Dahlias

I'm having a go at growing some Dahlias in containers this year but haven't done it before so would appreciate some advice.

The two varieties I have are Lilac Time and Peach Brandy

From what I've Googled I can see that I need to plant one per container and 2 inches below the surface. Is that right?

What sort of compost should I use?
Will general purpose compost suffice or something else?
Do I need to mix anything in to improve the drainage?

What do I feed them?
Will tomato food do?
Shall I mix in some bone meal or blood fish and bone when I plant them?
What's the best thing to stake them with? I'm sure I can rig something up but I'm sure some of you will have great ideas.



Thanks in advance

 

Correct!

A good quality 'Potting' compost as opposed to multi- purpose!

Ensure that you crock the pots well with broken plant pots or broken up polystyrene

Yes! But only when they come into bud!

It I'll do no harm as some potting composts contain more fertilser than others, this would compensate for any deficiencies and it is slow release so there should be no further need to feed until bud formation!

Now this is a difficult area particularly as your plants are in containers and susceptible to being blown over.

This means the pots want stabilising as well as the plants,

To take the plants first; push three stout stakes around one inch diameter equidistant around the pot then spiral twine at about 12 inch intervals up the stake.

This can be done progressively as the plant/ s grow.

Once this task is complete you want to drive a strong stake into the ground and tie one of the three stakes to it!

Depending where your pots are located you could use a guttering fall pipe or a clothes line post as alternatives!

This link might help; http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Dahlia/Dahlia.htm

 

Thanks Tee Gee, most useful

 

Just by-the-by you should be able to do that yourself if you click on the DELETE link (next to EDIT at bottom of message) on the errant posts there should be a DELETE option (with an optional "Reason" if you feel the need to say why ... I normally put "Operator was a ####" when I have to do that!! although that is by no way a suggestion or recommendation to you or for others, just reflects my own mis-abilities )

I've seen "Error during posting" message several times, and in fact my post had actually made it successfully (as yours appears to have done). "Foible" of the system I reckon

 

There is some difference of opinion on this. Scientifically its regarded as a bad idea. I can't quite bring myself (much like you I suppose) to bring myself to do/believe it though ...

The theory is that water is not keen to transition from one substrate to another. So put a layer of, say, gravel (could be crocks or anything) in the bottom of a pot and compost above that, and more water will be retained by the compost as a result. This is definitely scientific fact.

I would also not dispute that the "gravel" takes up some space that reduces the area for the roots - if the container is vast this is obviously moot, if small then significant, and a grey area in the middle

However, I struggle with how NOT putting the drainage in improves things. Presumably even with masses of holes in the bottom of the pot the water has to transition from "compost" to "drainage holes" and I figure that it will flow freely through gravel / crocks and find its way to a drainage hole, which may not be the case with compost alone, so what's the difference between a layer of gravel and drainage holes? (except that in my mind the gravel means you only need one/a few drainage holes and the water will easily escape). Never seen an answer to that question anywhere, but I would dearly like to know the answer, because I'm fed up of hearing that adding "gravel" to the bottom of containers is wrong ...

I guess I should send a question to Dr Linda Chalker-Scott who seems to be the doyenne of all such fringe horticultural questions

She writes in this blog now and again: https://sharepoint.cahnrs.wsu.edu/blogs/urbanhort/default.aspx