Do I let them ALL grow? question about dahlias.....

Darius they will grow in pots and you can start them in pots but it is better to start them in a tray of sandor sandy dirt just lay them in side by side not touching with a little bit of the root end covered. When the eyes start growing the feeder roots will be to lift them gently from the tray and plant.

Janice the above speeds things way up and when I plant I barely cover the eyes a shallowing lets the heat of the day get to the bulb. As the bulb grows up I fill in as it comes up . Tool of choice for this is my toe I just walk along and kick more dirt in.

If you mulch really heavy in the fall it seems to work best to drag that mulch away from the tubers to let the heat get through to the surface of the ground.

Off to do something even if it is wrong. Ernie

So glad to find folks interested in dahlias! What a treat! I have 8 waterliliy dahlias growing in a tray, with Miracle Gro potting mix at the root end, downstairs, under lights. They're about 18" tall - I started them April 14th.
Also have 12 from Dan's Dahlias: they stamp the tuber with the name - great idea. Most of them are at least a foot tall. I'll have a fun day getting them in the ground.

I enjoyed the pictures and talk on this thread. Sorry to hear of Sequee's run-in with poison ivy though. I too find that there seems to be a general lack of interest in dahlias, and not just on DG.

Here's one from last year - "Procyon"

Joan

Oh, Joan! Pretty, pretty!

Pril the bigger they get the harder they are to get into the ground without damage to the delicate stalks and feeder roots .Lol seems I break off the new shoots just by looking at them.

I really like that picture, Joan. It is very pretty and looks very large like a huge dinnerplate.
Yes, it is kind of sad that more people don't like dahlias, but maybe it is because most people have to dig them up each year. I wouldn't like them as well if I had to dig every year either. Leaving them in the ground is so nice here in the NW.
Pirl, were the dahlias from Dan's Dahlias a good deal and good tubers? The waterlilies sound good. They sound so large already even before going into the ground. Do you still put them in the ground at 5" or more?
Carol

Eweed, that sure is a pretty one. Do you have a name for it?
Carol

some

No over the years I have quit with the name program I still know the name of lots but not that one sorry.

Red or black sharpies mark good clean tubers well but done when fresh dug can tear the skin of the tuber.

Cameo is a georgous clear yellow waterlilly if you like them.

Drummer Boy is a magnificant bright red dinner plate

this is looking at my gh late in the season so the flowers are tired




This message was edited May 10, 2005 8:13 PM

eweed
I love your dahlia "forest"Thank you for the pictures.

eweed, that is a great 'forest picture'. Thanks for sharing.

Joan

Joan your welcome maybe this year I can take better pitures when the flowers are in their prime. Igot the camera fathers day and after a tumultious start kinda learned hot to make it go . Where are the kids when you need them lol Grown up. Ernie

oops sorry same one I quess sometimers struck ok late off to work have a good day every one


This message was edited May 16, 2005 5:50 AM

So sorry that I had lost this thread. Now I have it saved. The dahlias have now taken up residence in the garage for the hardening off process. I grew two for a friend and gave them to her last week. Their stems were bent. I should have stood them up straight and tall but that's not how they do it in professional dahlia organizations. Anyhow, how deep I can plant them is hard to know. I think I'll dig up the spots where I want them and then go around assigning them to each spot. Daisy, I'll post here when I get to planting. I hurt my leg and thigh muscles and now have nerve pain up and down the right side. The ambulance took me away on all fours on the gurney. I felt so ridiculous! I have pain pills and muscle relaxant pills and neither do much except make me feel blonde, but I am a blonde so I guess "dumb blonde" fits the bill here.

Pirl,
Oh, no!
That sounds horrible! Do hope you will be okay.
Leg and thigh pain must mean you have back problems, like herniated disk?
Hope not. That is bad news.
You only need to plant the dahlias like 4-5" deep. The stems are bent now but they will straighten up as they are planted in the ground. They will be fine.
But hope you will be ok so you can get back to gardening.
Take care.
Carol

You get to feeling better Pirl soon....oh and remember 'blonde' is a lifestyle not merely a hair color. :-)

Marc

Thanks Carol and Marc for your good wishes. Oh I'll be back - nothing will keep me out of the garden even when I'm ashes!

It's not a herniated disk, thank God. When I can sit on this chair like a normal person I'll tell everyone what the nice guy from the local dahlia society had to say about dahlias. He was such a wealth of knowledge!

Thanks, Carol, for telling me the stems will straighten up. I wasn't sure about that one.

I only have enough medicine (no refills allowed) for six days so as Arnold said,
"I'll be back".

Arlene

How can we go about getting a forum on Dahlias so I and others don't have to go searching under bulbs to find it? If someone knows how please email me so I'll know where to find it. Thanks.

