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Stunted Dahlias. Persevere or chuck?

Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
in Problem solving
Hello Forkers :) This is my third season growing Dahlias. I’ve learned so much from this forum, so know not to panic just yet!

The majority of my Dahlias are stunted compared to previous years. I am fearing the worst (virus) but before I chuck ‘em I would be grateful for opinions on this.

Fresh compost each year.  Watered daily. Min 60l pots. I may have been over feeding them (got my calculations wrong!). No sign of pest except greenfly. 





Am I over-loving them or is this a dreaded Virus?

Thank you in advance. 

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I wouldn't be feeding them yet.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @B3 is right, if you put them in new compost they don’t need feeding for about 6 weeks, wait until the flowers form and give a tomato food watering. 
    Greenfly seem to thrive on a sickly plant try to squash them off. 
    What type of compost did you put them in. They do like a good one.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    Thanks both. I used levington, with the maroon colour on the front (with a lot of small pebbles in it included for free  :/).

    The tubers have been in 5 litre containers since March (inside), so I thought they could do with feeding. Will only feed the flowering dahlias from now on. 

    It’s doesn’t look like flowers will form on the impacted plants. They’ve been the same over-all size for a few weeks now 😕


  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I agree, too early to be feeding them anything and it does look like the effects of too much fert. I do as Lyn does and give them a weak tomato food once the buds have formed. You could try watering them very deeply, let the water drain out and repeat. That might help flush out the excess nutrients. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    Thanks Nollie. I wasn’t sure how too much fertiliser presents on Dahlias. Looked like TMV but glad to know what it is now! 
  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    Hello again. I’ve just noticed that my potatoes have the same problem as the dahlias.. deformed leave. Luckily (or not) they were not beneficiaries of my overzealous feeding. Any ideas?




    Thanks in advance. 
  • Dirty HarryDirty Harry Posts: 1,048
    Over watering?

    Shouldn't need to water daily in containers as big as 60l surely? Especially not already I'd have thought.

    I planted some in large pots 2 weeks ago and have watered them twice in that time.
  • Sazz101Sazz101 Posts: 248
    I will reduce watering, thanks Dirty Harry :)

    Could be for the Dahlias, but not for the potatoes (same twisted, stunted leaves), as I’ve ignored those for weeks. 





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