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Dahlia recovery

RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
in Plants
Last year my massive dahlia (used to reach 6ft odd) was munched a lot whilst putting shoots up. The tuber was the size of a football when I put it in the ground!
Subsequently it never performed well, but did flower. Only reached 1ft or so.

This year it's shown again and I kept the slugs off, but it's only around 30cm tall and all my others are 2ft or so and starting to flower.

Is it ever going to reecover, or a lost cause?

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Maybe it need splitting, when it’s finished flowering and dies off you may be able to shake pieces off it.   There are usually some separated pieces.  If not you can pot it up next year and then slice shoots off with a tuber attached. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    Naff all tuber left, guess it mostly died off last year when slugs destroyed it. Damn, was massive the last few years!
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The slugs wouldn’t have destroyed the tuber at football size  I don’t think,  especially as you said that it was showing.  
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    They nibbled the shoots as they came up last year, by the time I managed to get some control, it never grew properly at all.
    It's done the same this year and there's hardly any tuber.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Rotted away in the winter? 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    I assume as it never grew properly last year, no energy back in and rotted away. 

    All my other dahlias are growing really well, all same conditions, just didn't get eaten like this one did.
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