For more tips on growing dahlias from dahlia expert Steven Edney, this covers over-wintering and more: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ExwzinP-teU.html
Have Steve back as often as you like -he’s great. I’d love him on splitting dahlias. Not some easy classically shaped clump but some big gnarly one that hasn’t been lifted for 3 years. Really enjoyed this thanks
Well that is a lovely border. How wonderful to have stained glass windows to play off of. I’m thankful that I’ve never had huge pest issues with my dahlias other than slugs, which I manage with organic pellets, and Japanese beetles (which I don’t think you have in the UK), which I hand pick. That Vaseline tip is one I’ll keep in my back pocket for future use.
I had never grown dahlias till about 4 years ago when we moved to another house and after intensive weeding I have discovered baby dahlias in my front garden. To my surprise they grew very tall and produced huge flowers with very little effort on my behalf. Four years on and yet another house and garden where I had planted those discovered dahlias and added few more. I find them very easy to grow and very rewarding, especially when other flowers beginning to fade away. This year has been very dry and it is my own fault that they have grown shorter with less flowers than usual. As I found out from this video I have not been giving them enough water and feed. Thank you, Steve and Alexandra for enlightening me in that respect. I would also like some tutorial on how to grow chrysanthemums and asters for added colour in late autumn. Thank you in advance.
Every time I see a notification of your videos dropping on RU-vid it is the joy of my day. I absolutely love your videos and the beautiful dahlias. Hands down my favorite flowers!!!!
Alexandria you have done ✅ it again a brilliant video hope I have the spelling of your name correct ( I am Dyslexic) how you come up with a new video every week is beyond me .do you know what I like you to do is a conifer garden kind of winter colour and the one with candles cones I am so cheeky to ask but only you can can do a good job of getting the information from the experts and breaking it down for simply terms great job Ps your still my favourite video every week your have an encyclopaedia built up at this stage. God bless and keep up the good work.
Thank you, and that's a good idea. I'm planning winter videos now so I'll see what I can do. I have done one video on conifers in case you haven't seen it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qeArah9ekjg.html
I wish he could have talked about overwintering & what to do--would you consider this for another video? This is my first year growing dahlias & I've enjoyed them so much! Thank you Alexandria!
Thank you! There are 2 videos here that deal with overwintering - a general video on growing dahlias and over-wintering is at 07:24 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ExwzinP-teU.html and also How to Care for Your Dahlias in Winter: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hrdO0kX_MyU.html
Thanks for putting this together, I could listen to you two all day. I'm new to growing Dahlias and this was so much help, especially about feeding every week. I have seen on other channels the mention of them being heavy feeders, but no one elaborated on how often or what they use. I'm happy to say mine are all doing great. One bit of advise I'd add for newbies, make sure you take staking seriously, I didn't do enough and I'm having to get in there and pull them back to tie up.
Perfect timing! I was just on holiday and stumbled upon a dahlia grower who gave us a tour of her fields!! It was lovely. I ended up bringing home pots of 10 dahlias, so this is great information. Thanks.
Wonderful flowers, great info clearly presented. And did I hear the bells of the cathedral in the background? What a treat! Thanks to you both. Would love to visit that place! 💗💐
Thank you! Yes, the bells started mid interview, and we weren't sure if they'd be a distraction or not, so we left them in for that bit, but waited until they were over for the next bit.
Wow! What an inspiring border. I've grown dahlias from seed for the first time resulting in singles and doubles from lovely yellows to gorgeous pinks at a much more affordable rate than buying tubers. But in my zone 6 garden they only start to bloom in late August and early September. Excellent advice on handling pests with great filming.
That Dahlia Bed is a slight to behold!!...thanks so much to Steve...💝🌻....maybe I am a bit like Steve's mum too...I do love unusual and garish colours too....besides sweet pastels...😂 Of course, as always, thanks to you for sharing this video...💝💐
Thanks for a cracking interview Alexandra. Some super tips as always from Steve. The wool pellets always work for us at keeping slugs and snails at bay.
