Is anyone ready to be excited about dahlias yet?

[DesparatePragmatist]

I know the 2024 sparrow has barely farted... but my snowdrops are up, the rhubarb is showing pink buds and it's going to be spriiiiiiiinnng...

So I've put in a (possibly slightly too adrenaline-fueled) order for 8 new dahlias from Sarah R's - mixture of waterlily, pompom and anemone types in the cool white/pink/burgundy range rather than the oranges. And a last minute splurge on a cafe au lait for the fun of it. I know it's weeks till they'll arrive and weeks more till they'll do anything, but.... who's with me?

I potted mine up this morning but I’m wondering if I’ve potted them too deeply (2-3” compost covering them?)
Last year’s attempt didn’t go well, out of a dozen tubers only 2 grew. I have no idea where I went wrong. I’ve left those two in the border overwinter so fingers crossed. I need to keep a close eye because of the slugs and snails, bl… things.

My dahlias spent the winter in the flowerbed, because I wasn't organised enough to dig them up.last autumn. The tubers are bursting out of the ground now! What do I do?? Dig them up and replant a bit deeper? Leave them? Chuck some soil on top? Help!!

On the plus side, my single solitary foxglove from last year seems to have done a great job of spreading its seeds around, they are popping up all over 😁

I got mine potted up on the weekend. They're about 1/2-1 inch deep with the old stalks sticking out. I'm afraid I'm not experienced enough to advise whether yours are too deep @Tiddlywinks63 but most things I read said to lightly cover the top.

@DesparatePragmatist I hope I get all 15 going but it's more of an insurance move after my original disaster 🤣

@Hedonism leave them, that's great, it means they've survived!

@Tiddlywinks63 the crucial thing is not to let them rot before they sprout. So they're probably a decent depth to actually grow - the reason why we're often advised to cover them lightly or half-bury them is to ensure they wake up but don't get too wet. So if you leave them in a cool butcairy place and don't water them again till you see sprouts they'll probably be fine.

@YourGoatAteMyFishfinger hope you've got hold of some compost and can get going!

Today's update: mine still aren't sprouting...

I'm not a gardener but I am loving all this dahlia love. They are my favourite flowers. Thank you for reminding me to remind DH it's time to order them.

Hello fellow dahlia lovers! I re-potted the tubers I dug up last autumn about two weeks ago. They’re now sitting on a windowsill doing… not very much! 😂 I know it’ll be a while yet, but does anyone know when I might start to see any signs of life?
Also I read online to water them well when planting and then not water again until I see fresh growth, is that right? I know I want to avoid them rotting but that seems a little bit too much the other way!!

Im potting mine up tomorrow! Excciiiiitttted!

In my garage I have Kelsey Annie Joy, Bishop of Oxford, My Love and Blue Bayou.

Have had some very successful ones in the past but some that didn't do so well.

Usually get them from Farmer Gracy but have also had successes with dahlias bought from Lidl.

Looking forward to seeing shoots appear, I go down several times a day to peer into the pots. 😄

Love dahlias. I haven't potted mine up yet.....must get on with that and get mine out of storage. Hopefully they have survived.

These are new ones I have bought to add to my collection.

Lovely, I hope they grow well.

I thought my favourite was Senior's Hope, but the name's put me off 😁

Some from last year.

IcakethereforeIam thank you.
I agree, they could have chosen a better name.

Can Dahlia’s stay in pots forever? Newbie gardener here with only a balcony to garden on. Have grown tulips for the first time this year and would like to try dahlia’s next.

Any recommendations for specific pot varieties? I get the sun all day with no shade until it goes behind the houses at about 5ish.

has anyone tried growing them from seed taken from plants? i know they wont necessarily be the same as the parent plant, but i'm guessing this should be possible?

I left my dahlias in the ground last year. Should I have lifted them? Oh no!! This was my first foray into dahlias and I was so excited.

It very much depends on your weather and how protected they are by mulches etc. If you've had fairly mild, dry weather then they might be fine. I suspect my experiment to leave some in the ground will have failed because of flooding. I'll just plant more tubers and see if any of last year's have survived.

All my tulip bulbs seem to have disappeared so I suspect I lost the dahlias too. Such a shame!
I do have large dried-up stems still standing. Should I prune these right down?

I have green shoots!

Me too @HazelTheGreenWitch

I've just been to the allotment and uncovered my cutting dahlias which spent the winter in the ground, covered in wool and a weed membrane. The dark means they are not so much green shoots as white ones right now - but they'll sort themsleves out.

Hurrah!

I've got a collection of new tubers which I'm going to plant in troughs today and bring them on in the greenhouse. The weather is really unpredictable so they'll get started in the warm and I'll plant them out in the early May BH.

I left the digging up of last year's tubers a bit too late, so just dumped a couple of layers of leaves on top of them in the autumn as a mulch 🤞 . I bought the new tubers as an insurance policy in case the ones in the ground don't materialise.

glad your ones have sprouted @HazelTheGreenWitch and @ArtificialElephants its a happy moment when you see signs of life!

Awww the snow drops and daffodils are almost done up here

Me too! Over the weekend two of my four have so far sprouted- woohoo!

They’re big, greedy things, so as big a pot as you can. I’ve grown Bishop’s Children in pots for several years.

I’ve grown them in large pots too, but don’t underestimate how much support they need and how heavy they can get. I was really surprised. They also needed a huge amount of water. This wouldn’t put me off growing them in pots again, but experience teaches me that it needs to be well thought through.

My daily close nose-to-tuber inspection has revealed a teeny weeny red sprout on one of my 9 - excited!!