Dahlias started for another year. ... and already buds coming up.

in one day??

thank you for posting this.
I purchased some dahlia bulbs (because of your gift last year) but I didn’t know what to do with them.
Into some pots tomorrow!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Me too!

Thanks, jroot, for the timely reminder. I have been busy since my return from BC, cleaning gardens, planting seeds indoors and I look at the dahlias last wondering if I was too late starting them. They’ll go into pots today.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Okay, you got me. LOL They were actually starting to sprout in the cold cellar. When I took them out yesterday, any sprouts were a bleached out white. Today, the colour has changed as you can see. I will be potting up soon, for sure … likely some tomorrow morning before I head out to work.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

So cool and your containers are so shallow ?...............or am I looking at the wrong picture?

I might have started mine a tad too early as some are already 3’ high.

-- but for one rose, love endures

I really like the way Dahlia blooms look; your gardens will be gorgeous again this year.

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

sorry, I misread the post and realize you will transfer them

-- but for one rose, love endures

Greenthumb, I don’t start mine too early, as I don’t want them to get too tall and lanky. If you feel they are too tall and will suffer from wind damage, you can plant yours into a deeper pot, and you will get a LOT more tubers. Just be sure to stake them carefully when planting. I usually put the stake in at the same time as planting, so I know that I won’t damage the tubers later, if driving a stake in later. I think you will know what I mean.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

I understand what your saying.

most of mine have a healthy, heavy stock, a few look a tad weaker.

the adreniline rush of finally having a greenhouse, the excitement drove with into planting things immediately instead of waiting. now I have cucumbers (albeit tiny) and small tomatoes,.........

patience is a virtue I often lack

-- but for one rose, love endures

Jroot you have reminded me of my Dahlias that were blooming beautifully on my terrace garden. I don’t remember what stopped me from planting them again. You have renewed my interest and I will try for them again. Waiting to see pictures of your Dalias bloomed.

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

I plan on leaving many of my Dahlias in the same bucket they are presently growing in and am going to try and “skip” planting them. I’ve been collecting those old galvanized buckets, and hope to do a container garden this year. Also saved all the tree containers over the years, about 15 to 20 gallon pots.The present collective garden always seems to go to hell in a hand basket in mere seconds if all the generals come out at the same time….......and tmy co-habitants, they claim to have a “plan”,

I give up on the “collective” garden and am refering back to my somewhat huge collection of “containers”. I hope to fill each one to 100% capacity, billowing out flowers and my favorite veggies, huge elephant ears, climbing flowers and have a great place to hide. Where life remains simple and I can stretch out on the hammock and conjure up memories of days long since past and dreams yet to come true.

Dahlias, who knows, maybe one of the kids will pick one and win first prize at the oldest county fair.

Gotta love spring in Canada….........it was another long frozen winter.

JRoot…..........thanks for the tip, I still have a couple bags of dahlias that I have yet to germinate and will stake them…...your way, it only makes sense and next year my timing might improve????.....we’ll see after the season is over.

-- but for one rose, love endures

Jroot.. what is your quick list of planting tips.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Having Dahlias in your garden ( earlier than your neighbours, and most of the summer):

1) Start the dormant dahlia tubers in early April / late March. I lay them on a bed of potting mix; lightly sprinkle some more potting mix on top; moisten them slightly, and put them under lights. They could be placed in a window as well, but I don’t have the space available for that. Soon they will start to sprout.

2) Once they have started to sprout, it is time to pot them up so their roots will further develop. I chose pots that will contain the tuber and just barely cover the sprout. I line the pot with newspaper so that they can be removed easily from the pot when planting with little disturbance to the root system. Sometimes, I merely line the bottom of the pot. This also prevents the potting soil from coming out of the necessary holes in the bottom of the pot. These I place under lights again. They can also do really well in a well lit window sill or greenhouse.

3) When planting (AFTER ALL DANGER OF FROST IS PAST) , I dig / till the bed well so that the soil is loose. I find that they do well in a raised bed where they can be watered, but drainage is good. They do need to be in a sunny location. When the bed is prepared, I dig a hole slightly deeper than the pot, mixing in a small handfull of compost and a wee bit of bone meal. Carefully remove the plant from the pot and set gently into the hole, and back fill. At this time, I also put in a stake beside the plant ( being careful not to puncture the tuber ).

4) When the plant shows 3 or 4 sets of leaves, I pinch the top of it to force more lateral growth. This gives me more flowers. If one is showing, they would not do this, as they want fewer flowers, but taller stems and larger flowers. Personally, I don’t show, but prefer a mass of flowers. – my infamous “dahlia hedge”.

5) As the plant grows, I tie it with twine to the stake to provide stability. When picking flowers for your table etc, cut them with a clean cut near a leaf branch in such a way as to avoid having water being trapped in the hollow stems. They do need to be dead headed. Then they will continue to bloom for you.

6) In the fall, it is customary to wait until after the first frost before bringing them in. The leaves will wilt, and the plant will send its nutritious juices to the tubers. That will ensure that they get through the winter. You can see my other posts about winter preparation so we don’t have tuber loss.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

Jroot you have given very good information in clear language about Dahlia planting. Can you tell something more about dead heading in general? What exactly does it mean?

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

Dead heading means pinching or cutting off the finished flowers. If the finished flowers are allowed to remain on the plant, all the energy will go toward seed production. If you want seed, that is fine. However, most people want flowers. So if the finished flowers are removed, the plant will create more flowers – in a desparate attempt to complete its sexual cycle.

Keeping seeds from dahlias is not recommended unless one is striving to create a new type of dahlia, as cross fertilization will undoubtedly take place, and the genes will be mixed. In order to reproduce the same dahlia, it is more productive to do tuber splitting when potting up. That way, the new plants will have the same genes and characteristics of the original plant.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

thank you!
now I just need to get some soil to start the process.

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

thank you jroot for the reminder…..will start mine today….

-- south shore montreal, zone 5a, whish it was 9

mine are now in dirt … I just have to wait and see if I did it right :)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I love dahlias and am looking forward to seeing everyone’s in bloom.I used to grow them but one rainy summer killed all mine so I gave up on them.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Thank you Jroot for the information on dead heading.

Sharad

-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein

Mid April, and I have quite a few dahlia plants started. A few too many ???

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

Could I volunteer to help you out by putting some of those in my garden? 8^l)

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'