Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi,

These are still flowering at the lotty - not sure what they are, they were in a bee mix.

Pawty

Pawty

What a nice bright picture to start the day

I think their scientific name is yellow flowers
very nice to look at to start the day! Thanks for sharing

Beautiful Pawty - very cheerful simple flower shape, bet the bees liked them!

One of my lottie neighbours was taking photos of my dahlias on Sunday - all large and in flower. He was interested in what variety - 99p shop, £ shop, or Inexcess didn't satisfy so he had to take the pics to research himself! What would I know, I likes - I buys!

Good job he did really as I think we may have a frost coming, so will be time to tuck them up for a bit!

Westi

These last splashes of colour are doubly welcome before the frost finishes them off.

I have one lovely dahlia still in flower and am pondering what to do with it over winter. I know you're supposed to dig them up and store the tubers but does anybody just cut them down and leave them in the ground covered with a generous mound of mulch?.
This is what I did with this one last winter and it survived but admittedly it was a mild one.

I leave dahlia tubers in the ground, Primrose and have only lost a few over the years....i normally cover them in dry leaves and cover these in garden compost.

I've been ordered by my OH to dig the dahlias tubers out and store them in the shed for the winter. Mother in law said the same. I told them they should do it so I will learn by watching So we already have the box and newspapers to store them, but they are still flowering so they are enjoying being outside still!
I cut down the peonies though as leaves and stem were black, but these will be staying in the ground.
[BTW - no idea if any of this wrong or right - just saying]

Mine stay in with a nice blanket of mulch for a couple of years but then I lift and divide the tubers so as not to let them get crowded out. Even the tiny ones get a chance as a pot plant at this stage, but they have the biggest fail rate by far so only if I really like it and it is a smaller variety do I even bother anymore and just throw them back in the main bed & it's suck it & see.

We have some proper dahlia growers on site, one advised me I don't even dead head right this year! Nothing more - just that statement! Kidded myself he was anxious about my flower bed & he's chances at the big shows if I venture into this!

Westi

I've tried leaving them in the ground with a good mulch, but have reverted to lifting the tubers and keeping them in a tray of dryish compost. The slugs ate all the new shoots off the ones in the ground and some went rotten.

Don't forget the tubers are edible if you've any spare. They make a nice rosti. I might try just roasting a few this year.