Have planted three Dahlias. They grow but no flowers have shown all summer. Anyone know what went wrong?

Question

Hello all gardners. I have planted in my West-side garden bed three dahlias, they growth strongly , with strong stems. Nevertheless, all summer I was hoping and hoping I would have blooms. What's gone wrong? Help. Do I need to take them out we have harsh winters here in Northern Utah.
And if so how do I take them out and store them? Thanks

We haven't seen much Bee's all summer here. Even so Utah is known to be a Behive state. All I have seen is Wasps.
I have ton's of Humming Birds and they do eat from other flowers I planted. But I know they do not fertilize the Dahlias.

Answer 1

As R Scott mentioned, too much N and dahlias simply won't bloom at all. Usually they get floppy with too much N, and you say your stems are strong, so I suspect your growth season may be too short.

All of the full-sized dahlias I have ever grown from tubers have needed a loooong growing season. The one exception I've found is dahlia from Thomspon & Morgan Cactus Hybrids Mix seeds, which I planted in a California February, bloomed in May (and then goes into shock for a month and a half mid-summer-this isn't the first UK hybrid plant I've grown from seed that loves my winter and hates my summer). The plants are 2m, the plentiful blooms are around10cm, and the colors I got were all shocking lipsticks.

I don't know if this will be useful to you because I don't know how cold you get and I think you will likely have to lift dahlia tubers where you live and I don't know how well they form from seed.

Answer 2

Hi! Maybe I can help a little bit.

First, you don't say when you planted the dahlias, but some of the dahlias you can buy at stores take up to 120 days to bloom (that's 4 months). In order to bloom, they need fertilizer on occasion (making sure it is low nitrogen) and about 1" of water per week (or more if it has been exceptionally hot). Yes, you should dig them up after the first killing frost, store them, and start them indoors if you want next year.

To store: Begin by digging them up, taking care not to break any of the tubers, since the plants could spread tubers a foot away from the primary stalk. Cut the primary stalk off about an inch or so above the tuber. Gently rinse the dirt off the tubers with a garden hose, and place in a cool, dry spot to dry out for a couple of days.

Find yourself a cardboard box, whose sides are about 4" high, put down a layer of peat moss, or vemiculite (don't breathe in the vermiculite dust!) about an inch deep. Lay the dahlia tubers on this bed, and completely cover them with the peat or vermiculite.

Close the box up, but do not seal the lid. Place this box in a spot where the temps will stay between 39 and 49 degrees all winter long. The temps can vary a couple of degrees on either side of this, but you do not want the tubers freezing, nor do you want them to sprout because the air is too warm.

If the air is warm, you will also have a problem with rot. Check on them once, usually in February to make sure the tubers are not getting soft and that they've stayed dry.

To start them in the spring, get yourself some high quality potting soil, 3 deep and wide pots (these do not have to be expensive, but they have to hold the tubers with some space to spare, AND you have to have them deep enough to add soil as the tubers begin to sprout and grow.

Check the tuber for "eyes" - the beginnings of spouts. Usually these will appear close to where you've trimmed off the original stalk from the previous year. The easiest way to get the eyes to come out is to just remove the box from storage, and set it in a spot where the air temperature is above 60. I usually set the tubers on top of the peat moss and allow them to soak in the warm air (still in the box of course).

Put an inch of soil in the pot, set the tuber in, and just barely cover it with the soil. Do not water this at all until you see the sprout coming out of the soil (usually a week or so, possibly two). I use a spray bottle on the lowest spray setting so the water is just a mist. Once the tuber has a sprout that is about an inch or so out of the ground, begin to spray the soil around the tuber whenever it dries out. Using this method, and beginning the dahlias about a month and a half before you want to plant them outside, you should see blooms in August or September, even with plants that will take 120 days or more to bloom! I live in Vermont. I have blooms on my Dalias from late July on into October's frost!

Answer 3

Same as others said, not so much Nitrogen. Get a fertilizer with as little nitrogen (the first number) as you can find and a bigger middle number.

And make sure they get plenty of hot sun.

After the tops freeze, dig them up, brush off the dirt, dry them, and separate them so each bulb has an "eye" or a good stem. Then you can put them in the basement or warm garage for the winter. Not too warm or they will sprout, just warm enough to keep them from freezing. Next year, just take them out and plant them. You can wait till spring to separate the bulbs. Just be sure to dry them really good before storage. And make sure they don't freeze.

Answer 4

Miracle Gro. They're heavy feeders. Mine haven't stopped blooming~!~

Answer 5

Welcome to the club, I don't even bother with them anymore here in the Dakotas. I think you and I use to much nitrogen fertilizer to suit them. Try a little benign neglect next year. RScott