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Has the stupid rain murdered my dahlia?

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,961
    edited July 2019
    Sorry to say that looks dead to me ... past help without divine intervention ... looks more like the effect of drought rather than deluge ... in fact I’m pretty impressed that anything can look as dead as that in the space of just a month. 
    Where are the tubers you felt?  It looks like a first year seedgrown plant to me. 
    What did you do with it when you got it home?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • becrollabecrolla Posts: 14
    oh is that clump thing at the bottom not even a tuber :(
    I just left it in the pot that it was in, cos it seemed quite a large spacious pot.
    The compost is deffo sodden and the now not tuber part is definitely not dry. So sad :'(
    On the pls side, the orange geum that i bought at chatsworth is flourishing as is my fuschia.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,961
    It needed planting out into the ground or at least into a much bigger container. Plants are rarely sold in pots that are big enough for them to stay in (think of the weight/space and  transport practicalities/cost.

    Where did you put the pot?  

    Did it get fed and watered? 

    I know you say it rained but the foliage of a plant will act like an umbrella and prevent a lot of moisture getting to the roots.  The compost is soaked through now ‘cos there are no leaves to be the umbrella ☔️  

    Hey ho, we live and we learn ... pop along to a garden centre and buy a few more and show us what you’ve got and we’ll tell you what to do and hold your hand 😊 

    Do you want to show us your fuchsia and geum so we can admire your success as well as commiserate with the failure?  😉 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • becrollabecrolla Posts: 14
    Thanks everyone for all your help, I am shoving it back into a dry compost and hoping for the best, but it may well be dead :(
    Im optimistic! I have to be.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 86,961
    Better pray for a resurrection then ... that plant is dead. Sorry 😭 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • becrollabecrolla Posts: 14
    Itll be fine!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,846
    I'm afraid it's not the rain that's stupid.   That is an ex dahlia.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • UpNorthUpNorth Posts: 376
    A little googling suggests this was a "bedding Dahlia" not a tuber/common dahlia we normally think of.    

    you can buy seed and grow as annual, apparently.

    so @bercrolla, get some seed, a seed tray and seed compost, around march and get yourself a hundred of these things for less than you paid at the show.      Result!

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,165
    @becrolla , l think you're going to have to face the inevitable, sadly  :(
    Looking at the roots/tuber it was a very young plant, and l think the shock of moving from wherever it was prior to the show was just too much. It's now rotted away and as there are no roots to sustain it, the top foliage has died.
    If you are planning on an orange colour scheme and want to try again next year, have a look at the link below which will give you information. It's too late to sow this year, but there's something very satisfying about producing your own plants if you would like to try. (You'll get plenty of advice on here if you do).  :)

    https://www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/cutting-flowers/cutting-flowers/dahlia-reggae-orange

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,846
    As you rightly say @UpNorth, dahlias can be grown from seed - Bishop's Children is a popular mix - and then the best ones can be kept and grown on for future seasons.   They only develop the tubers as they mature.   The one pictured looks like this year's seedling and hasn't been adequately nurtured since its purchase at the show.

    Moral - always google your new plants for care information and don't forget the value of commn sense.   
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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