Hello dahlia experts!
For context I’m writing from Sydney, Australia where our summer season has just ended and we’ve ended a hot, humid, quite rainy but still sunny early autumn. We live in a temperate climate but March has been more on the tropical side.
I planted these dahlias tubers in late spring/early summer and they were all growing beautifully and I even had a couple of flowers bloom.
However about a month ago, the new leaf growth started curling with what appears to be “thrip.”
I’ve cut back the new growth and sprayed the leaves twice with pyrethrum spray but it still seems to be an issue.
Do I cut everything completely and hope I get a later autumn flower? Or should I keep spraying and cutting off leaves and hope for the best or is my dahlia season completely ruined?!
Any advice will be greatly appreciated
by gooseybones11
2 Comments
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You may get a couple flowers, but they are probably not going to give you many blooms, sorry. I also live in a climate with hot, humid summers that dahlias don’t like. When I have had pest damage like that, I typically do not get blooms (or at least not more than a couple blooms). I have had buds like the one in the second photo which just stopped growing. Personally I would cut off any stunted buds which don’t get bigger so your plants don’t waste energy on that, and cut off any browned leaves above a set of leaf nodes. Please make sure you read the label on the pyrethrum you are using, it can kill bees and beneficials. Last summer I sprayed a plant with thrip damage like that with hot water regularly to try to kill the thrips, not sure if it made much impact though.
I know it’s disheartening when your dahlias get extensive pest damage. If it’s still going to cool off there I would just keep your plants growing and hope for the best.