little-ann, it is my 'pink frilly thing' that has no insects on it either - don't like that one as it looks like something out of an old Victorian painting - somber!
I love Bishop of Llandaff. I grow it in the main veggie bed in amongst the tomotoes and leaks. It's obviously appreciating the liquid feed it gets once a week as it's 4ft tall and smothered in flowers. Definitely a keeper!
I gave up on dahlias when I lifted all mine, spent ages rinsing them off and drying them, stored them in the shed in compost/vermiculite mix, and by spring had lost the lot (25 tubers) to rot!! What did I do wrong?
i have a couple this year (llandaff and moon fire) that I will risk leaving in the ground over winter.
verdun - like the sound of bishops children - do you get plants big enough to flower that summer from a sping sowing?
Verun, I always used to think dahlias were soooooooo 1970's, but since I went to the Harrogate autumn flower show with my Dad 2 years ago, I've fallen in love with them. The vast array of forms, colours and sizes make this plant one of the best in my opinion.
thanks verdun i grew them fom tubers. i am having a new greenhouse it has in fact been delivered but OH cant put down new base until the toms have finished in the old one, i hadnt considered keeping them in pots over winter would that be better than drying and storing ? or did you mean drying and storing in the greenhouse i was going to put them in the cellar because i dont heat the greenhouse and OH says they will freeze in the shed
Hi LAnn, I cant keep dahlias in the ground here- too many slugs etc- so I always grow mine in big pots.
For over winter storage I wait until the foliage is blackened most times, or by the end of Oct for me re the frosts. Then I put the pot, on it's 'saucer', into my part glazed porch to dry off for about a week. Then I bubble wrap the pot, cut back the foliage, give it a 'cap' of fleece & shove it under a plant table. So mine are actually stored in their compost, but kept very dry.There it stays until late Feb/early March when I investigate the tubers & restart them on a windowsill inside.
I did try storing them 'properly' ie dry tubers in sand etc one yr in my shed & lost the lot. So back to my usual way.
The cellar sounds good as it wont freeze, it's dry too. Sheds arent frost free & an unheated greenhouse up Nrth will be too cold.
I did manage to keep 2 wrapped/covered pots alive in my big wooden coldframe last winter. They'd been eated to death by the slugs so I'd removed the labels-twit- & only decided to store them when I spotted fresh growth starting very late in the season. Am well pleased as they turned out to be 'good' ones I had & not Aldi's best!
Posts
little-ann, it is my 'pink frilly thing' that has no insects on it either - don't like that one as it looks like something out of an old Victorian painting - somber!
I love Bishop of Llandaff. I grow it in the main veggie bed in amongst the tomotoes and leaks. It's obviously appreciating the liquid feed it gets once a week as it's 4ft tall and smothered in flowers. Definitely a keeper!
What a display little-Ann!
I gave up on dahlias when I lifted all mine, spent ages rinsing them off and drying them, stored them in the shed in compost/vermiculite mix, and by spring had lost the lot (25 tubers) to rot!! What did I do wrong?
i have a couple this year (llandaff and moon fire) that I will risk leaving in the ground over winter.
verdun - like the sound of bishops children - do you get plants big enough to flower that summer from a sping sowing?
Verun, I always used to think dahlias were soooooooo 1970's, but since I went to the Harrogate autumn flower show with my Dad 2 years ago, I've fallen in love with them. The vast array of forms, colours and sizes make this plant one of the best in my opinion.
first time for me i am hopingto keep them over winter for next year and take cuttings
i was a bit chicken about planting them in the ground because of slugs so all in pots
Thanks for that suggestion Verdun. How tall do Bishops Children grow?
thanks verdun i grew them fom tubers. i am having a new greenhouse it has in fact been delivered but OH cant put down new base until the toms have finished in the old one, i hadnt considered keeping them in pots over winter would that be better than drying and storing ? or did you mean drying and storing in the greenhouse i was going to put them in the cellar because i dont heat the greenhouse and OH says they will freeze in the shed
Hi LAnn, I cant keep dahlias in the ground here- too many slugs etc- so I always grow mine in big pots.
For over winter storage I wait until the foliage is blackened most times, or by the end of Oct for me re the frosts. Then I put the pot, on it's 'saucer', into my part glazed porch to dry off for about a week. Then I bubble wrap the pot, cut back the foliage, give it a 'cap' of fleece & shove it under a plant table. So mine are actually stored in their compost, but kept very dry.There it stays until late Feb/early March when I investigate the tubers & restart them on a windowsill inside.
I did try storing them 'properly' ie dry tubers in sand etc one yr in my shed & lost the lot.
So back to my usual way.
The cellar sounds good as it wont freeze, it's dry too. Sheds arent frost free & an unheated greenhouse up Nrth will be too cold.
I did manage to keep 2 wrapped/covered pots alive in my big wooden coldframe last winter. They'd been eated to death by the slugs so I'd removed the labels-twit- & only decided to store them when I spotted fresh growth starting very late in the season. Am well pleased as they turned out to be 'good' ones I had & not Aldi's best!
Good luck, J.