Who’s growing Dahlias this year

[Onionbhajisandwich]

What varieties are you growing this year? I’ve got some Babylon Bronze and Kelvin Floodlight (among quite a few others) that I’m really looking forward to growing this year!

@sunglassesonthetable wipe off as many as you can then put some water and washing up liquid in a spray bottle and spray liberally - do it daily and within a few days you should be clear, it’s happened to me a couple of times this year.

@applecatchers36 they look gorgeous!

@Skiphopbump thankyou! grateful for the advice.

@Skiphopbump

Thankyou! Very grateful for the advice.

None of mine are blooming yet 😪Now we're back from hols I'll start giving the teenagers regular biscuits and pop. Loving seeing the photos and the variations!

@MyBottomDecides mine have never bloomed either. I grew them self. I read somewhere it’s because they have never had enough water. No idea if that’s right. But I won’t grow them again next year.

@Paranoidandroidmarvin I do hope they've still got time to put on a show - I'm going to pamper mine and get them going before giving up. Impressed you grew them from seed though!

I have one that's nowhere near producing even one head, one I've chucked away and one that produced one enormous bloom that frazzled in the heat and no further heads appearing so that one will be going too.

So disappointed in them and they weren't cheap ones. However, my dahlia from Lidl has bloomed for the second summer with no problems. For around £1.50, I will be buying my dahlias from there next year. At least if they don't perform very well I haven't spent a fortune on them.

That's so disappointing. This is the only the 2nd year, after a big gap of not bothering, that I've had blooms. Previously, slugs and snails did for them. I've got a xantadesc calla lily that has loads of healthy leaves but no flowers. Gutted.

I've got some that are all leaf and no bloom. Maybe they will blossom soon?

Our gardener was saying that a number of her clients have dahlias that aren't performing. My Café au Lait is still not flowering, along with another one that is normally reliable.

I have been watering but obviously not enough for it, as Café au Lait flowered very well last year, as it rained a lot here then. So even more water I reckon.

I am a big fan of LIDL plants! Got lovely hostas and lavender at a fraction of garden centre prices and they’re doing well.

Got dahlia bulb from them for under £2, planted late but it’s in bloom so hoping will have flowers soon 🌺

New flowers on one planted late.

Dahlias are drama llamas. They need lots of water, every 2-3 days minimum. And regular feeding, and protection from pests. I wouldn't make the effort for them if they weren't so pretty and interesting and long-flowering. But yes, the problems you describe sound like underwatering. In the recent heat they prob needed watering daily tbh.

I grew dahlia’s from seed in spring. Other than pot on, then plant them in the garden, I have done nothing except dead head & I’ve only ever watered them twice, that was in the heatwave last week. They have put on a stunning show.

I’ve popped on to gardening as I was going to start a post asking for advice on lifting & storing over winder.

I had a couple that I bought that I left in the ground for a couple of years but they finally rotted away and didn’t grow back last year, hence me planting from seed this year.

Has anyone got any fool proof methods of storing please? I feel quite protective of these being as I’ve grown them from scratch.

That looks like the colour of the one just flowering - waiting for it to fully open up!

Thanks for the tip about watering - one of mine that was a single tuber that broke off & I stuck in a pot but have watered religiously, is huge and now flowering well, so much better than the original plant which is in the garden, so you are right.

As regards storing over winter I just let mine dry and then keep cool until I put into pots to grow safe from slugs. But maybe I should do more to get them to flower earlier? It must also depend on the variety since as I mentioned my Gerrie Hoek has been flowering for weeks. Which other varieties flower early?

There's a (free) dahlia event at Wisley on Sunday 30 August:

www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/viewevent?EFID=568&ESRC=CMS

And they are doing trials on dahlias this year, I think. I'm going tomorrow but may also go the following Sunday for The Event.

My 2 big plants still aren't flowering but the smaller one is. So pretty 😍

It’s opened up now and is quite pretty.

The plant is quite tall so I’ll have to stake it.

I saw the Wisley dahlia trial - some lovely ones, but even they had some failures including Café au Lait which is the one of mine that has buds but no flowers yet. Indeed mine is about twice the size of theirs and the Wisley ones had no buds.

It also looked like one of the 3 on trial had died. Clearly it's a sensitive (big) flower.

They're watering the long borders, and grass by them, so that part looks really fresh.

Cafe au lait here a success - this one much bigger than the others, it is in a big pot in the shade.

@omnishambles - that is beautiful!!

How big are Cafe au lait blooms? I saw a kelvin floodlight in a garden centre that was bigger than my head!

Yes, that one covered my face - the ones from the other plant are smaller but that one is in full sun and competing with a rampant anemone.

@MyBottomDecides there’s still time! I’ve got about 8 left that haven’t flowered yet. Some just take their time.

This is one of my dahlias. It has two stems one is producing yellow and raspberry coloured flowers the other is mostly yellow with very little of the raspberry- interesting that the same tuber can behave like this!