Thank you all for the replies. And particularly to @Dirty Harry!
What a detailed account of your potted dahlia growing experience accompanied by such lovely photos! Thank you!
I have got a few more questions for you
1. What are the dimensions of your pot?
2. You mention you started them off in early spring - did you do that in a smaller pot and then transplant them into the final larger pot once the tulips are done? (Probably end of May?) as otherwise the spring bulbs wouldn’t have finished flowering yet in early spring..
3. Do you lift them out of the pots at the end of the flowering season (perhaps November time) and store them until early spring to be potted up again? And then use those pots for the spring bulbs?
I always try and use a pot for both spring and summer plants but I always find things don't die back quick enough and then I find myself willing them to die! Like now for example, I have some bulbs I want to plant, ideally in a pot, but my Dahlias are still in the pots and showing minimal signs of dying off!
Re pot versus ground, I have done both this year and am undecided! The one in the ground had more flowers but it also got tall and messy once the wind came (it's in the background being held up by a tree!). The potted ones seemed to stay upright better but were super stingy with flowers. The one in the picture gave me two flowers all year grr, one of which is still out now, delaying my pot use. I can't decide whether to bother with them at all next year. Oh and also, the one in the picture, I originally moved to the ground and it had a total hissy fit It wilted constantly, no matter how much I watered so I ended up putting it back in the pot!
@Crazybeelady That’s a gorgeous flower! If I were you I would just bring that bloom as cut flower and then lift out the dahlia to make way for the spring bulbs now? Seeing as there is only one bloom left..
Judging from all the replies here I have decided it is a venture worth trying.. gardening is a bit of trial and error after all!
@di@"Dirty Harry" Am I right in assuming that the bigger the tuber the better the plant would perform? I read that when they get too big they might need to be separated.. when is tuber considered to be ‘too big’?
@Crazybeelady - at least your few/late flowers were worth waiting for. Question for you. Have you been feeding your dahlias this summer? A very rich nitrogen feed can promote leafy growth at the expense of flowers. I have one such example in my garden this year, also grown in a pot. Due to lockdown earlier, I was reusing last year’s compost in greater quantities than I would normally do. In making up for lost nutrients in spent compost, I suspect I was too heavy handed with the chicken manure pellets which are a good source of nitrogen.
@celcius_kkw - larger tuber clumps don’t necessarily mean better. Tubers are plant food sources so when planting a very large tuber clump in the Spring, it has a lot of reserves such that the small adventitious feeder roots don’t form as well. I divide mine every couple of years or so. Generally, the best, most vigorous and vibrant flowers will always form on plants grown from early season cuttings.
For any heavy flowering plant, too much nitrogen isn't the right food - you need one that's high in potash, like tomato food. Staking is vital for dahlias - regardless of whether they're potted or in the ground, unless you have sufficient planting round them for support. Doing it early enough is key.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Two flowers all year doesn't sound right at all. The whole appeal with dahlias is the constant flow of new flowers for months and months.
I have grown a couple before but thinking about it, they've never been very flowery. Though I had a couple of small varieties that I had left in the ground from last year and forgotten about which had lots of flowers on this year. So basically the cheap ones I didnt really look after served me well but the expensive ones I gave more care to did not!
2 point 4 - I haven't really been feeding my dahlias, I have good intentions but I usually forget!! I tried to @ you but I couldn't get your name to come up!
@Crazybeelady That’s a gorgeous flower! If I were you I would just bring that bloom as cut flower and then lift out the dahlia to make way for the spring bulbs now? Seeing as there is only one bloom lef
@di@"Dirty Harry" Am I right in assuming that the bigger the tuber the better the plant would perform? I read that when they get too big they might need to be separated.. when is tuber considered to be ‘too big’?
I'm not sure on that. As above I have read that they may need divided but on the other hand I have seen clips of Monty digging up massive tubers.
I would confidently say though that they should be much better in their second year.
Last night I decided I would purchase more pots to grow Dahlia's after watching Gardener's World and seeing sme beauties! I figured I could grow spring bulbs in them in the spring after this year's showing - I want more! Lo and behold I found this thread so as a newbie gardener I'm chuffed I was thinking along the right lines; one tuber per pot. I assume I could use an obelisk rather than canes though and could still grow the very large blooms in a pot? If there are any varieties you would specifically recommend though I'd love to know. I'm considering the pom pom style. Thanks.
Posts
Re pot versus ground, I have done both this year and am undecided! The one in the ground had more flowers but it also got tall and messy once the wind came (it's in the background being held up by a tree!). The potted ones seemed to stay upright better but were super stingy with flowers. The one in the picture gave me two flowers all year grr, one of which is still out now, delaying my pot use. I can't decide whether to bother with them at all next year. Oh and also, the one in the picture, I originally moved to the ground and it had a total hissy fit
Two flowers all year doesn't sound right at all. The whole appeal with dahlias is the constant flow of new flowers for months and months.
Judging from all the replies here I have decided it is a venture worth trying.. gardening is a bit of trial and error after all!
@celcius_kkw - larger tuber clumps don’t necessarily mean better. Tubers are plant food sources so when planting a very large tuber clump in the Spring, it has a lot of reserves such that the small adventitious feeder roots don’t form as well. I divide mine every couple of years or so. Generally, the best, most vigorous and vibrant flowers will always form on plants grown from early season cuttings.
Staking is vital for dahlias - regardless of whether they're potted or in the ground, unless you have sufficient planting round them for support. Doing it early enough is key.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I would confidently say though that they should be much better in their second year.
Last night I decided I would purchase more pots to grow Dahlia's after watching Gardener's World and seeing sme beauties! I figured I could grow spring bulbs in them in the spring after this year's showing - I want more! Lo and behold I found this thread so as a newbie gardener I'm chuffed I was thinking along the right lines; one tuber per pot. I assume I could use an obelisk rather than canes though and could still grow the very large blooms in a pot? If there are any varieties you would specifically recommend though I'd love to know. I'm considering the pom pom style. Thanks.