Q - Transplanting a tree dahlia from a pot to the ground in August

Fire

Here’s a question for the old hands who might have tried moving dahlias mid season - 

I have been away quite a bit this year, so when I got my three/four tree/v tall dahlia tubers this year 🙄.  I put them into medium pots to grow on. I had the intention of then putting them in the ground when landed back for good in August. They all seem to be doing well (they are not dead). But I now I ponder - transferring them to the ground for the late summer / autumn will almost certainly cause some stasis for weeks or more before they settle. 

I don’t expect the tall types to flower as 
- they generally need longer days that we can offer in the autumn
- I didn’t receive them until June
- they’ve been in pots that will be too small for them. 

Next year I can put them in the ground. Hopefully the tubers will be nice and fat and will shoot away fast - hopefully the plant getting to 3m or more creating an annual forest in my small garden. 

So - is it worth transplanting for August - Nov? The foliage is possibly robust enough to withstand slugs…

Thanks

punkdoc

I think that any answer would only be guesswork, but I would probably go for it.

Hostafan1

If you're ok to leave them in the ground over the winter, I'd plant them. 
They form a huge, wide , star shaped group of tubers.

Fire

Thanks. I'll do that.

thevictorian

I don't grow tree dahlias but have to many dahlias than I can fit in the garden and the ones in the ground grow far more strongly and create much larger tubers than those in pots. 
If they aren't pot bound, I don't think they will be slowed down much.  

Fire

I have SAS slugs so use pots for regular dahlias and it works pretty well. Tree dahlias were planned to go in the ground and I will go for it.

Hostafan1

In my experience, the tubers fan out in a shallow star, so much better in the ground where they can spread out