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Missing 38 Dahlias
SuperSue
Posts: 2
Advice as to why please.....I believe Dahlias will grow in virtually any garden soil.
Well i planted 40 for the 2nd year running and the only 2 that have come up which are in pots with brand new compost.
They where tubers fresh bought & a few where shooting.
But not a Dahlia in site.
SuperSue would like to know what she can do to
change this situation?
0
Posts
Probably slugs, as soon as the shoots pop up, they have them off. I think its best to start them off in pots and plant out when you have a robust plant.
You could dig one up and look at the tuber, maybe they rotted, its been quite wet in places.
uite wet in places.
So if its the slugs they have ate the entire chance of the tuber growing again?
Probably that is so, once the growing shoots of plants are gone, its hard for them to recover. Try digging one up and have a look at the state of the tuber and see if it had made any roots.
I had one which had its head bitten off once it had popped up, luckily this was in April/may so it's had time to fully recover. The rest I started in small trays until they were 10cm high, taking cuttings from some. Not sure where you are but would happily send you a few tubers in autumn if you have lost all yours.
This is the worst year I have known for slugs eating dahlias. I don't know what is different this year, but the beer trap isn't trapping them, copper tape around barriers isn't working very well; the slugs are rampant despite my slug hunts. I bought a dahlia in May which I planted out, it was flowering and quite a tall plant but it was stripped within days. I have actually bought a small glass bell cloche and am cloching it at night, otherwise any new growth is instantly stripped. I actually saw an enormous snail a while back that had slimed over the copper tape barrier and was chomping away. Another dahlia that I bought as a well-grown pot plant is currently suffering the attentions of our slimy friends. Losing 38 is particularly nasty but I am not surprised. Lets hope we have a slightly colder, drier winter this year and maybe there won't be quite so many of them next year.