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!

My first 2 are out - totally tangerine by and fashion monger. I never think the first flowers are the best so I’ll post pics when a few more have opened. There is one huge bud on another plant which I’m very much looking forward to seeing when it opens. No idea which one it is though.

I did a bit of research after getting my plants on how to keep slugs and snails off. I've found out about slug collars which appear to work, and that they hate the smell of mint. So, with that in mind, I have fashioned a version of the slug collar with a cut off top of a largish plant pot, smeared the top all the way round with Vicks and put that around a newly planted dahlia. It's one given to me free by the chap I bought them from as he wasn't happy with one of the plants he sold me (just a bit smaller, nothing actually wrong with it) so it's my sacrificial plant. Hope it survives as it has red pom-pom flowers!

@longtompot that looks like it will do ok! You’ll have to keep us updated with how your slug collars work!

I’ve just been and taken a pic of my totally tangerine 🍊

Will do @Onionbhajisandwich What a gorgeous flower! I love the middle

I stuck wide coppertape around the pot I grew a dahlia in last year. Unfortunately, I also planted some seeds that grew vigorously into a very lax plant that the slugs and snails climbed up and reduced my poor dahlia to a bare stem. I dug it up, moved it to another taped pot, it grew again and gave me several flowers. This year I've got five pots of dahlias, the original one and three more with narrower tape, 2 cm-ish. Also one unprotected because I ran out of tape. No sign of slug damage on any of them yet inc. the unprotected one. Lots of leaves but only one with buds.

It's been three days now and the plant is growing really well. No nibbles at all! I'm giving it a week before planting the others out, just in case

I have a flower. I think White Onesta (red permanent pen isn't..............)

Lots of others have been removed from beds and put into pots on the gravel as they were being nibbled as soon as a shoot appeared. Others moved from cold frame into mini greenhouse for same reason.

Work ones out in the beds and growing away nicely. Barely a nibble there

I don’t think anyone in real life will share my excitement so I thought I’d share a picture here of Evanah - it’s finally opened today 😁

Sorry haven't RTFT in detail. But what are people doing about the bloody slugs and snails?

Any success in that department?

Sorry if it's been covered.

I'm an idiot @IcakethereforeIam ! Just seen your suggestion. Thank you

I am but they are taking a bit of a time to get going.

I have three Farmer Gracy ones I bought last year and so far only Orange Target is blooming with around six heads. The other two Penhill Dark Monarch and Thomas A Edison haven't got off the starting blocks.

I'm quite disappointed with them to be honest, however, the yellow cactus dahlia from Lidl £1.79 I bought last year is doing much better than the others and hopefully will get the same number of huge blooms that I got last year.

I also have one tiny one given to me by a friend which has a few flowers on it and one I bought from Poundstretcher that I can't actually remember where it is so I might get a nice surprise there when it eventually blooms.

I've discovered I have a hedgehog and I think she's got babies somewhere in my garden too so I am hoping that she will eat every bloody slug and snail she finds when she is snuffling about in the undergrowth late at night.

Other than that, nothing, so some of my plants in containers have had to be moved and some have been eaten to buggery! 😡

@Coastalcreeksider don’t worry about the penhill dark monarchs, they flower later (end of July time) - I thought the same last year but they are completely worth the wait x

I'd noticed one of mine, dahlia akita, had very limp leaves. Yesterday it had fallen over and when gently pulled it, the whole plant came away level with the soil surface. I don't know what state the tubers are in but, if it does regrow, that one will be starting from scratch. I would have thought the wind had snapped it if I hadn't noticed the droopy leaves. Others are still okay though and if I get four from five I'll consider that a win.

I am having great success with my one sacrificial plant which has the top of a largish plant pot around it with a smear of Vicks vapourrub around the top. It's been a week now and no nibbles so hopefully I am safe to plant out the rest of my plants. I posted a picture further up the thread with what it looks like

My Pink Princess has one flower and she is beautiful

@sunglassesonthetable the above post was to you. I did quote you, but then had to leave the page to get the photo and my post got deleted (remembered to copy it this time, but forgot to readd the quote)

Thank you very much @longtompot . I was off looking for plastic pts to smear vaseline on !😅🤞🏼🤞🏼

Vicks is better as they hate mint and the menthol in it seems to keep them away

Ah, I should have remembered from last year, the two flowers I had were enormous!😀

Rebecca’s world and Oreo now in flower

Never heard of using Vicks!! Just bought some hostas and reckon I’ll do that while they’re in the pot.

Hope it works for you @Maggiethecat I thought of using Vicks as they don't tend to like moving on Vaseline and hate mint

@longtompot - I've slathered some Vicks on - hope the plants will breathe better too 😂

I've been trying to grow both dahlia and zinnia from seed, but every single one has been obliterated by snails!

Any tips for next year?!