Join us on our journey through the flower farm year. We are a family run cut flower grower in Cheshire, England. We grow sustainably with natural fertilizers only, peat free, low plastic, and chemical free. Our RU-vid channel gives practical advice on growing Dahlias and other plants for cut flower.
Hi thanks for your question. We replant in the same beds each year, although we rotate the varieties in any one spot. In instances of disease such as Virus or Gall, it is normal practice to avoid using the same spot, or attempt to replace the soil. Hope you have a great season.
Those 310s made my hand sore today, which never happens (I use my #2 all day a lot of days). Don't use WD-40 for preserving tools. 3-in-1 is good & cheap. Good saw & bit cleaner at Menards cleans the sap off super well. Or Goop.
My first time having Dahlias in pots and they have finished producing flowers for this year leaving the seed pod. What do I do now with them and will they grow back next year?
Hi thanks for your question. Once each flower begins to fade you should remove it by cutting the stem below it. This will allow more flowers to come, and they should keep flowering right up to the first frost. If you let a seed pod form the plant will "switch off" and stop producing flowers. Cut away your seed pods now, and after a week or so your dahlias will start to produce flowers again. Good luck!
My grandmother used to cut the "easy" tubers off and leave the "hard" to get to tubers all together in a clump, the clumps went into her "seed garden" and the single tubers went to "production" or for sale.
This should work fine with shade cloth too right? Great video tho definitely trying this out Also would flipping the conduit when you’re towards the end bring back your leverage? I’m no physics major but seems like it could work
Hi thanks for your comment. Yes I agree, it would support shade cloth too. The conduit lasts well held by canes and we don’t routinely do anything else.
That was SUCH a helpful video, thank you! I couldn’t understand why other people were picking their sweet pea flowers in U.K. so early, whilst my plants were only just starting to climb! I shall follow your advice and use the root trainers which I grow my runners in and also start them over the Winter! Many thanks!
Thank you Sara for your kind comment. Yes you can start all your hardy annuals in this way in autumn for early flowering in Spring. Good luck with your sweet peas!
I have a silly question...is the pot tuber formed initially by taking a cutting, rooting it in a 4 inch pot and then growing that cutting through the season?
Thank you very much dude!! I have watched countless videos on pinching dahlias but your demonstration of it step by step on multiple plants gave me not only the knowledge but the courage to actually do it to my plants that I was afraid to cut because of there healthiness! Continued success and regards!
Hi thanks for your question. We are mixing peat free with sifted topsoil here. Seed starting compost has very little fertiliser so not suitable, potting compost is more like it, but it’s composition can be so variable .
Ugh, the wood edges is so smart. I've hesitated to do these because they seem like a pain in the ass to deal with in hot months when you need to take them down.
I'm glad I've found your videos, (another new subscriber) the information will give me the confidence to try with tubers next time. This year I've raised ten Bishop's Children from seed, I'm looking forward to see what colours I'm going to get! Unfortunately I can't find any information about dahlias raised by seed. I have already pinched out the main stem and the side shoots are just forming their third set of leaves. My concern is that the main stems are not as robust as yours grown from tubers. I don't know if it's because of the type or that they are young plants. When would you recommend I stop pinching out?
Hi, I hope your Bishops Children do well. I must say I have no experience of growing from seed, but the principles of pinching out are the same as tuber grown plants. So long as they have enough time and conditions are good, the stems will bulk up nicely and you will have good sized plants. I would not automatically pinch out every secondary shoot as the end result will be a plant with maybe too many side shoots, and smaller flowers as a result. You will get a sense of where to pinch out, and where to let the shoot grow and produce a flower. Good luck with your adventure.
Do you have any advice on how to grow dahlias in pots/containers as I only have a courtyard type garden? What type of pots are best. Your advice would be appreciated. 😊
Hi thanks for your question. I can't offer advice based on experience as I don't grow them in pots. But I can offer some general advice on potential pitfalls. Firstly choose a variety that is small enough to grow in pots - I suggest nothing over 2ft high and only one plant per pot. Use as large a pot as possible - porous such as clay is best. Use a mineral based compost such as John Innes No 2, standard peat free composts will quickly dry out as dahlias are very thirsty. Lastly, in a pot you will need to add feed regularly as the small volume of compost will rapidly deplete of nutrients. A healthy dahlia in a pot is a thing of beauty - good luck!
