Dahlia and general flower care

[Notsogreenthumb]

Morning all,

Looking for some advice here regarding dahlias. I have some tubers and want to plant them out but is it too early? The packet says April/may but that just seems so far.

I also have some dahlias which I didn't cut back last year and unearth. Is it worth just leaving them and seeing if they'll grow or should I use that pot for something else

I also started work a few months ago and my flowers got seriously neglected over the winter. I didn't cut anything (roses, astromeria, hebe) back . Is it too late to now?

Hi, unless you’ve got a Greenhouse, it is too early to plant your Dahlias outside. I’ll pot mine up in April, they grow quite quickly once the weather warms up.
Like you I left mine in their planters, last Autumn. I think it was because they were still flowering late on. I’m hoping they’ll pop some soots up in a month or so. I have new tubers to plant up as well.
I’ve just pruned my roses, which have shoots and tidied up my herbaceous plants that will flower on this years growth.
Don’t cut anything back that flowers on last years growth, such as Forsythia, Ceanothus or Weigela.

I cut back my roses last week. According to my month by month gardening book it's a good time to do it.

I feel your impatience with the dahlias. I have six tubers I am desperate to plant. They were inspired by my colleague who was bringing me fresh dahlia bouquets every week until November last year. She plants hers in the third week of April so I'm going to copy her and hope for the same results. In the meantime, I've just planted a peony and I have some anemones for planting next month.

While we're talking dahlias, when should I be looking at my lifted tubers? They're all packed away just now.

I left Tubers in for about 5 years and they ended up the size of footballs...minimum 3 vases per week for about 3 months! Lifted and hacked them apart this year ...will replant mid April and see what happens!

Ooh what area do you live in @DorotheaDiamond? I'm about an hour north of London and worry it's too cold to leave dahlias planted.

S w london...I’ve left them in normal and raised beds to the same result.,.don’t think pots work though! Although as I now have about 50 chunks of tuber to plant I have no idea where to put them! Plus the 15 tubers I accidentally bought In Costco

Give them away! Find a plant sale. My Dad does a sale for charity at his church every May not this year or last though and they raise loads. I usually bring him a bunch of spares, and then spend a fortune on other people's stuff.

I'll probably end up giving spare things to neighbours if they can't come up with some way of selling this year.

Thank you all for the responses they've been really helpful! I guess I'm just impatient to see some colour in my garden. I will fight back my impatience and wait to plant them. Feel a bit silly buying them so early 🤦‍♀️. I bought lilies too.

Are the tubers ok to be left out anywhere? Or does it have to be somewhere dark?

I usually plant mine up and put them on the zippy greenhouse first week of April, then harden them off and plant put end of May. The tubers are HUGE now and I need to split them this year so I will be giving away lots of dahlia babies I think!

My tubers are in the shed (no windows) in those mesh bags to keep them dry

Thanks @GuyFawkesDay! I'll put mine in a cupboard then as my shed has huge windows

Don’t cut anything back that flowers on last years growth, such as Forsythia, Ceanothus or Weigela. A good rule of thumb is to prune just after it flowers. So things that flower in early spring you prune in late spring, things that flower in late summer you prune in autumn (except that, since nothing grows in winter, it may be better to leaver till late winter).

I guess I'm just impatient to see some colour in my garden. That's what primroses and spring bulbs are for! And early-flowering shrubs - mahonia, Cornus mas, Hamammelis, Viburnum bodnantense.

This is why I need people like you in my life @MereDintofPandiculation. I haven't even heard of those flowers. Going to go google them now and hopefully buy some tomorrow