Hello,
Two part question:

1) I planted two dahlia-tubers in late April/early May. They both had an eye on them, and I planted them about 15cm (6 inch) deep.

It's the 31st of may now, and I am not yet seeing any shoots come up. I'm a little worried that I may have planted them too late/too deep, and that I'll only have a very short blooming period until the first frost comes (november).

Can anyone tell me how long it will be until these dahlias come up + how long I will be able to enjoy their flowers?

2) I had also planted some other Dahlia-tubers in the ground a bit earlier, and they are just starting to show small leaves coming up through te soil. How long will it be approximately until these start flowering? I am planning to pinch out the top when they grow a bit more.

Much obliged for your insight!

(I am a beginner when it comes to Dahlias. For those who are interested, the varieties I have this year are "Playa Blanca" "Peaches & Cream" "Bluesette" and "Rosella")

I plant mine so the crown is no more than 3" deep. But even at 6", I'd have to think they'd have broken the surface in a month's time unless the ground temp has been cool/cold. I would dig them up to see if they've rotted. I wouldn't wait any longer to, at least, check. Sometimes an eye will stop growing and dry up. I have a tuber right now that had a nice eye but never sprouted. I still have it in damp potting soil but I'm quickly losing faith in it.

Some dahlias grow faster than others. Then there are factors like the weather and the type of dahlia. So predicting bloom times is anyone's guess. Most years when I set out plants at the end of May, I can expect to get a few blooms by mid-late July.

Thank you for your reply.

I think i'll wait a bit longer, just to be sure. We did have a rather cold May month this year... I also wouldn't want to dig them up, just to find out there's a shoot about to break the surface!

It's good to know that blooming time varies greatly. I'll remember your guidline: plants set out in May, bloom around mid-July.

I planted in the beginning of April and it was too soon. I lost 3 to rot...of course the memorial day weekend 3 day downpour didn't help and neither did the cold temps. I had the heat on in the house. it was a very chilly May. I dug up the wilted plants to find out what the problem was and got slimy, mushy tubers. lesson learned for next year. I continued to plant through out the month and saw the difference as the soil warmed up. the tubers sprouted faster. again-lesson learned. I hope your dahlias are doing well by now.

Thank you for replying breith 95! So sorry about those first dahlias of yours...

I too found that one of my tubers had rotted... I tried to save as much of it as I could, and planted the loose parts in a pot to see what will happen.

As for the other dahlias:
Rosella is doing very nicely, despite the rather shady location. I think the hot and sunny weather we're having now is really helping it. Playa Blanca and Peaches & Cream looked to be suffering in their previous location, so I gathered all my courage and dug them up very carefully. They are currently in a pot, planted a bit more shallow, and seem to be doing OK. Now we wait...

There's one thing I don't like about gardening: If you learn something this year, you have to wait until next year until you can apply the new insight!