I spent most of yesterday morning pulling weeds and picking slugs out of the the raised garden beds before the rain started. Then I sprinkled a delicious serving of Sluggo down for any remaining slugs I didn’t catch. 😉 YUM YUM. The raspberry and {soon to be} squash patch was weeded as well. Now all that’s left in the weeding department is the hillside in the back and some minor weeding out front.
I LOVE that there are a garden projects waiting for me to tackle. It keeps me busy, and gives me a great excuse to stay outside longer. Who knew that being away for 7 weeks would produce so many tasks?
While I was weeding I accidently pulled up 2 onions. I also discovered 2 volunteer potato plants in one of the garden boxes and pulled them up immediately. I think I’ll make some fried potatoes with bacon for breakfast this weekend. 😉
Does anyone know anything about dahlias? I’ve never grown them before. Apparently while I was away a neighbor dropped up a few tubers someone had given to her that she couldn’t use. How nice!
Do you have any growing tips for me? Some of the tubers are sprouting, but they are still firm. Do you think it’s still okay to plant them because I would LOVE to add some more color to the backyard.
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Lisa Millar says
All I know about dalhia’s is that you shove them in the ground, they do their own thing and they multiply like crazy!!
Ruby gave me a handful of bulbs and within two seasons I had 100’s!!
I know the growing advice wasn’t much – but thats all I did. Maybe put them in an area where having heaps of stray bulbs in the ground won’t be a problem. (seems no matter how much I dig I don’t find them all – a bit like potatoes! I never seem to find them all!
Anyway – I love having dahlias in the garden. Beautiful colours and another way to attract bees!
E in Upstate NY says
Here in the North East, dahlias are a plant in spring, dig in fall plant. They DO NOT survive freezes, no matter how well you mulch. They need sun, not a shade plant, and grow tall. Anything over a foot, is tall to me. They make wonderful cutting flowers.
Jessica says
Just traded bamboo shoots for dahlia tubers. The lady we traded with sells both the tubers and the blooms and has been growing them for years. She said it is a bit late in the season to plant them, but we should still get blooms. Dahlia tubers have a top and a bottom, so be sure to plant them top up. We are just north of Vancouver, WA so our climates are very similar.
Chris M says
I haven’t planted dahlias in years! But, when I did, in the upper Skagit valley, my neighbor, who gave them to me, told me to plant them about 12″ deep and I wouldn’t have to dig them up in the fall. They’d be fine! She was “old” and I was 11 or 12, so I did exactly what she told me. We had lovely flowers on the East side of our house. I have no idea if after all these years (+50), they’re still there. Good luck! They do make beautiful cutting flowers.
Ellen in Clackamas says
You should still be able to plant them and have them bloom late summer. They will die back (stems turn black) after the first frost. And I never had luck leaving them in the ground so always dug them up. I see a bag that says “dinner plate” on it. You will want to stake that one because it will grow tall and the slower head gets huge!!
Susan Sleeman says
I love Dahlias. I live in the Portland area and never dig them up and have not lost any. You should know though, that slugs love the tender shoots when they come up so you have to be diligent about protecting them from the slugs or offering the slugs bait instead. Good luck.
Michele Crawford says
Swan Island Dahlias will give you all the planting info you need (Canby, Oregon). I’ve grown theirs for years, and plant them horizontally 6″ down, with a firm 6 foot pole alongside the tuber at planting time so you don’t hurt the tuber later. DO NOT use soil that is rich as you will only get leaves and not flowers. They will need to be staked as winds will break them. After they are up and going I use Lilly Miller SYSTEMIC Rose, Shrub & Flower Care granules which takes care of disease and root weevils, etc. (every 6 weeks). There are few plants more giving, beautiful, and useful for cut flowers as dahlias!
Lori says
I love dahlias but they don’t grow well on my mountain-side soil where I live, however they do great in the valley soils around here (they do need to be dug up in the late fall). I do have a couple growing in amended soil, up against the house, that I don’t have to dig up. For me, they do great in med-lg. containers. I wait for the first frost, then stick containers and all into the garage for the winter. You could definitely try planting them now. They bloom a long time, well into autumn, and they are spectacular. They are often very tall and the dinner plate ones will probably grow to your height. I live in the s/w corner of BC, so the climate is similar to yours.
Carita says
Slugs love early growth so you will want to give them a dinner of Sluggo as well. Agree with other comments above. I have both dug them up and overwintered in sawdust in the garage as well as left some in the ground. I also live in the PNW and I think the biggest issue here is potential for soggy ground.
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
How fun re the dahlias! I don’t know much about them but do know they are the new hot and popular flower to grow. So there’s probably lots of info out there. I definitely hope to plant some in my plot next year!
KK @preppycrocodile
Sara says
The thing that kills them in the Puget Sound area isn’t freezing, but rotting. If they have good drainage they can stay in the ground.
Carla Edwards says
Gophers love eating dahlias!
Kim says
Here in Utah we have to dig them as well. For us, they never grow well, don’t get very big, and are a bit finicky, but I still keep a few around as I think they’re so pretty.
Leslie says
It seems like dahlias can be as high maintenance or low maintenance as you like. I think dead-heading your plants in important. The more you cut, the more they grow.
Emily E. says
We grow dahlias every year and have shown them in dahlia shows in Ohio, Michigan, and Chicago. Leslie is correct, they can be a easy or difficult as you like. We plant ours with some bonemeal in the shallow hole. I think one of the mistakes most people make is not watering them enough and not staking them securely (we use rebar). We pinch off all but four or so laterals so the plant focuses its energy into those main blooms making them spectacular. Spraying them periodically with a worm casting tea will help keep the whiteflies under control. Slugs also enjoy them so I would scatter some Sluggo or whatever you like to use. They don’t start blooming until August anyhow so get them in ASAP and you should be fine.