garage and shed are far to cold for dahlias and I never got around to potting them up on the window sill ::)

[woodypecks]

Right thats it ..I am going to plant mine out !

[gwynnethmary]

I put ours in the ground in March, far too early I think.  They'd been on a shelf in the greenhouse all winter.  After seeing not a thing since I put them in, the last time I was there I saw a brave shoot peeping out, so maybe there's hope after all!

[brown thumb]

my lotty neighbour gave me some of his excess dahlia tubers  ive always planted mine by burying them with a tiny bit of old stem showing but hes planted his quite deep without any stem showing which way should it be done and how much room should i leave between each plant