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers We've had an awful lot of rain here, high on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, but now the sun is making an appearance, things are going well.
Hi Beverlea. I use an indoor area with light and heat to get them started. Then later move them to usually a polytunnel to grow on. A greenhouse is ideal if heated. Hope yours are doing well !
Thank you so much for this video. This is my first year growing dahlias and while everyone is promoting growing them, you’re the first one to show the other steps except pinching the top! Really helpful 💕
What if your dahlias are already planted in the ground? Do you still remove the weaker shoots over 3 or do you just pinch the center true leaves 3 up from the tuber? I’m in zone 9a and went straight in and planted mine 2 weeks ago and they’re about 1.5-2” high now.
Hi Denis, thanks for your question. It's usual to limit the number of shoots no matter how they are grown. I suggest 3 shoots but 5 or even 6 is commonly advised and that is fine. It is the same for pinching out, choose how far up each shoot you are going to pinch and do them all. Hope you have a great season.
Hi Monnie, yes you can cut away any of the tubers which are rotting, so long as there is some healthy tubers remaining in the clump. I hope it works out for you.
How long do you keep the tubers on the heat mats? I have woken mine on heat mats at 20c. Some have shoots about 1" tall in the 1'x2' seeding trays. would you recommend I move them off the heat mat after I pot them up into pots? Or maintain the heat even after potting up, until I harden off to transplant into ground? Your videos are a treasure trove of information!
Hi thanks for your question. It is useful to keep them warm after first potting up, this will help the roots to establish, a slightly lower temperature (15-16C) would be perfect, for about 2 weeks. Space becomes the issue if you are growing more than a small number, and leaving them without heat is satisfactory if needs must. Good luck!
Hi Mary, sorry to hear yours are not doing so well. I would need more information to be sure, but tall and skinny is usually due to not enough light in the early growth phase. Drying leaves is usually a water issue - if the pot is too small for example, the compost will dry out very quickly. If you want to post more details I can be more specific.
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers thank you for your response. Not enough light make sense. I bought led lights and my tomatoes and celery are starting to look good now. The pot is big enough I think, 10x10x10 inches. It is the same one they were in when I bought them last year. And I clean it last fall. I’m new to this as I retired early and need to keep busy. I always want a vegetables and flowers garden but never had enough time. Perennials are easy but I have a lot to learn. Like to pinch my Dalhia. Well, I hope I don’t kill them and will do a better job next year. Now that I know they grow so fast, I will start them under light begging of April instead of March. Oh and my leaves are also curly… well thank a lot, I was not expecting an answer but I really really appreciate it. And I live in Quebec, Canada so I kept the tubes in vermiculite last winter.
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers just to let you know, I plant my dahlias outside on May 15th and my god it looks like they love the outside more than the inside! They are looking good by the day! The pinching is helping a lot. The leafs are not curling anymore, they look healthy (that is my impression since they look so much better). Now, I cannot wait to see the flowers blooming and appreciated them with my grand kids. Your videos were big help! I will continue to watch them! Thank and have a nice summer!
I’ve been taking cuttings following your guidance. It’s fun. They are doing well. One failed my fault. Some tubers seem to make too many sprouts and some not as much. I’m learning things and enjoying the process. Thank you again.
Hi Ian, yes that is correct, heat is needed in the early phase when conditions would otherwise be too cool to initiate growth. Alternatively you could start later and use natural Spring heat in a greenhouse or polytunnel for example.
Thank you! I just started growing dahlias for my own garden and naturally I want to have lots of flowers. For this reason I hesitate to use single tubers but I´d rather use (and store) clumbs. At least one should assume that you get more (and earlier?) flowers from clumbs than from single tubers. Is this assumption right?
