Hi all.
This is my first time growing dahlias and I am obviously not nailing it…I am trying my best to research and learn independently but am finding the internet a minefield of conflicting advice. This is a lot to ask, but I was hoping I could get some feedback.
What I am more confident about is that, I started them (indoors) too early. This has made them leggy.
Every time I put them in the sun, they wilt and look like they’re dying. I started by putting them in the shade and slowly tried to get them used to the heat but they still go limp. Now what I do is put them out in the morning, water them (carefully avoiding leaves) and then move them to the shade between 12-2 during the hottest part of the day. Getting them out of the sun has obviously helped, but I’m worried about them long term.
Some of them look like they could have disease, but I read it could be a soil deficiency, so I bought a low nitrogen/high phosphate & potash feed and the new leaves seem to look much healthier so I’m going to see how it rather than dispose (since they’re all separate).
I’ve been observing some advice in this group and some advice people are giving is to cut the leggy ones right back as the plant still has time in the season to recover and produce new stems that will be healthier.
I would be grateful to receive any “if it were me advice” thank you in advance!
by rosieee42
4 Comments
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I personally wouldn’t. All dahlias have different growing habits. I have mine over winter outdoors in pots due to mild winters and they are all at different growing stages. I have a dwarf already in bud whilst my dinner plates are about 10cm in height.
Sometimes too much knowledge can cause more harm than good. Just keep yours in the shade until they have hardened off correctly as they are rather large plants, which could be causing the issue. Just learn for next year to start them off later.
They seem fine structurally, but I would point out those pots are far too small for the plants to survive the whole season. If left like this, the pot would fill with new tubers leaving no space for soil for the roots to access water and nutrition
Is that your handwriting on the second pot? It’s so pretty