Love interviews with Steve! Dahlias always seemed too fancy for me, but this video made me want to give them a try. So much good advice. I enjoy seeing the parade of insects that make the garden their home throughout the season. Garden isn't just eye candy, it's an ecosystem!
Hi Alexandra, great video. Again, thanks. I've been growing dahlias for a few years now, having been encouraged by a number of your videos on the subject and also some by George of the now, apparently discontinued the Small Garden channel. I'm not using any prevention measures and I've found that with regards to slugs etc, they seem to like a few of the plants but leave the majority alone. Again, a few of the plants - mainly the simpler single flower heads, are invaded by black fly but most are clear. I don't feed during the summer but referring to another of your videos, I put about 2 to 3 inches of compost or manure over the beds in late autumn once I've cut the plants down to act as a slow feed and as a mulch. I don't lift any tubers now, and I've found that (here in the south of England) most seem to survive the winter ok. Thanks again for your highly interesting videos, Best regards, Robbo
Loved the talk got so much information regarding the dahlia plants. Dahlias are so rewarding never cared for the single flowers but I have changed my thoughts and will be looking to buy some Steve has so much knowledge to share and he explains so well, a joy to gather his information. Thank you |Alexandra for seeking out the top experts to help us keep a lovely garden whether large or small, if you enjoy working with the soil, then you are or claim yourself a Gardener 🌳🌹🌼🌞
Love Steve, the guys a genius 😀 I've had stunning dahlias the last few years but this year some are only just coming into flower, I blame the rubbish summer we've had plus they got hammered by slugs or something when they began to sprout.
I’m a new Dalia grower. We were given some large tubers by friends last year which were glorious. The problem is we have no space to dig them up and overwinter them and this year some of them didn’t even emerge from the ground. I would love to know what Steve does with all those beautiful plants over the winter. Thanks Alexandra for another very informative blog. 🌺
There are two videos here that might help. One is also with Steve and covers most aspects of growing dahlias (you can use timestamps to get to questions you want) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ExwzinP-teU.html and the other is specifically about dahlias overwinter. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hrdO0kX_MyU.html
This is my second year of growing dahlias. Last year they were being eaten by slugs the minute they were out of the ground. This year I put a 1 foot circle around the dahlia with a flat 2 inch copper wire standing upright. Worked perfectly. The wire came in a roll. 😍
Wonderful video again! What were the frosty green and purple border plants in front, just off the pavers? Such a lovely combination to hide the dahlias feet.
Such great advice about organic gardening, not sure if he mentioned how he staked them, I learned the hard way this year about staking. I grew Cafe Au Lait and put a stake up after the fact, but even the side branches were so heavy, some broke off. It's almost like they need a net around them. I'm sure you have other videos that explain that! Always great videos!
I second the idea of needing more information on the best staking methods. My garden always seems to flop over, no matter the plant. 🙄 I never knew about their need for water and fertilizer, or the vaseline trick for earwigs! I'll def try to be more conscious about that. The border is lovely, can you tell me please what was the plant at the base of the dahlia flowers that was spilling onto the pavement? It had green/ grayish foliage but I couldn't quite tell what it was. Mentioning what else grows well with dahlias would also be appreciated. 😁
I lasso my dahlia beds in two heights, its easy and works really well as long as you plant your dahlias close together. I do an 18" spacing, 4 rows deep.
Such great information. I do believe my issue with flowering was lack of water early on. I need to do some rearranging next year for better light and more water. Mine got very tall and now I have naked bottoms with blooms way up high. I’m wondering if he pinches his back early on.
Thank you, Alexandra…. another fantastic video! Are you aware of any dahlia varieties that are heat tolerant? I live in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and our temperatures went well above 40 Celsius during an unprecedented heat wave this summer. Some varieties did surprisingly well (Café au Lait and Cornel Bronze), but others really struggled (Karma Choc and Labyrinth). I am hoping that climate change doesn’t ruin my newly discovered love of dahlias.
Thank you! They originate in Mexico, so they should be reasonably OK on heat. I wonder if there was perhaps a watering issue? There may also be some that are better suited to very temperate climates as they were bred to grow in the UK or North America.
