General Dahlia Chat - 2025

Juliarugula · 2025-01-01T13:30:33+00:00

Justafewdahlias whew! Much better thanks! 😅

LoveLanguageDahlias

Teddahlia Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

blown_dry

Teddahlia Thank you, Ted!

KitCMC

Teddahlia thank you, Ted! I appreciate these write ups. Between driving teenagers all over for sports, and the time difference, it’s hard to make it regularly.

Bessie

Teddahlia when I was fresh out of college, I worked in a plant nursery. Having all the science classes related to horticulture "under my belt", when I saw a flat of annuals looking all pale and yellow, guess what I did... I sprinkled Scotts lawn fertilizer( it was partially time release) on it. The flat of annuals looked great a few days later. I must add that this was before all the weed preventatives and insecticides/fungicides were regularly part of the formulation for lawn fertilizers. Over the years I've killed a few plants from over fertilization. But I've also proven I can keep most plants growing robustly just by regularly replenishing the nitrogen it uses in the growing season. I'm a fan of timed release fertilizer, but nothing can beat a balanced fertilizer that dissolves in water that contains micronutrients(such as Miracle Grow or Generic equivalent) for a quick greening of fast growing vegetables or ornamentals. Don't judge... but my occasional organic fertilizer for nitrogen is diluted human urine. The dahlias really like it!

blown_dry

Bessie I killed some plants with chicken manure 'compost' once. One that I fairly regret. Never believe the info on the bag, I guess. No judging here! Nature's nitrogen...

Teddahlia

Greenhouse fertilizer: In the greenhouse and feeding cuttings and starting hanging pots and containers, we buy a 25 pound bag(sometimes two) of what I call "greenhouse" soluble fertilizer. It is 20-20-20 and we have tried a different NPK ratio but like the 20-20-20 . We have two brands that are preferred: Plantex and Jack's. The Jack's is easier to find for the average person an is probably just as good. The price has skyrocketed for the past few years and what was about $35.00 a bag is double that and more. At Costco last year, I bought a "box" of Miracle Gro 24-8-16 as it was quite bit cheaper than the Plantex and Jack's and I used it later in the greenhouse season, mixing it in with the Plantex. It is "too hot" to be use alone and I quickly determined that in one use when the plants went way too green and leggy.

LoveLanguageDahlias

I'm so excited! The seeds I started are germinating more quickly than I'd hoped. One flat will have some cotyledons fully exposed tomorrow. I purchased seeds from a few farms and am looking forward to collecting my own seeds next year. Many of the tubers in my cutting bed have lovely, wee sprouts and lots of swollen eyes. Luckily, no one seems to mind the metro rack with grow lights and plants that will be in the living room for the next 3 months.

Juliarugula

LoveLanguageDahlias Luckily, no one seems to mind the metro rack with grow lights and plants that will be in the living room for the next 3 months.

😜. I keep mine in the bedroom. I always get eager to kick out my roommates in April!

BackyardBouquets_17

What would be the best way to ship UNrooted cuttings to a friend?

Krista

BackyardBouquets_17 I ship unrooted cuttings in boxes just the right size for the amount of plant material I’m sending. I wrap the cuttings in damp paper towels (not so wet they drip, not wrung out too much) and tuck them into a plastic baggie. I make sure the box is snugly full (filling corners with newspaper/recycled packing materials) just so the cuttings don’t jangle around in transit. I’ve had good success rates with friends able to root the cuttings upon arrival. You’ll do great! And like Ted says, if one shipment doesn’t work, just try another! ❤️

Flowernut

BackyardBouquets_17 I save the containers that store bought herbs come in. I wrapped the end of the cutting in a wet paper towel and placed in a baggie. I didn't close the baggie. Then I placed this in the container. I bet you could then place this in a bubble wrap envelope.

Teddahlia

What would be the best way to ship UNrooted cuttings to a friend?
It costs very little(in money or time) to send a bubble wrap envelope any where. So send one and find out if they arrived in good condition. If not mail another one. And if not mail another one. Get the idea? I have sent one batch with success . But plan on several and you will definitely succeed.

BackyardBouquets_17

Any other type of cushioning needed or the bubble wrap should be sufficient?

Teddahlia

I cannot remember exactly what I did 10 years ago to mail some cuttings to a person to see it they would make it and get rooted. I believe I just put 3-4 cuttings into a plastic sandwich bag and put them into a regular #10(business size) paper envelope and figured if it works I was out only a stamp. It worked and he rooted all of them. I believe he was only about 150 miles away. Bubble wrap envelope would be the "deluxe" method and I would maybe only put the sandwich bag into a folded paper towel for one more layer.
I get bare root, ROOTED cuttings from my friend in Chicago every year, mailed in a box. . They generally look like crap when they arrive but 90% of them do just fine. He just wraps the bare root part in some aluminum foil and crams them into the box with about 20 petunia cuttings, some basil cuttings etc. Not rocket science here. Fill the box and they will not get bounced around.

« Previous Page