Pretty confident I already know the answer, so mostly posting to just educate myself and others. But this is leafy gall, right? They’re Costco specials. Started indoors in the greenhouse in separate pots. After reading all these gall posts and how it torches your soil, I started to freak out. There was this one specific tuber I was worried about. Seemed fine, but when I planted them, one of them shot up a bunch of shoots. Seemed odd. Pulled it out and washed it off to get these pics.
Follow up question, how many sprouts until you start to question leafy gall?
Follow up question 2 – should I be worried about the other tubers that came in the bag?
by thekro12345
2 Comments
I’ve been growing dahlias awhile but I hope others chime in as well.
I’m sorry, but that does look like a clear case of leafy gall to me. I’d toss it and any materials it touched, and wash any tools used on it or nearby it thoroughly. I also would toss any tubers that were stored with it. From what I understand there’s little to no research showing that all of your soil is contaminated, but I definitely wouldn’t plant in the same spot this season just to be careful.
For your follow-up questions, it’s not the number of sprouts but how they clump together in a mass and build on one and other that really determines leafy gall but a single tuber or clump pushing out 5+ sprouts near one another would definitely get my attention.
And yes, I’d toss anything that touched that tuber or was nearby unfortunately but I’m extra cautious as I hope to sell some of my tubers. Some folks might say to pot up, keep separated, and just keep an eye on them for symptoms of gall.
I’ll add, I’ve seen long time dahlia growers who are experts contradict each other on the subject and make different gall determinations especially with early signs- so just do the best you can and keep an eye on other tubers and toss if you’re suspicious! Costco has a great return policy, I’d email them if you ordered online.
Yikes. That looks like pretty bad gall. Throw it far, far away.