Dahlias

[winteranimal]

Hi everyone. I want to order some dahlias (most likely from Farmer Gracy) but I've never grown them before and I'm not sure where to begin. I know I'll need to dig up the tubers each year and store them. Is it possible to grow them in pots? What's the easiest way to grow them? Thank you for any advice!

You don’t have to dig up the tubers. If you cut down the foliage in December and make sure the tuber is covered or protected somehow they should survive. Dark leaved ones do need digging up however. I dig mine up, wash them, put them upside down for a few days then cover them with brown paper, put them in a cardboard box out of sunlight, put in a mouse free shed and check them every week, spray with mist if they look like they are drying out. Then plant them out in spring after last frost.

I got a lot from Farmer Gracey.O live in the SE UK.10 minutes from the sea. I have experimented keeping some in. They need protection, mulching. They like hot,dry, conditions. The smaller ones will grow in pots,but need a huge amount of water and feed. In the winter I dig up my "best" ones,lay them in a green house brush the dirt off,cardboard box of straw,away in the dark

I grow mine in pots, but they are large, greedy plants, so you need a big pot, and even that may restrict their growth and flowering

You can leave them in the ground over the winter with a good mulch but you will lose the odd one to rot, especially if the ground is very wet. The trouble is that they are slow to get going and come into bloom.

What I have been doing for years is lifting them at the end of the season, when the foliage is gone. Dry out and shake off all the remaining soil then repot them with new compost into generous sized pots and leave them like this for the winter, NO WATER! I put mine in the polytunnel, but used to leave them in the garage/shed as they are completely dormant at this point. The dry compost insulates them. In spring start to water gently and the new shoots will appear, then bring them into the light and off they go. As MereDint says, they are greedy plants and needs lots of feed and water, but there is enough in the compost to get them going.

I have been doing it this way for years now, and find it the easiest and most reliable. Some do escape and get left in the ground, and they are way behind the potted ones. Though you have to dig a hole to replant them, this method gives you the opportunity to move them to another site if you want, or keep them in a container.

I don’t dig any of my dahlias up and they all come back each year. They’re very easy to grow from tubers. I start mine at the end of March in my greenhouse. I’ve just placed my farmer gracey order this morning. Sarah Raven also have some really lovely varieties.

l have been growing Dahlias for years, they are still flowering late Nov , early Dec here in Midlands. They are so easy to grow and many different suppliers online. Anglian Bulbs, Halls of Heddon, are very good.
l get loads of compliments on my front dahlia garden, l grow all the jewel colours and it brightens up the street.
Lots of Youtube videos re varieties of Dahlia, how to grow,.dig up, store etc as well as beautiful Dahlia fields.
Once you start growing them they can become addictive, l think there are Dahlia lover groups also on facebook.

I have brought my pots in, but not taken the tubers out- it seems I should ?
The couple i have left in situ in the garden have far more flowers, although i agree are later than the potted varieties. I am going to try leaving more of them planted rather than in pots though.

@SirVixofVixHall That will protect them from the frost and wet so they'll be fine.

I was glad I lifted all mine this year (got the fear about losing them) as a significant number had crown gall so I had to get rid

What is crown gall ? I haven’t come across that.

I'm only posting because I want to grow dahlias next year, (obviously I mean 2022) so I'll take all the help I can get

@SirVixofVixHall

What is crown gall ? I haven’t come across that.

I hadn't til this year either. Info from RHS

One of the Gardeners' World programmes included a dahlia nutter who was adamant that cuttings had better, earlier blooms than saved plants, and from the comparisons they showed he was clearly right. Since then I have overwintered just 1 of each variety and taken cuttings from it in the spring. Once I got the knack (you have to take a bit of the tuber with it, as if it was a heeled cutting) they are dead easy and practically all of them take. You can get massive, early displays for pennies like this.

Dahlia cuttings !? I will have a go at this. When is the right time to do them ?

@SirVixofVixHall

Dahlia cuttings !? I will have a go at this. When is the right time to do them ?

In the spring when they come into growth. Loads of videos online. Good luck and remember to stop - it's addictive!

Dahlias are amazing value, plant them somewhere sunny, keep slugs off the young plants and you'll have months of flowers. I dig mine up for the winter as my soil is v clay and stays soggy. My mother's garden is more sandy so drains well, hers stay in.

I grew some for the first time this year - collarette ones from seed in a large pot and they came up a treat. Loads of repeat flowering until well into November.
I also grew a pom pot one in the border and that went crazy as well. Think we just had the perfect combination of sun and rain this year!
I live in NW and have clay soil so dug the tubers up to store over winter.