| Author |
Message |
    
Kniceone
My Garden Journal
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 09:31 pm EST : |   
 |
Great lessons. No wonder mine didn't grow this year - I didn't know about eyes! I just took a knife and cut off all the tubers from the stem :(. Planted them this spring and nada! I had stored them in the cold celler in a bin of peat moss. They were nice and still plump when I planted them but with no eyes no wonder they didn't grow! So lesson learned I'll purchase more early next spring and try again!
Jodi, ONT, Z4, Great White North
|
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 05:29 am EST : |
|
Oy Oy Oy unless mine are invisible..I have eyeless tubers wrapped in saran:(
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Grannymarsh
My Weather
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 06:03 am EST : |
|
Kniceone: Bummer, but the bright side is that at least you know that you have a good place to store them over the winter.
Monique: if you have just a bit of the stem or shoulder attached to the tuber, there might be hope of some eyes. Sometimes they are extremely hard to see when harvesting.
Grannymarsh
- Michigan,
Zone "5a"
|
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 06:23 am EST : |
|
Next time ..I am leaving them whole:( I have good eyesight up close..I didn't see eyes..thanks!! Everyone..now we know..And optimism is a good thing:)Clearly Linda showed little eyes..I never noticed.
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Sheilakar
My Weather
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 01:32 pm EST : |
|
Monique Me too may have some eyeless tuber wrapped.and I was so happy with the tubers that I had from my Dahlia seed.Oh well maybe some will be okay, I have my seeds for next year and will defnitaly be buyin more Tubers as I really enjoyed the show I had this year,
HATS off to Dahlianut, Bernie and any one else who have inspired me to get addicted to this plant. IT MUST take you buddies days to wrap your Tubers.Thanks all for your help.
Sheilakar
- CT,
Zone "6"
|
Lilybeetle
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 05:31 pm EST : |
|
From what I am hearing and reading many of these "eyeless" tubers will surprise us. They can be placed on top of potting medium in the spring and the "eyes" may pop. Am I correct? In other words a single tuber with the neck in tact - but with no stem attached could well develope eyes and be a viable plant. Even a single scrawny shriveled tuber can surprise us in the spring. Monique - I recall the ones I received from Ferncliffe - as pretty sorry little characters - but they all thrived and were magnificent specimens that provided me with unmeasurable pleasure in the late border and with robust bouquets. I'm hanging in there for the final count and appreciate all this wonderful info. I guess it's true the only thing for certain is death and taxes :). I'll enjoy the seasonal anticipation.
Lilybeetle
- Ontario,
Zone "4B"
|
Poochella
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 08:30 pm EST : |
|
Oh, how painful the learning process... I have taken pictures from what masters like Bernie have taught me in such short order. If you wait a bit, I will post them here and hope to help with dividing and eye-spotting and such.
My motto is "if in doubt, save it anyway; because you never know if Mother Nature is going to surprise you with a gift of life." If you get growth next spring, yay! If not, you've got something to compost to add to your soil.
Poochella
- Western WA,
Zone "7"
|
Susanq
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 08:44 am EST : |
|
I'd like to add another question, if I may. I see many of you are digging and dividing your dahlias. Is there a rule of thumb for when is the proper timing? We still have not a first frost here and I hate to cut them down just yet - or is it better to get them down before the first frost? In the past, I've waited until the frost nips them.
SusanQ - Zone 4b-5b Wisconsin |
Bernie_pa
My Weather
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 10:16 am EST : |
|
Kim, a piece of the stalk is not necessary in most cases. Adjacent to the stalk, many tubers will have a collar where the eyes are located. The eyes are not always visible but are latent and can appear in the spring as you mentioned. Yes, even shriveled tubers can survive if a viable eye is present.
This is a photo of tubers with no prominent eyes when they were stored but all the latent eyes popped out in the spring.
Susan, a frost is not necessary before you begin digging your dahlias. I dig mine when they start looking scraggly usually in mid October. Its a good idea to cut them down and wait for about 10 days before digging. This will encourage the plant to show the eyes more prominently.
