![]() ![]() ![]() In the container, if the tuber is placed in the bottom of the pot and then the potting soil is immediately filled in up to 1-inch below the rim and then is thoroughly watered, the tuber could very likely rot. ![]() If there are not enough holes or the holes are too small for fast drainage in the base of the container, drill another hole or two in the bottom to enhance drainage. This will allow the excess water to drain and keep the soil from becoming water-logged from the daily drenching rains we can receive. Before placing the potting mix in the container, I remove the saucer from the base of the pot. Use a clean container! A dirty pot could spread a disease to the plant or have unseen insect eggs in it. I match the pot to how tall the plant could be or the length of the tuber. I do not match pot size to the final bloom size, because miniature flowers could be on a tall bush and giant blooms could be on a short plant. For base stability, I prefer the azalea style of pot, meaning that a pot has a short height in relation to its diameter which makes it look short and squat, as opposed to a tall, skinny looking container. I have a few 11-inch and 12-inch pots for planting really long tubers. The diameters of pots I usually use are 8 1/2-inches and 10 1/2-inches. I use heavy-weight, sturdy, plastic pots in which I can drill holes for the later described stake inserting procedure. While they are forming new root hairs, it delays the plants’ upward growth and first bloom date. The tubers should be planted before the roots start to grow and get entangled in the flats. This way I can watch them closely for any signs of sprouting and don’t waste time and energy planting a tuber which won’t sprout a new stem. Tubers which look like they have no eyes or damaged eyes(sometimes stems break off in shipment) are placed in individual small trays on moist potting soil. I make sure that each tuber is identified either by having its name written on it or making a plant label for it and laying the tuber on the label. As I check each one against its invoice and write down any bonus tuber I may have been sent, the tuber is laid horizontally in trays with the eyes (or any growth which has already begun) facing up. When I get the tubers out of storage or when they arrive in the mail, I inspect them for rot and look for good eyes. I probably could start my over wintered tubers earlier than April, but I am usually too busy sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings of other annuals and perennials. Because of weather conditions, most dahlia suppliers don’t send the tubers until at least the first week in April. It’s been a challenge, but I’ve developed a method of planting dahlias in containers which has been successful for me.īy starting the tubers indoors during the first week in April, I have had some early varieties start to flower by the last week in June. Through these schizophrenic weather conditions I’ve experimented with different potting soils, fertilizers, staking, how to start the tubers without having them rot, etc. Over the years I’ve had to deal with a short summer growing season with gentle-or monsoon- type rains summers of heat and drought with or without muggy humidity or the coolest, wettest foggiest conditions still air to refreshing breezes to wind gusts of 50-60+ MPH cool days with cumulus clouded skies or bright sunny hot days thunderstorms electrical storms or hailstorms. Different heights of dahlias also add variations of elevations to a deck garden as well as adding different colors and textures from the flowers’ different forms and sizes. ![]() A dwarf variety may be a bit easier to handle, but raising 4 feet or taller dahlia bushes is just as easy, and could make a nice privacy hedge on a patio or balcony. The first years I grew only those dahlias listed as “dwarf” or “low growing.” One year I realized that if I could grow a dwarf tree or bush in a tub, I could cultivate any height of dahlia in a container. When I first started to grow dahlias in containers, I was frustrated because I could not find anything written in the general gardening magazines or books on this subject. Text and Photos © 1995-2000 by Barbara Jenke (Do not use for any commercial use without the permission of the author) Hot Springs, South Dakota
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