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Dahlia and Scabiosa in pots - wilting

JoshCJoshC Posts: 14
edited August 2020 in Problem solving
Hello, I’m fairly new to gardening and we’ve recently made some changes to our garden so we’ve got more pots than bedding. I purchased a couple of new plants a few days ago - an orange/ red dahlia and Scabiosa (purple haze I believe, label was wrong), and since I’ve had them they’ve been wilting and not looking strong.



For the dahlia, the new flower buds that were coming out in the shops are now going brown. The Scabiosa is also looping over and not upright. I’m eagerly awaiting the other buds popping out...


I put them in pots about 12/14 inches big and surrounded them with some 0% peat compost (not a great deal as the bases of the plants were big anyway) with some stones at the base of the pot and that’s it. I’ve also given them a watering once planted and it just hasn’t done anything. I always seem to go wrong with potting things besides petunia so any additional advice on where I may have gone wrong would be great. Pictures are below.


Thank you!

Posts

  • JoshCJoshC Posts: 14

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Did you soak the root balls before transplanting, and have you watered regularly since? They will need regular water in this hot weather, probably twice a day particularly the dahlia (the scabious looks OK to me). What I would do with them now is get a big bucket of water, put the whole pot in and hold it under the water until the air bubbles stop rising, then take it out and then water often enough to keep the rootball moist, and put them in a more shady spot until this heatwave is over, to give them a chance to establish without additional stress.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Scabious are quite floppy plants anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
    Dahlias need a lot of food and water, and I doubt that's getting anything like enough moisture. The pot isn't very big either, and the pot itself will be taking moisture away from the plant in hot conditions. A bigger, glazed pot would be better   :)
    I'd agree with @JennyJ and get the dahlia [especially] into a cooler spot too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • TheGreenManTheGreenMan Posts: 1,957
    My scabious flop all over the place and poke up and around the sides of other pots. They seem to stand to attention more if they're in the sun for longer. I've only ever seen them stand really tall in the wild. The bees won't mind them not being upright. 
  • JoshCJoshC Posts: 14
    Thank you all. Bought a fern today and will be in the garden again. Sounds like the Scabious is okay then, perhaps just a little more sun. I’ll put the dahlia in the bucket of water (pot included!) and go from there. I have been watering it daily and checking before if the soil is roughly moist, which it has been most times. Will give an update as to how it is soon!
  • Dirty HarryDirty Harry Posts: 1,048
    Surprised that's an issue with daily watering.
  • ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
    cartercjosh said:
    Thank you all. Bought a fern today and will be in the garden again. Sounds like the Scabious is okay then, perhaps just a little more sun. I’ll put the dahlia in the bucket of water (pot included!) and go from there. I have been watering it daily and checking before if the soil is roughly moist, which it has been most times. Will give an update as to how it is soon!
    When you water the dahlia does the water run through quickly and out at the bottom ?  If so, it could be the soil in the pot has dried out to the point where it can’t absorb water quickly enough so it drains away.

    The bucket trick mentioned above will sort that.

    I feed my dahlias with tomato food.
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