Bernie_pa
- Pennsylvania,
Zone "5B"
|
Lilybeetle
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 - 07:02 pm EST : |
|
Good, I have some with collars and no eyes - so I will hope for the best Bernie. I have not wrapped them yet. Just dug and washed them on Sunday and they are drying on a counter. They seem a bit "spongy". Hope this is not a problem either.
Lilybeetle
- Ontario,
Zone "4B"
|
Missgarden
My Garden
| | Posted on Friday, October 28, 2005 - 08:20 pm EST : |
|
My dahlia growing operation was less then spectacular this year. I only got one flower to open before frost hit. Anyway I did some digging yesterday. I washed and I cut and now I hope that at least some of these show some eyes in spring. Well...if I can manage to keep them alive till then :)
Missgarden
- Ontario,
Zone "5b"
|
Pdxjules
My Weather
My Garden
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 - 06:09 pm EST : |
|
Some of my first year Dahlias are showing signs of slowing down, others haven't bloomed yet, and some are still going strong. We just had a frost this morning, so I'll cut back the slowing ones this week. I saw a photo last month where someone had fixed a bit of tin foil over open stalks so rain wouldn't get in and rot the stem. I'm trying that.
Drat, you won't believe this. Instead of waiting for real winter to set in - someone sent me a couple dozen long-stemmed perfect Roses this week - so I don't really have any room left indoors for my last flush of cut Dahlia bouquets! (I need to think of someone to visit with a little surprise, I guess)
Poochella - Sue's Pink finally bloomed last week (we feared it might not survive that bout of rot...) and it is SPECTACULAR! I love the intense color. Am crossing my fingers for some good tubers...do you need me to send you this one too? (with Monet...assuming Tubers make my first dissection attempt!)
Pdxjules
- Oregon,
Zone "8 (rain Oct-May)"
|
Poochella
My Time
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 - 11:40 pm EST : |
|
Hi Jules!
Oh you should see Sue's Pink in August. Richest velvety pink I've ever seen. I still have one blooming but not in its full color or glory by any means. You can hold off on Monet; I have access to more locally and have to be so choosey on what I grow nowdays. I really liked Monet though! I've got two Sue's: one only gave me 3 tubers and the other: we'll see.
Can you believe I finally got Citron du Cap to bloom, it's the only dahlia standing ( so I COULD see it bloom, maybe) in my lower bed. Also Glenbank Twinkle which I've waited and waited for for two years: finally noticed it opened to less than rousting applause by me. The photos are so glorious online, but mine is just a little pale pipsqueak who couldn't get started on time in Summer. I'll try it again in a better spot.
A couple dozen roses? You are living right! What's the occasion?
Poochella
- Western WA,
Zone "7"
|
Chicken
My Weather
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, March 01, 2008 - 10:46 pm EST : |
|
HELP! My tubers seem to have borers or some sort! Since it's been relatively dry and the soil so nice and loose, I decided it was a good time to dig up my dahlias and move them since they have been growing so tall they hide the back of the garden. (They winter over quite well here so usually stay in the ground year round- these particular dahlias have been in the garden about 4 years). I noticed that some of the tubers had borer holes in them. Put those in quarantine and the rest are in my garage in plastic bags potentially to be divided before I replant. Should I soak the 'good' tubers in something to kill any possible borers before I replant them? I seem to recall soaking my iris tubers in dilute bleach to kill any iris borers before replanting - can this be done with Dahlias? (They are the dark maroon-leafed variety that tolerate shade). Thanks!
Chicken
- Washington,
Zone "7"
|
Dahlianut
 Supporting Member
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008 - 07:39 pm EST : |
|
Are the critters alive? Can you see them? What kind of holes did they make? Can you take a picture?
Yes, you can do a bleach soak.
Linda Washington State Zone 8 |
Chicken
My Weather
My Time
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 - 07:00 pm EST : |
|
They were alive - small wirey white worms. Looked like similar to those that try and eat my rutabagas.
Chicken
- Washington,
Zone "7"
|
