My daliahs are not showing yet. They were kept in the shed over winter and planted out about a month ago. Should i give up on them or give them longer?
Obviously, I dont know which area of this planet you are on! I buy Garden News weekly, the dahlia expert bloke in there said pot them up (pots obviously!!) exclude all light, I put plant saucers , over the pots, and put them under the bench in the greenhouse, he said leave them for 7-10 days, the new growth would be pale, but not to worry, then remove the covers, I started hardening them off outside, then planted them out nice and bushy, they have a better chance of beating the slugs/snails being larger planst. Did you not start them growing first before planting them out. I have never tried this method of light exclusion before, but they grew much better.
They're better grown in pots full stop, no need to dig up and much better protected from slugs. A shed might be susceptible to particularly hard or prolonged frosts, keep them there until they show (a lot) and either pot them up in the greenhouse or otherwise Nanny's advice is good. They'll be much slower to get going in the ground as it's still cold (and you might have shocked them), but I'd not generally expect to see them for another few weeks yet (if the slugs haven't already fed on them).
Not sure where you are in the country Jude but here in Scotland, even in a greenhouse, some of my dahlias are hardly breaking the soil in their pots - so there is hope yet!
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
I am in the North West my dahlias in pots started of in the greenhouse are out in final position, I have a odd one in the ground that I leave in and I noticed today its just poking it head through.
Hi Hogweed, and Jason Milly do your new dahlias look like anything like this. I left my Dahlia in the ground and assumed the snow had killed it. But I noticed these new shoots poking through the soil in roughly the same position my Dhalia.. Im hoping with all my fingers and toes crossed that it is making a comeback
Thank you all. I am in the midlands and i usually leave them in the ground over winter with a covering of manure and they come back. I wanted to move them to a new position this year which is why i took them up. I will hold on a bit longer as it seems that other peoples are only jyst coming through
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They'll be much slower to get going in the ground as it's still cold (and you might have shocked them), but I'd not generally expect to see them for another few weeks yet (if the slugs haven't already fed on them).