What happens if you do a DG search box for Dahlias? Tht should bring up most of the threads.

Doubt there's enough Dahlia folks yet for a full forum.

Go to the Dave's Garden and start pleading your case! You'll have to "prove your case", so we need to find as many people as possible to log in and state an interest.

I counted at least 10 contributors to this page. How many are needed to get a new forum?

I would not be a regular

Well, Pirl, I sure would be a regular!
I love dahlias and would love to talk about them.
I still have many to get into the ground hopefully this weekend, so...
I would be glad to write for a "plead" for a Dahlia Forum. Just let me know what to do then.
Carol

I love dahlias too. I would probably be more of a lurker than a poster, particularly in spring when I am so busy outside. But I definitely would enjoy a dahlia forum.

CandyI have not heard from Doug if he wants some tomatoes tell him to call even though if it is light and not raining we are outside, Linda says hi Ernie

Hi Ernie,

I will tell Doug to call you. I have been so busy outside I have hardly talked to him either. LOL

Everybody, I have seen Ernie's place in person. The pictures you see of his dahlias don't do them justice. He has TONS of dahlias everywhere and they are just one of the many, many plants he grows. Actually he could easily open up a nursery on his property with all of his gorgeous plants and baskets. Did you ever think about doing that, Ernie? How many tomato plants are you growing this year?

I am hoping to be in Everson in July. I will get to see your yard in all its glory then. Tell Linda I said 'Hi' right back. Show her this thread on the Paducah Ky Quilt Show if she hasn't seen it yet. She will love it. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/503223/

Candy you need to go into advertising lol. I started about 300 some tomatoes 35 kinds and will grow maybe 70 this year and give the rest away.

Ernie, I distinctly remember standing in your tomato hoop house last September and you said you weren't going to grow nearly as many tomatoes in 2005. I didn't believe you then and I see that I was right. LOL

To all: I wrote requesting that Dahlias be given a forum of it's own. Many forums have just 1 or 2 posts daily and surely Dahlias would get more than that, especially when they are actively growing and blooming. I'll let you know what I hear.

I had to resort to a stickie to remind me how to find our thread on Dahlias. I kept thinking they were under Annuals and there just might be some there.

I'll get my notes on the Dahlias society talk in a few minutes and tell you what he told his audience at Hofstra University in April.

Arlene

Pirl,
Thanks for doing this. A Dahlia Forum will be great.
Your notes on the society talk would be nice to read.
Thanks,
Carol

I typed the whole thing up and hit send. It said it went through but I came back to the page and it's not here! I'll wait until tonight to see if it magically appears. The guy was so nice and had a few great ideas.

Arlene

In the forum, the article I wrote about the Dahlia Society man, follows this existing thread of: Do I let them ALL grow?

Arlene

To all: I received a message from Terry and have now asked Dave under Dave's Garden Forums. Terry said they'll have a show of hands.

Hi Everyone!

I've written a little note to each of you to ask you to go to Dave's Garden Forums and sign up to request our very own Dahlia Forum.

Gee, wouldn't it be embarassing to be the last one to sign up! Go team go!

We don't want to be just a thread of Bulbs. Kind of like Son of a Beech!

Come on, don't delay - vote today.

Thanks to all who vote.

Arlene

What is the link to the thread we need to vote?

Marc

Here is the link. Marc, you are already on it.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/511689/#new

Ah...good, than I voted in the right place. :-)

Marc

Candy I know I said that but next year I am definetly cutting down it just this year I found a few new ones to try. I am trying a couple of experiments this year and have 23 in the ground right now and nothing in the hoop house but soon lol. My whole life is soon or tomorrow . Ernie

Ernie - words like yours make my heart sing. It's nice to know we have this vision of "definitely cutting down" and may be very sincere about it but. . . .trying to accomplish it is more difficult.

We feel the same way and yet there are over 1000 plants in the garage, hardening off, that have to get planted this week. First we'll do the donation phase where we give to our neighbors who always want tomato plants. The rest is left to the two of us.

My dahlias, the waterlilies, are huge right now. Maybe next year I'll start them a week later than I did this year - April 14th. The other dahlias, all from Swan Island, are doing very well except for one slowpoke.

I will see your thousand and thrown in another 350 or 400 plus the tomatoes and other veggies we have maybe half poked into the yard now and have been visited by mother in law who says it is so nice to have a gh in the family ha. Ernie

Ernie,

Are you in charge of the six compost bins, edging the lawns, all the mowing, getting out the outdoor furniture, and all the rest? Two weeks ago I planted about 120 heads of lettuce and some arugula and have lots of direct seeding to do.

Love it when people say "But it's so much work". We don't view it that way. Torture for us would be watching westerns or soaps all day.

Arlene