Who wants to look at my dahlias

[geekygardener]

Not sure anyone does but here they are anyway. I love them. My favourite flowers. The cafe au lait make me happy. Something about growing something so big and beautiful makes me feel proud.

Magnificent.

Thank you for sharing!

My fav flower! Love em!

I tried to grow some once and a sunflower but the slugs just eat everything I have ever tried to grow so I gave up

I am going to save this thread. Partly because all the photos are lovely but also because DH and I are about to embark on a 'can we manage to grow anything' journey having had basically lawn and a few shrubs for most of our lives.

I was chatting to my green thumbed Dad last week and he told me that my beloved Grandfather loved dahlias and grew loads so they are definitely on my list of things to research.

Loving seeing the dahlias 😍

Mine are in pots, which I move around to annoy the slugs 🤣

I've got two pom pom types, never grown these before and I've enjoyed them so much. My others are H S Date, love the dark foliage and Gloriee cheap ones from the supermarket they have done really well, so pleased.

I've tried over wintering before without success but will try again with these.

Lovley @FuzzyPuffling

For all those with a slug problem. I have used neem oil this year too. It smells disgusting but it’s very effective. I mix it into my watering can. It’s natural so can be used on veggie too. I got a big bottle from Amazon.

My slugs were full of cabbage so left the dahlias alone.
The seeds are so easy to germinate I don't think it's worth the effort and failure rate of lifting and storing tubers. The only problem is that you don't get the voice of colour so you can't have colour coordinated beds. I like a mix of brash colours though so it suits me.
I did try some Bishops Children but they haven't liked the spot and are puny.

This is the first year I have ever had any sort of success with dahlias and I'm thrilled. I go out and visit them every morning and when I get back from work. I'm afraid I can't remember what they're all called. The orange ones came out first and are starting to look a bit tired. The dark purple have come out in the last day or two after a shaky start and I just love them.

(Bonus photo: our first ever successful sunflower in our very exposed coastal garden)

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All in pots.
6 bedding type, which started early, have lots of flowers but are quite small plants and small flowers (this set of pics)
9 from some some tubers I got in a bulb & tubers deal, later to flower but have outgrown the bedding type which I planted them with, and the flowers are much bigger (lots of the large orange and the white ones in last post).
4 overwintered from named tubers last year (the pink and yellow ones in last post).

I'm loving everyone's pompom ones!

This years dahlias.

Mine are all in pots too and doing very well, but my goodness I've spent hundreds of hours watering them (2 hours a night since April)

Very happy with my varieties this year. There's a few just about to flower. I think I have 8 or 9 varieties in total.

I now really really want mime to flower as have severe dahlia envy

Those purple & white ones are stunning.

Omg they are all stunning. I want more types now.

I only planted by tubers last week, and I now have good looking 1 inch shoots from them 😍

Whereabouts in the world are you? In the UK, they need to be planted late April / early May in order to flower within the summer months.

Oh I'm not expecting flowers, I wasn't even expecting any growth this year!

Ah right. Obviously they will still need digging up and drying then storing for next year in October. I must admit I don't like that bit.

Not sure anyone has mentioned this but I think dahlias are the most satisfying plant to dead head.

Do they? But it would explain why some of mine don't make it. What do I need to do?

To join the dahlia fest I'm sharing 2 of the 3 kinds I am growing this year.

All Direction (red) and Rumble Bumble. All direction has been flowering since July. Rumble Bumble only this week and still waiting for the third.

Mine haven’t flowered yet, but given they were being scoffed by snails nightly up until six weeks ago, I’m just glad they aren’t dead. Hoping I can nurse them through winter and get some flowers next year!

Incidentally my trick for stopping the snails was to make a 15cm cylinder of copper mesh and push that into the soil around the dahlias like a collar. Worked where a cloche, broken shells, coffee grounds etc failed. Not sure if it was the copper or the physical barrier that put them off. Also kept them off my Liriopes which were being decimated too.