Dahlias 2014 Season

[scrumpy]

I wouldn't worry about how it has shot up. Most of mine do the same. I just cut them back at stopping time to where they are nice and compact. If they are at the 5 leaf stage already, sounds as if they should be stopped anyway.
Whilst in the greenhouse I don't spray with anything apart from insecticides. No need for any fertilisers.
When planted out, chempak no 2 can be used until the end of June.

[Deleted]

Apr 8, 2014 10:12:20 GMT scrumpy said:

I wouldn't worry about how it has shot up. Most of mine do the same. I just cut them back at stopping time to where they are nice and compact. If they are at the 5 leaf stage already, sounds as if they should be stopped anyway.
Whilst in the greenhouse I don't spray with anything apart from insecticides. No need for any fertilisers.
When planted out, chempak no 2 can be used until the end of June.

Cheers Scrumpy. I've taken out the top at the fifth set of leaves. All the Halls plants I ordered are doing really well, I've had to remove some buds on others, but they're doing ok.  Thanks for the advice

[Deleted]

Apr 8, 2014 8:57:50 GMT @markymate said:

I had the plant in a shaded part of the greenhouse, and the weather for the past few days has been very overcast. I'll move them out into the unshaded side of the greenhouse and see how it goes. I've been spraying the plants with maxicrop organic plant stimulant once a week, should I carry on doing this? And at what stage should I start using a high nitrogen feed, like champak 2, if at all. I'm sorry about all the questions Mark, but I really don't want ruin all yours,  and others hard work, by not asking .  Is there anything I should do with Minley Carol, or just leave it alone.

Please ask, there is wealth of knowledge and experience on this board who are more than willing to guide you. We were all there once and in the past have all asked the same questions and encountered the same problems.

Your own trials and what works for you is the best learning exercise. Dahlias are not the easiest plants to grow and every season throws new problems that test even the most experienced of growers. So you are not alone.


As scrumpy say's lay off the feed, unless they are in their pots for a long time before planting out they should not need feeding till about two weeks after planting out.

[Deleted]

Thanks Mark. Everybody on the forum has been willing and helpful with every question I've asked. Which is just what I was hoping for when I joined. And believe me, I'm gonna be asking lots of questions . And here's one, I've started potting up my cuttings into 3" pots, do I need to give them some bottom heat, or will they be ok in a tray?

I cuttings you sent are doing really well in 4" pots, cheers

Mark

[dcdahlia]

No need for any bottom heat once your cttings have rooted mark,gentle heat will be ok once potted up.If you have stopped your minley carol stop it again when the new shoots have 3/4 pairs of leaves.

[scrumpy]

No bottom heat needed.
Just make sure the compost they go into has been in the greenhouse for a while and has warmed up a bit and is not too wet or cold.
I never use compost straight from the bag, I always tip some into a container, break it up, and leave it to stand for a few days before using it.
I pot rooted cuttings into 6 compartment cell trays, the ones that are quite solid and don't need to go in trays. Saves on space and easier to water and move around.

[Deleted]

Apr 8, 2014 18:26:25 GMT dcdahlia said:

No need for any bottom heat once your cttings have rooted mark,gentle heat will be ok once potted up.If you have stopped your minley carol stop it again when the new shoots have 3/4 pairs of leaves.

Thanks for the advice DC. I've stopped Minley Carol at the 5th set of leaves, and now, when the side shoots get to 3 or 4 pairs I'll stop it again.  This is the sort of advice I need this year, as for the past couple of years, I've only grown for the garden.  So stopping advice will be greatly appreciated.

Scrumpy, thank you for help and advice. I've potted the cuttings into four inch pots, which I've put into a large black tray, on a capillary matting to make watering a bit more steady, I hope .

And further to my Woolmans tubers with no labels.  As I suspected, the replacements arrive today, and were in packs of three.  So I've now got, 3 of, Sir Alf Ramsey, Grand Prix, Explosion, Cambridge and Vancouver. Plus the original packet of six unlabelled tubers. The sixth tuber being Café au Lait, which is now out of stock.  God only knows where I'm going to put them all

[Deleted]

Any body ordered any cuttings from Pheasant Acre Plants ?