I'm in Campbell River, BC and we did get into the very high 30s this year due to the heat wave. I have found that if I water in the morning and the evening during the heat of the summer, my 135 dinnerplate dahlias are fine and bloom prolifically - my three Labyrinth did exceptionally well. On super hot days we even watered three times a day. Not for long, but enough to keep the soil from drying out completely. Here is a short video of my dahlias to give you an idea of how well they did (the video is actually about on my pups but its in the dahlia garden); ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-W4sUdHmps6Y.html
Can Steve give us a bit more information about early season/late season varieties. My supplier doesn't differentiate. Is there a list of early flowerers?
I think that the problem is that with 18,000 varieties of dahlias, there's no guarantee that any dahlias he recommends would necessarily be available where you are. It may be worth looking for another dahlia supplier or getting in touch with the current one and asking them to supply the information.
My dahlias have excelled themselves this year. I keep them in the ground overwinter with a big pile of bark chippings on top (pegged in place by squares of aviary wire, otherwise the blackbirds scratch away the bark). I have a dilemma, though. My Bishop of Llandaff is over 6 ft tall, smothered in flowers and generally spectacular, BUT I'm not loving the scarlet, it doesn't sit right with my other colours. I don't know anyone who'd want the tubers if I dig it up, I can't throw it away because it's such a trooper! Francis, how do you deal with great plants that are in the wrong place? Do some of us need to harden up a bit?
Oh, dear, yes we do, but I am with you - I find it very difficult to get rid of a plant I don't like which is doing well! I think the only thing is to wait until someone admires it, then say that you will dig it up and give it to them.
I'm so fortunate that I have time every morning to actively hunt for slugs and snails which I flick over the back fence into a reserve for lizard food. I have a no kill, no poison self imposed rule. Occasionally I'll slip up and forget like I did the other day when I came across some aphids on my new rose buds and squashed some in between my fingers and thumb all the while thinking that the ladybirds will show up soon x
I had a dreadful amount of earwigs on my dahlias and I managed to lure most of them away organically with an upside down pot of straw on top of a cane amongst the flowers. Every now and again I tap it out and dozens of earwigs come out of the straw.
Re-watching this video in anticipation for the onslaught of earwigs in 2022. I'm wondering if you can tell me what looks like a short reddish Ricinus is in that long border at the start of the video!?
The beauty of gardening is that it's such a personal thing. I enjoyed listening to Steve, but do I like the border's colour scheme? No, unlike many of the comments below. The picture was nice but the actual display was, to my mind, a bit insipid, lacking variety. But hey, that's what gardening is all about, namely doing your own thing and getting enjoyment from what you like.
I love dahlias! My main problem is staking that actually works. I assume that the border that we see in this video has lots of staking that cannot be seen?
When I've taken cuttings of dahlias, they've always developed tubers. I have potted them on about twice into larger pots, but otherwise looked after them as I would any dahlia in pot, feeding and watering them, then taking them into a frost-free space in the winter.
I’m not an expert as my dahlias haven’t had mildew but the advice from the RHS is to make sure the plants are in full sun, and to water if there is a drought because drought stressed plants are more vulnerable. They also advise mulching the soil with a layer of garden compost, well rotted manure or other mulch to improve the soil structure and its drainage. They also say destroy affected leaves, don’t compost them. I hope that helps.
I’m not an expert as my dahlias haven’t had mildew but the advice from the RHS is to make sure the plants are in full sun, and to water if there is a drought because drought stressed plants are more vulnerable. They also advise mulching the soil with a layer of garden compost, well rotted manure or other mulch to improve the soil structure and its drainage. They also say destroy affected leaves, don’t compost them. I hope that helps.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden i did do all that but I think they were perhaps planted too close together. In the end I just cut them all off to the base and they are shooting again, no mildew not sure they will flower again as it is nearly winter ! Thank you for your thoughts
Oh, dear - but I hope the tips in this help. I have had slugs destroyed by dahlias, but I find that if you can keep them at bay (with barrier methods or organic slug pellets) while the plants are small, then when they're bigger a bit of damage doesn't seem to make much difference.
