This particular dahlia has a lot of sentimental value to me. Some of the flowers were buried with my soul dog last summer and my brain has attached a lot of meaning to seeing it flower again. I was thrilled that it started to put out little leaves recently, but a few nights ago a slug ate it all away. A perfect metaphor for my life right now. I’m so sad. Is there anything I can do to help it or is it a goner?
by DappleGreyOregon
8 Comments
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Also sorry I don’t know exactly what variety it is – I think it came from Fred Meyer last spring.
First, I’d get some Sluggo and sprinkle it around the area if you are certain it was slugs. Plants will do crazy stuff to survive. Just keep taking care of it as usual, and there’s a chance it’ll send up some new shoots.
I had some little mesh gift bags that I put on one. It rebounded nicely.
I had this issue last year, every night slugs would eat the leaves from one of my dahlias preventing it from growing. Anti slugs products can be really harmful for the environment and other animals, so I didn’t want to use any. I ended up using a plastic pot (without drainage holes) that I would put over the new shoots at night, after a couple of weeks they had grown enough to be fine with some slugs having a snack 🙂
Yours will be fine, mine got eaten like 10 times before I decided to fight back haha, and still grew gorgeous flowers!
Pick up some diatomaceous earth, sprinkler around collar stem. Reapply after rain storm asp.
Beer traps are a great way to get rid of slugs without chemicals.
I put finely crushed egg shells around my dahlia sprouts and the slugs leave them alone!