I ordered 12 noreen poms for delivery in March to allow for 2/3 stops. Nothing as yet. Spoke to them 2 weeks ago, would be posted last week without fail, yes you guessed it naff all.

No reply to emails, no reply to answer machine message.

First and last time I buy from them.


Mark

[gareth]

Just inspected the plants from Halls to find a bud on a plant of Hamari Rose, should I remove It ? or will it do any harm to leave it on the plant and let it flower ?

[Moonlight]

Apr 15, 2014 11:32:33 GMT gareth said:

Just inspected the plants from Halls to find a bud on a plant of Hamari Rose, should I remove It ? or will it do any harm to leave it on the plant and let it flower ?

Lucky you (and everyone else that has received their order from Halls wish mine were here always the same when you are looking out for a parcel or my order from Station House, bet if I went out it'll arrive. Maybe I should try that...

Feeling happy with my tubers, not yet ready to take any cuttings but nearly there, my Dad has taken cuttings from the ones that he is babysitting for me (Eastwood Moonlight, Downham Royal & Weston Pirate - my favourites). He's got my Red Balloon as well, building up plants as we only had 1 each last year. Dad has heat so he has also had a couple of life support including Weston Miss and I gave him my Myra to look after.

He managed to get a cutting from Clearview Audrey but the other chicken wings pretty much nothing. Also ordered some pot roots from another supplier in the US which have been much more successful.

I've planted my seeds that I collected last year and just have to wait for some action in that department.

Dahlias can be so very frustrating but when they start growing it is so exciting. My Downham Royal tuber that I had too big for a tray, has just been sitting there; gave him a wash and soak on Sunday and it is already throwing out some shoots. I think he must have been champing at the bit, to catch up with his mates.

but feeling very

[Tel]

Apr 15, 2014 11:32:33 GMT gareth said:

Just inspected the plants from Halls to find a bud on a plant of Hamari Rose, should I remove It ? or will it do any harm to leave it on the plant and let it flower ?

I would nip it out and then the side shoots will grow quicker, I found that when a dahlia flowers early like that the bloom is not very good if the plant is still small.

[Moonlight]

Apr 15, 2014 12:02:18 GMT Moonlight said:

Lucky you (and everyone else that has received their order from Halls wish mine were here always the same when you are looking out for a parcel or my order from Station House, bet if I went out it'll arrive. Maybe I should try that...

Going out yesterday didn't work but leaving the girls in the house while I went down to the garden to water my plants did work. Station House here just waiting on my order from Halls. Maybe tomorrow. Girls were not impressed that it wasn't their dahlias. Very

[Deleted]

Apr 16, 2014 8:37:25 GMT Tel said:

Apr 15, 2014 11:32:33 GMT gareth said:

Just inspected the plants from Halls to find a bud on a plant of Hamari Rose, should I remove It ? or will it do any harm to leave it on the plant and let it flower ?

I would nip it out and then the side shoots will grow quicker, I found that when a dahlia flowers early like that the bloom is not very good if the plant is still small.

Any young plants or cuttings that have premature buds get binned at my gaff. If this trait is in the suspect plant its something you dont want to carry forward in future stock.

If you are selective now your future dahlias will be all the better for it.

[gareth]

Apr 16, 2014 16:24:09 GMT @woodforddahlias6 said:

Apr 16, 2014 8:37:25 GMT Tel said:

I would nip it out and then the side shoots will grow quicker, I found that when a dahlia flowers early like that the bloom is not very good if the plant is still small.

Any young plants or cuttings that have premature buds get binned at my gaff. If this trait is in the suspect plant its something you dont want to carry forward in future stock.

If you are selective now your future dahlias will be all the better for it.


Ok thanks for the advice, I've removed the bud and i'll keep an eye on the plant for a while.

[dcdahlia]

Been a great year for cuttings this year 1200 taken with very few damping off,this weekend I will take the last ones.Gonna have to have another greenhouse next year.I have had to borrow my daughters 4 tier mini greenhouse.