New to dahlias...couple of questions

This is my first official question for you established DGer's. Last year I discovered dahlias and only planted one form bareroot or bulb or whatever you call them. It was one of my favorites, with it's slow opening, long living flowers. This season I would like to try more. I want to grow them in pots so the tubers are more easily lifted for winter. I live in zone 7a and was thinking of cutting a plastic tray (like a flat tray) into a circle that would sit down in a pot so lifting will be easier in the late fall. I would like to know if this would work, what size pot they'd require, where to place the stake and what kind..bamboo?, and how much space they'd require above the "grate".

Any suggestions will be appreiciated. I'm green and would like to enjoy these dahliias for years to come.

I posted this originally in a different place and didn't receive any suggestions so I thought I'd try her.

Thanks,
Linda

Linda,

You can buy bulb "cages" specially designed for this purpose, though people most often buy them for tulips or lilies to protect them in areas that have lots of animals that eat them. I would think any small metal cage with a handle that is designed to hold tulips would hold dahlias as well, and then you could plant them in the ground, and easily lift them for winter!. I have seen them on the online gardening sites many times, but sometimes they're only available during the fall. A nursery near you should be able to find what you're looking for.

I have a couple of questions about Dahlias also. I picked up a couple of Dahlia tubers at Lowe's yesterday, "Mystery Day". It says I can't plant them until May in my zone 6. In the meantime, should I just keep them in their packaging and put them in a cool place? I do have a small pot that I could plant them in for the time being, if that is recommended, but we are still having some pretty cold days.

Thanks!

Well, I usually plant them here in Late April, the ground has to be 60 degrees approximately 4" below the soil. When you are having temps in the 70s often it should be fine. We had a heat wave (mid to upper 80s) last year in early May and it made a big difference in the speed of the Dahlias popping up. It does depend on weather, so I guess you should wait and see. Also, the common idea is to plant after last frost, but I am willing to protect if needed to get growth sooner.

This message was edited Mar 7, 2005 7:40 PM

Linda, I am also new to dahlias (all growing, really) and hope someone will answer your questions because I would also like to know. I have planted mine already (March 5) in a large (14" deep) self-watering container under grow lights and am hoping it will work his way.

I was wondering if anyone knows how long it might take for the sprouts (official name?) to reach the surface? I believe I can't expect bloom until sometime in July. I'm also in Zone 7a in Maryland, Linda.

Thanks.

Dahlias are wonderful plants. Planting outdoors should not be attempted until all risk of frost is over. Make sure the area they are planted in is rich in humus (they are heavy feeders and need a lot of nutrients) and well-drained. They probably won't start to bloom until July, but they put on such a great show, you won't care. :)

Here's a site with plenty of information:

http://www.dahlia.com/dahliatips.html

Good luck and holler if you have any other questions.

Thanks, smiln. If I've already planted without a fertilizer, is it too late to add it in now?

hi folks- this is advice from a zone 5 gardener- different from warmer zones, perhaps.. I grow my dahlias for cutting, since I arrange flowers for weddings- so they go in a vegetable garden type situation in rows and are staked. I like to get them growing a bit before I plant them out, so about 3 weeks before planting I put tubers into about anything I can find- large plastic pots, crates etc, and barely cover them with potting soil. They start to root and shoots start to poke up, so when they go into their holes in the garden in mid May they have a jump start. I have some concern about growing any but the smaller dahlias in pots, as their tubers get so big!- really some of the root balls I dig in the fall are more than 2ft wide! I have seen some dahlias growing well in whiskey barrels, but generally, they need a bit of space. In terms of digging them in the fall, I use a pitch fork or shovel and a few tubers might break or get damaged, but not so they can't sprout the next year. One thing I was wondering-would they be able to last through the winter in the ground in Texas?? That would save lots of work.....

It depends on the amount of cold weather and rainfall amounts. The tubers rot easily if they remain to wet and to cold for to long.
Not much help I know...........

Here in zone 6 in eastern KY I have occasionally overwintered a Dahlia in a protected spot, heavily mulched. You may want to experiment and leave 1 or 2 in the ground this fall. I found tomatoe cages to work well for them. Once the dahlias reach the top and other plants have filled in around them, the cage was no longer visable. I always found them very quick to sprout, so I never bothered trying to start them indoors, but if I had a greenhouse or sun room I probably would have tried. Good luck!

I only found this out by accident but dahlias over-winter here just fine. I left one in the ground one winter and the next year I left them all in the ground. I'm in zone 7A. Technically, I think I'm supposed to be too cold for them to over-winter but they do fine here and so do canna lilies.