Sorry photos might be sideways. There are three here in separate big pots. One is one of the dark leaf ones, that’s the one where the brown can be seen most
I'd say that's mostly sunburn, and a bit of dehydration @Ann85. If you can give them a bit more water, ensuring they're well dampened, and a bit of shade while you have this intense heat, I reckon they'll perk up. Make sure your water is directed right in at the base too, so that it's doing the best job for the plants
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think they might be ok. Cut off the damaged or sick leaves, water deeply every few days - being careful not to get water on the leaves. I wouldn't feed them, just let them settle down and give lots of tlc. What varieties are they?
I'd say that's mostly sunburn, and a bit of dehydration @Ann85. If you can give them a bit more water, ensuring they're well dampened, and a bit of shade while you have this intense heat, I reckon they'll perk up. Make sure your water is directed right in at the base too, so that it's doing the best job for the plants
Will do. We are south facing so it’s pretty hot! I do water at the base but sometimes that seems to make the stems unhappy so I think the tray filling / soaking could make them happy.
I think they might be ok. Cut off the damaged or sick leaves, water deeply every few days - being careful not to get water on the leaves. I wouldn't feed them, just let them settle down and give lots of tlc. What varieties are they?
I think Cafe au Lait which was new last year and did flower last summer, Bishop of Llandaff and then an unknown yellow pop Pom which is years old!
Re: the compost. After storing them in trays and newspaper over winter, we tried a peat-free compost which turned out to be a bad one, or at least not what we wanted. I don’t know the terms but it dried out in between rain / watering really quickly and looked like grass clippings! So we repotted the tubers again in a multipurpose and they grew on so well until July 😔
A lot of the peat free compost seems to be tricky re watering. A lot of people have been saying they find it dries out very rapidly. Not ideal for dahlias, or any plant that needs to have enough moisture to do well. They should come away though. I thought they'd look much worse than that. Once they recover, you can give them some suitable food to help with flowering. Any compost only has enough nutrition for a few months, so hungry plants need some extra food added as the season goes on. It's best not to feed until they show signs of recovery though, but if there's room, you could a bit more compost. I do that in late July/early August with sweet peas, as the level drops in the pots. They're like dahlias in that respect too, as they need lots of food and nutrition
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
A lot of the peat free compost seems to be tricky re watering. A lot of people have been saying they find it dries out very rapidly. Not ideal for dahlias, or any plant that needs to have enough moisture to do well. They should come away though. I thought they'd look much worse than that. Once they recover, you can give them some suitable food to help with flowering. Any compost only has enough nutrition for a few months, so hungry plants need some extra food added as the season goes on. It's best not to feed until they show signs of recovery though, but if there's room, you could a bit more compost. I do that in late July/early August with sweet peas, as the level drops in the pots. They're like dahlias in that respect too, as they need lots of food and nutrition
Yes it was strange stuff it was the Miracle Grow one. It was soggy when it rained and I thought it would rot the tubers so already had it in mind to repot them and in the meantime we had I think three dry days and then it completely dried out and went really brittle. I wasn’t even sure whether to mulch with it but that’s what we did, just spread it thin to use it up, so not really mulching even.
That’s a really good point to try recovery before the tomato food again. Thanks for all your help! 🙂
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If you can give them a bit more water, ensuring they're well dampened, and a bit of shade while you have this intense heat, I reckon they'll perk up. Make sure your water is directed right in at the base too, so that it's doing the best job for the plants
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
They should come away though. I thought they'd look much worse than that. Once they recover, you can give them some suitable food to help with flowering. Any compost only has enough nutrition for a few months, so hungry plants need some extra food added as the season goes on. It's best not to feed until they show signs of recovery though, but if there's room, you could a bit more compost. I do that in late July/early August with sweet peas, as the level drops in the pots. They're like dahlias in that respect too, as they need lots of food and nutrition
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border