How can I get more flowers on my Dahlias?

[florentina1]

Two years ago I bought 6 Dahlias from Sarah Raven. 3 Mexican star, waltzing Matilda, happy single kiss and schippers bronze. The plants are really healthy and the flowers are lovely.

The problem is that, the leaves are more prolific then the flowers. The flowers come out one or two at a time. An anyone able to give me any advice as to how I can get more flowers.

Lots of sun plenty (but not too much) water and deadheading regularly.

Are yours in full sun?
Do they get enough water?
Do you deadhead - or even cut the flowers for indoor vases?

I was going to ask if you are deadheading enough.

It may also be that as the plants grow you will get more flowers. My dahlia produces more flowers each year.

Also regular feeding with tomato food. Mine in pots at home are pretty average because they don't get the TLC they want, but the ones at the allotment - which never dry out, and are in rich, well manured real soil - are fabulous this year.

That's true @Fireblanket - the older ours get, the more flowers they produce.

We cut them for vases (they grow on the allotment in full all day sun) and produce more and more blooms every year.

I love dahlias. I find some can be a bit slow to get going, especially this year, weather has been disappointing. I think as the plant matures it will produce more buds. I actually dis bud some of mine, l find you get a larger flower on a longer stem. I also.give mine a good feed early on. The pompom and ball types usually flower prolifically, and the small cactus. My larger flowered ones are much slower this year.

I cut off the first flower off the main stem as then it encourages the rest of the stems to grow and flower. I think it's all about position too, I have a bunch next to the east facing wall of the house and they've been prolific, the others I replanted elsewhere haven't done so well.

Sorry to piggy back - do you have a photo of waltzing mathilda? I sometimes find the colours aren't quite the same on sarah Raven's website.

I can't work out if it's orange or pink!

Thank you all .this is my waltzing matilda

Is the ground being fertilised?

How much sun do they get?

They are in full sun. I mixed fish blood and bone in when. Planted them. They are in big pots. I wonder if they are too crowded

ah, pots.

What is the pot size in relation to the plant?

Blood fish and bone is quite nitrogenous for leaf growth, but if you put that in during planting it will have reduced now.

Are they in soil or compost?

I wonder f the feed was wrong then. What do they need feeding, and f so, what should it be

I mostly grow mine in the ground, with garden compost mulch.

I have a few in large pots, but they never grow as big.

As @Purplewithred says, a tomato fertiliser may suit. It is not so rich in Nitrogen, which encourages leaf growth.

IIRC, for plants that are not tomatoes, you use half the dose.

Dahlias can grow to huge plants, with roots the size of a bunch of bananas, so I think your pots may be the problem. Border Dahlias, or Dwarf varieties, which are intended to form small plants, may be happier. I'm trying Bishop of Llandalf this year, and after a slow start, they are flowering well.

(I just checked the growing instructions and they say "a high Nitrogen fertiliser" so perhaps I was wrong about encouraging leaf growth)

I have grown Cactus Dahlia from seed this year, encouraged by Monty Don on GW, and athough a bit late they are now flowering prolifically. They are in full sun in a border, but I am not the best at watering them.
I might try to dig them up, but will definately give them another go next year.

but van Meuwen say Feeding: Once flowers appear on your dahlia plants, feed with a high-potash liquid fertiliser, such as tomato feed, every two weeks until early September. Feeding dahlias will encourage more flowers

so who knows?

@RainingYetAgain

I've been growing them for years. Mild coastal climate here. I find if I dig them up, a few die; and if I leave them in the ground, a few die.

So I just leave them now.

They get pretty huge roots so if necessary I divide them, once the shoots appear, to fill gaps.

I do mulch overwinter for protection.

Oh thanks Piglet John, I'll leave them and see what happens.{'m in East Anglia, so not really mild and dry.
I've still got plenty of seeds left as well.
I've bee feeding with Phosphogen and they are thriving.

@florentina1

Thank you all .this is my waltzing matilda

Beautiful!

there’s a good lecture on Dahlias on youtube by Swan Island Dahlias. The dahlia farm is in America but there’s some really useful tips on it.

They talk about pinching out the top to encourage more blooms and using cow manure.