Dahlia help!

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craftygeek Crofton, MD Mar 19, 2011

Hello!

This is the first time I've been able to have a garden of my own and have maybe gotten a little too excited and planted my dahlias too early. I'm in Maryland, zone 7a and have just planted some dahlia tubers today. While I read quite a bit before planting I've only just learned that the ideal soil temperatures for planting are 50-80 degrees. I planted them today after having read that they can be planted once danger of frost has passed, which I believe it has, but apparently it is still too early to plant them and maybe I should have waited another month?

Another concern I have is that I didn't till the soil deep enough. I've planted them about 4-5 inches deep in a clay-like soil, but only tilled to about 7 inches deep and only in the area where the tuber was planted. I did mix the planting soil with compost as well as some fertilizer. So my questions are the following:

1. Should i dig them back up and wait another month to plant them?
2. If it is ok to leave them planted, what about the tilling? Should I dig them up and till the soil further and replant them? How concerned should I be about the depth, or lack thereof in tilling?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

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flowAjen central, NJ(Zone 6b) Mar 20, 2011

Yes, you're about a month early. and I don't know about down there but they are calling for snow on Wednesday here..I'd dig them up
4-5" deep is fine...make sure the spot you chose is well draining, if not raise the level 2 - 3 inches to improve the drainage. Peat moss, compost, ground bark or decomposed manure all work well to do that.

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