Dahlias
All The Gear But No Idea
Posts: 16
in Plants
Hi,
This year is my first year growing Dahlia's. Up until now they have been in my greenhouse.
I know I will need to harden them off before they're planted out but I'm unsure when to do this?
Some of them are getting quite tall now. I was wondering when other people do it? I understand it should be after the last frost - personally I'm in Sunny Suffolk and suspect (hopes) we have had that.... How is everyone else's coming along??
Any advice given would be appreciated 
Kerri
0
Posts
I'm hardening off mine now and will be planting them out next weekend (Leics.)
Mine are out (Cambs) but I may have been a bit previous and I'm not seeing activity from two of them (same type).
The most advanced ones I have chucked out of the greenhouse, so I suppose they are hardening off. Smaller ones are still being cossetted. I will have to rip out some forgetmenots to make room for them.
Mine have been outside for a month but they were started inside house, followed by moving them into grow house, which is semi inside semi outside. So I suppose they got accustomed to the outside temperature earlier, therefore theyve been okay on the patio.
In cold greenhouse.
Will be planted out in about 1 - 2 weeks. Big ones first, and hopefully small ones will then be bigger!
aym280 I would disbud.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
If you have lots of dahlias, does anyone have ideas on how to plant them? Do you put 3 together in a triangle for better effect? I was thinking of putting them all around the garden in the gaps but someone else told me to put them all together? Pictures I see seem to have them all together. I have 7 unwins, 8 pom poms, 4 called 'giant' (which are actually the smallest so far of the lot haha!), 2 crazy loves and some fireworks. Shall I mix it all up?
Last edited: 23 May 2016 11:54:34
A lot depends on how big they get. Several of mine grow to 4 by 3 feet, so I don't think they need grouping.
Small plants would look better in groups, but not all 20 odd together!
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Mine are ready to go too. I managed to keep the ones from last year alive in a plastic greenhouse and my baby bishop's children are looking ok. They'll be better of in the ground than counting on me to water them anyway!
I'm jealous - my dahlias have barely reached 2" - and then the slugs get 'em!
i'm in the south east and left mine in the ground all winter, i dug them up in march and they had all survived, i replanted them in pots outside and all are growing well.