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Dalia buds not opening

anita.pickles2anita.pickles2 Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Dalia buds not opening and sticky

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Need more info - maybe a photo @anita.pickles2  :)

    The 'sticky' could be from aphids - being harvested by ants.  They secrete a sticky residue which ants like. The aphids could also be sucking sap from the buds.
    Dahlias need a lot of food and water too, so it may be that they're short of moisture [ in particular  ] which is preventing enough reaching the buds. Paeonies can be the same.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • anita.pickles2anita.pickles2 Posts: 3
    Thank you for replying. I’ve looked at possible causes on help sites but nothing answers my question. Plant is healthy and flowered till very hot weather when some buds looked odd+ swollen and didn’t open; also bit sticky inside. No sign of pests or diseased leaves. 
     
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2020
    I think you might be confusing some spent flowers with buds ... dahlia buds are rounded/flattish (sort of round cushion shaped) whereas the spent flowers are a cone shape.  

    In your second picture the bud in the background is definitely a bud.  The one in the foreground looks like a spent flower and should be 'dead headed' .  The same in the third pic ... the two in the foreground are spent flowers. 

     :) 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • anita.pickles2anita.pickles2 Posts: 3
    Thank you for your helpful comments but these buds definitely haven’t flowered yet as I’ve been keeping a close watch and I do dead-head them. I know my photo doesn’t really show the problem but the buds swell up and don’t open, leaving just the odd petal to emerge. However, I will observe the already opened flowers to see how they end up
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147


    It's a common query on here at this time of year.

    Hopefully your dahlias will produce some more flowers. :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    Hello,  I would have to say I agree with Dove. The spent flowers appear to be cone shaped which is how they look from the picture. However it is a picture and you see it in the flesh so to speak,  I'd dead head those and set if it  produces more flowers.  Best of luck  :)
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    Last night on GW Monty just confirmed what we already knew from this thread when he was talking about his dahlias.  :)
  • alison.maycock1alison.maycock1 Posts: 1
    Hi I posted a similar problem to Anita's today having just joined the forum. I am sure my rotting buds are unopened.  And the leaves are affected.
    Anita what happened to yours  in the end last year?. Thanks
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2021
    This is a bud


    This is a spent flower 

    Please see my comments in your other thread. 

    The problem with the leaves could be fungal/bacterial due to poor air flow and damp weather. 

    The second picture of leaves could show some insect damage, but unless there’s a lot I wouldn’t worry too much about it. 
    Again being less crowded may help. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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