Hi Thomas thank you for your question. Yes you are correct, single tubers can be at some disadvantage, and need more time to produce a bulky flowering plant. But if you have heat and light during the early season (February in the Northern hemisphere), then you can produce a plant that is full size by the time flowering starts. I hope you have a great season!
I’m so confused. Some people say specifically not to use anything miracle grow or anything with any fertilizer in it. Everyone’s got a different story. While I appreciate this video, I’m confused, but I’ll just excuse experiment and what will be will be.
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers That is very kind of you. Currently, I have on hand, regular topsoil, a good potting soil with no peat, vermiculite and pearlite. I have to use large grow bags for my dahlias because I’m totally out of the large pots and garden space what mix of that soil do you think would work well? Thanking you very much in advance for your help.
Hi, ok so once in growth your Dahlias will need some feed so your potting compost it likely to have this for the first few weeks. I would add either Vermiculite or Perlite at about 20% and you are good to go, the larger the bag the better. I hope they do well for you.
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers I can’t thank you enough for this advice. And your timing is perfect. I was just researching once again about planting dahlias so I could pick up what I needed when I run my errands this morning. I will follow your advice and I certainly appreciate your help. Take care and thanks again!
Hi Christine, well yes inevitably it does prevent that shoot from producing it's flower. But then you get at least two flowers in its place. Good deal?
Thank you for this video! I have a question, what occurs to me seeing this video that some of them are planted just with the old stem above the soil and in some cases I see parts of the tubers. Is there a reason for this? Or any rule of thumb? I'm quite new to growing Dahlia's. I've always purchased plants but last year I started overwinter them and I bought a lot of new tubers. I live in the Netherlands and just planted them in pots in my house. I'll take them out end of May and put them in containers. I just want to do well. I already discovered one of them rotting (I put it in a pot 3 weeks ago. I guess the soil was too moist). Some varieties have big clumps of tubers other are single. My questions: 1) what about the part above surface? 2) do I have to wait watering till I see sprouts? 3) do i have to divide big clumps of tubers? (Anyone to answer is very welcome 🙏🏼) Thanks in advance!!!
Hi thanks for your questions. You are absolutely right they are planted higher than usually recommended. I like to get them started in smaller pots for economy of compost and storage space. (I also like to observe them sprouting), Once they fill the pot i will plant them on into larger pots and at that stage cover them with more compost so they sit deeper before finally planting out at the usual depth. To answer the last two questions: 2) Yes it is usual to water only once before spouts appear. 3) There is no rule for division of the tuber clump. Many plant the whole clump (or indeed leave them in the ground to overwinter). Others divide into single tubers - to get the maximum number of plants. Others divide into twos/ threes etc. I can't recommend one method or another, but I do feel that planting the whole clump is rather wasteful of potential because a single area of soil can support a plant of only 3-5 shoots and stay productive. Hope your season goes well.
@@MoorfieldFarmFlowers Thank you very much for you quick and elaborate reply!! I'm hear to learn and just followed your example. I put 12 new and some own in nursery pots today. I divided a few, just to see what happens and planted them with their crowns a bit above the surface. I planted 2 last week. Too deep. As was advised to plant them 10-15cm deep. They already started rotting. I used your hydroperoxide advice from the other video. I watered them as I thought they needed it to sprout. However 3 others sprouted. And now I know and learned from you, I notice I planted them with their crown above the surface. I just made the soil a little bit damp (I use perlite, clay pebbles and worm castings in the soil) and place them indoors. In my living room and study. In front of a window. And will put them in larger containers on my little terrace in the middle of my tropical garden. My urban oasis. Long story short: I really really appreciate your videos and your advice!!🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 It's great to learn and experiment as well and hopefully I develop my own technique eventually. It's just such an amazing hobby. 😄
Thanks again Planty, I am glad you got some to germinate. Tubers are most at risk of rotting when they are cold and damp. If you can switch on their metabolism by keeping them warm they are more likely to survive the critical initial period. Good luck!
