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Dahlia buds
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
Do I remove buds from these first year Dahlia plants - if so which and when?
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Hi there. If you want a great big bloom (like chrysanths) then you disbud all but the top one as soon as they are big enough to handle. Personally I just let mine do their own thing as they are for my enjoyment. Your plant looks lovely and healthy.
Thanks Ladybird - looking at the picture - there are actually two pots side by side with identical dahlias in them Bishop of Llandaff - they have a coppery foliage and can grow up to 40" apparently if the wind doesn't get to them first. I don't want just one bloom so will leave them to flower naturally without disbudding.
Are there lillies in the pots next to your dahlias. They look to be doing well...my favorite flowers...
...I had stopped growing them due to mass invasions of lily beetle each year...
Yes, that's right Zoomer - they are lillies - we re-plant the bulbs each year for about 5 years now. The lily beetles are a nuisance and make such a mess of the plants - however I have been extra vigilante this year and remove them at least two or three times each day but I can't bring myself to kill them so of course they return. I don't think the beetles have any predators - the pots are right close to the bird feeders but I have never seen a bird in the slightest bit interested in eating the beetles.