Mary - your "Didn't know we were lost" reminds me of the cartoon showing two dogs and one says, "They're taking me to be fixed today. I didn't know anything was broken".

LOL. Love it. Or the one where the man took his cat to be fixed and now all the cat did was sit on top of the TV and glare at him.

My dahlia sprouts are doing well. Some are thicker than I've ever seen before.

I am going to put mine in a little early this year. I usually wait until the end of May, but we haven't frosted in weeks, and the next 10 day forecast has the night time lows in the high 40's, with days in the 70's. I am out of school the 16th, so I plan on getting them in the ground as soon after that as possible.

All of my tubers have been "potted" up for a while now. There are still a few that haven't broken the soil line, but most are flourishing and a few are 10-12" tall.

I'll be trying for mid May but they are growing fast.

Today I received yet another box of tubers. Its the last one. This was a trade partner who was moving slow. They look healthy, but nothing is sprouting yet, so they went into baggies of moist soil and are on the tops of my grow lights in an attempt to quicken the sprouting.

My pinterest page of new ones I am trying this year is up to 101 - actually 4 or 5 of these (which I received in trade) rotted as soon as I moistened them, but it is still a heck of a lot of new ones this year. Last year I think I had about 60 different dahlias - this year will be 150 - will it ever stop?

https://www.pinterest.com/stou...

I can't imagine how you can handle it, Geof. Not that you're inexperienced but it still takes time to plant them, stake them and keep them tied up and that's aside from deadheading or bringing dahlias inside to enjoy. I'd be sound asleep in the garden from all the work!

Pirl - the only reason I can deal with it, is that in the summer, gardening is my only "job". I teach at the local university, and rarely teach summer classes, so I have from mid-May to mid-August to focus almost completely on my garden. If I had a full time job and or young children to tend, I am not sure I could do it. I also grow a sizable vegetable garden and lots of annuals.

I've read of some dahlia people who grow 400 dahlias. That would totally overwhelm me.

This is a story about a man in England and his fabulous dahlia garden:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...

This is the video of the same garden: totally enchanting. I'm almost embarrassed at the amount of times I've viewed it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The superb gardener's name is also Geoff!

@Geof What do you teach?

Pirl - saw that video when you posted it last time - it makes me gasp! And yeah - I don't think I will ever climb up to 400 - certainly not at my present address, it would mean ripping out everything else, and only growing dahlias - I don't think I could wait until mid-July or August for color in my yard.

Mary - I teach in the Art Dept. - mostly ceramics, with some introduction level design classes.

I have some questions about dahlias. Hope y'all don't mind if I post here. I am wanting some of the shorter smaller flowered varieties. I can buy them at a nursery near me already grown and potted. Getting ready to bloom. Will that work and then in fall I dig the tubers and save for next year?

Depends on how small and what kind they are. There is a new kind called Godahlias or Glodahlias. I bought some but they never produced tubers. I think they are propagated plants. If they are simply shorter varieties like border or gallery dahlias, they should produce tubers just fine.

If Dan were on this thread or site he could answer better as he grows those. Maybe Arlene would know??

Thanks Geof. I have really been hoping to track down a history buff, especially WWI and WWII, all theaters. Although right now I am only dealing with WWII and the taking of the Rhine.

I've never had a dahlia, even a cutting, that didn't produce tubers. The small ones, Dahlietta Alexia for example, did produce tubers but they didn't hold over winter well at all.


Where is Dan and why is he holding out on the fun here?

Yes come on Dan.. Inquiring minds want to know. I can order tubers fron catalogs but thought would be nice to start with plants. Guess I go have a few weeks or days to decide what to do.

One of the first dahlias I ever got was purchased as a potted plant, and was only about 12" x12" at full bloom. I saved the tubers, planted them the following year, and the plants were more than twice as big, about 2.5 ft, tall and wide. Apparently there are chemicals that nursery's sometimes use to stunt the growth on plants and keep them small for containers.

So……ask them at the nursery and try to find out more about what you are purchasing.

Good advice, and good to know. I'd never even have guessed it, Geof.

I figured they pumped them up with fertilizer to make them bloom but never thought they might stunt them.

Kevin at Corralitos thought my tuber issue might be related to my sun situation. Long sunny days, short nights for the summer.

Thanks everyone. Think I may just order tubers from Brent and Becky.

There are usually many dahlia suppliers who offer great deals on what they have left, along with lower prices. Check out Swan Island Dahlias and Lynch Creek Farms.