I love them too. I leave them in the ground all winter, that depends on the variety as some are hardier than others. The ones I grew from seed (Bishop's Children and Yankee Doodle Dandy) come up every year, so does Arabian Nights, Blue Baloo, Park Princess, Pooh and several others. But no luck with Bishop of Langdaff. Mine are all in the beds in the garden. I love in SW France, sometimes it's down to -10° in winter.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Single dahlias for me too, they attract the bees, come in a variety of colours and above all select ones with dark leaves every time. The light green leaves seem to attract slugs, earwigs etc and are chewed to bits whereas they don't seem to be at all interested in the dark green/red tint leaves. We grow Bishop of Llandaff which has a red flower but there are other varieties of Bishops on the market! I hope this helps you
Funny you should say that @Guernsey Donkey2, I don’t have that many snails, but they still got to the new shoots of my B pf L before I did and chomped it to the ground. Its growing again, now suitably protected, but it has set it right back. Perhaps Guernsey snails are more discerning.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Maybe so Nollie, although I have been told that these are the dahlias to grow if you want sturdy plants without the risk of attack. There used to be a male member on here that had the same experience. I am sorry that your Spanish B of L had unwanted visitors. I must add that I grow all my Dahlias in 12" pots, which helps to keep unwanted visitors away too.
I fell in love with them a few years back, tried bringing them in, drying them, keeping them moist, nver managed to overwinter any. Last year I grew some from seed which were amazing, after a couple of months the tubers were huge, also bought a few mostly our local Hospital league of friends open gardens, some from tubers, a few were originally chomped through about 6 inches from the top, nightly slug patrol. Last year after talking to an elderly gentleman who has fabulous ones in his front garden, about a mile away from me, I left them in,mulched with home made compost, covered with a wicvker hanging basket, no sign of life, yet we are very sheltered fairly near the sea in the SE,(he doesn do any of these things to his which have been in situ for 7 years) I have grown a dozen one, and would say, yes they are worth it!
Mine are all in containers. I'm afraid to put them in the ground. There are an awful lot of them so I suppose I could spare a few guinea pigs. But how do I pick?
Yes but if they don't survive I've lost my best ones. I know you're right @Lyn. I'll wait until the foliage toughens up a little first and then do the deed.
Well, you could get a small container and sink it in the ground nearby with a few slug pellets, then put a slate or something on it for a lid so only the slugs can get in. Some people use lager or beer, it’s never worked for me.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
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