Burn Baby Burn!

Now that I have you singing the song (Disco Inferno by the Trammps), let me explain why burning has been the name of the game recently.

We have to jump back to Fall of 2025- it's frosted and the dahlias are ready to be cut back. We’ve made our decisions on which varieties will be dug and which will be overwintered. I’m always on a quest to reduce the amount of plastic we use on this farm so I thought- let’s try using straw to cover the beds and keep the weeds down this year instead of landscape fabrice/black plastic — we’ve used a combination of both in the past.

End of October, almost to first frost

Nov 9, first hard frost

We cut down the overwintered rows, pulled any remaining weeds and covered in straw with such high hopes we were doing a good thing. Time progressed and around mid December I began noticing some grassy shoots in our rows and by early January the weed pressure was too much. So out came the landscape fabric and we stapled it down over the rows.
One of my dreaded fears had finally come true- we got the bad batch of straw that had too much seed in it. It’s always a risk but for years we’ve been successful. I wasn’t too worried though because I knew we still had 2 months until our dahlias would begin to sprout - plenty of time to kill off the weeds.
Enter the winter storm at the end of January- over 10 days under snow and ice. Very unusual for our climate to be that cold for that long. Then the recovery and clean up process that happens after a big storm and all the regular chaos of a farm in February (it’s surprisingly busy!)
And we come to early March…….

I knew it was time to remove the covers- we had 2 weeks of 60+ degree temps at the end of February. That’ll get those dahlias sprouting!

We arrived at our offsite plot to this view! Majority of our covers blown off and a very healthy crop of weeds growing! Now, I’ll admit- it’s my own fault. I didn’t go check like I should have in the chaos of February. We took all the covers off and because the dahlias hadn’t sprouted above ground yet, I began using a long handled propane torch to flame weed the rows.

Healthy of crop of weeds after removing the fabric

Beginning the flame weeding process

Slow but effective weed removal method

The flame weeding process works well- it’s agonizingly slow but easier on your body to stand and flame than to be bent over weeding. Thankfully this was the only field that looked this way. The other 3 fields were pretty good- 90% of the covers stayed on.

So my goal of having nice weed free rows in the spring was a huge fail but we did manage to fix it before the dahlias began growing so that’s a win— timing was everything in this situation. Next year— Back to the fabric from the beginning!

From Tuber to Bloom: Part 2

You’ve done the work- you planted on time in the right spot. You fertilized, weeded, and supported your dahlia plants. But then, almost overnight, you notice someone is doing you dirty! You’ve got pests! You’ve got bugs eating your precious plants! What do you do???

Don’t fear! You can handle this. Dahlias are unfortunately subject to a lot of pests. The bugs like them just as much as we do. But over the years, I’ve developed some strategies to dealing with pests.

First you gotta’ get a gameplan:
1. Identify your pest— You can’t fight it if you don’t know what it is. Get your camera out and take some pictures. Photograph the bug itself if you can or take a picture of the damage. Both can help you identify it. Then you start researching. It helps to know a list of possible dahlia pests- gives you a starting point. These are the most common ones:
Thrips, Aphids, Earwigs, Cucumber Beetles, Japanese Beetles, Mites (Spider, Broad), Leafhoppers, Leafminers
Use these pests and combine it with words like - “leaf damage” or words describing the life cycle of the pest to find more information.
2. Know your pests life cycle. As if figuring out the pests wasn’t enough- you need to know the life cycle of the pests. Since a lot of insects go through different stages, you may need to fight them differently at different stages of their life cycle- fun huh?
3. Get a plan of attack. Once you know your pest and its life stages, you can formulate a plan of attack. Often you will have multiple stages of the pest in your garden at once. Which is why you may need to attack the pest several times to bring the population down. You may not completely eradicate it- which is not a bad thing because if you want good bugs to take care of your bad bugs— the good ones need some bad ones to eat!
4. Keep Records- Write down when you first saw a pest, what method you used to attack it, and also what the general weather conditions where around the time you first saw it. These will be handy in future years- you’ll begin to see patterns and it will help you predict when pests are going to show.

Once you have your plan of attack, make sure you are applying any spray properly—
Basics of applying pest control sprays:
1. Spray early in the morning or early evening
2. Don’t spray when it’s windy
3. Test the product on a small number of plants first
4. Don’t spray oil based products in high light situations
5. Read the product directions and take any recommended safety precautions.
6. Rotate the products you use- don’t use the same thing every time.

Also- consider preventing pests. When you first start growing you will be more on the other side and having to control pests once they’ve already arrived. But after a few years of growing, you may know their cycles enough that you can use prevention methods for some of them.
Consider prevention methods before applying a spray:
1. Timing- You can avoid some pests if you plant later or earlier in the season. For example, if you plant in May in my climate, Japanese beetles won’t bother your plants because they cause damage on the blooms. May planted blooms don’t bloom until August and the beetles are mostly gone by then.
2. Surround WP- This is a spray made of kaolin clay- it will turn your plants white but is useful to keep bugs at bay and also prevents powdery mildew. More info here.
3. Bagging Blooms- using organza bags on blooms can prevent bug damage, very useful on lighter colored blooms
4. Water- Using overhead sprinklers when hot can help prevent powdery mildew and also spider mites.

Commonly used sprays for Dahlias: (not all of this are listed OMRI(organic) so please read the labels before applying.)
1. Capt’n Jacks Dead Bug Brew- Spinosad based spray- not an immediate knockdown effect, takes 2-3 days to notice a reduction in pests
2. Bonide Maxx- one of the few I’ve found that helps with grasshoppers. (Encouraging your bird population still works better though)
3. Avid/Minx- miticides- use on mites. A lot of other sprays don’t work on mites and often you’ll need a specific miticide.
4. Pyrethrin- effective but don’t use if you know you have mites because pyrethrin can cause your mite situation to get worse.

Diseases— You’ll want to begin with the same process. Scout your plants regularly and take pictures. Research to figure out what you are dealing with and then formulate your plan of attack.
Common Dahlia Diseases:
1. Powdery Mildew
2. Verticillium Wilt
3. Viruses (several but a more indepth topic than we can discuss in this primer)

Powdery Mildew is fungal related so can be treated. Overhead watering is a great form of prevention. If you grow dahlias in a hot climate, there’s a good chance you will get it at some point. The goal is to prevent it for as long as you can. If you get it early in the season and leave it untreated, it can kill your plant. But if kept treated, your plant will usually survive until frost. We use the following sprays to keep it under control: Copper, Cease, Milstop.

We’ve really only scratched the surface here but these posts are meant to be a primer and a tool to help you get started on your dahlia journey. If you want more indepth, join us for Dahlia Bootcamp inside The Petal Society. It’s recorded so even if you missed the live event, you can watch it later.

From Tuber to Bloom: Part 1

Today continues our brand new grower series:

So your dahlia tuber or cutting has arrived!! Now what? There are a few things you want to check. I’ve written up a really good blog on this before so I’m going to point you there instead of re-writing (b/c that really wouldn’t make sense). Hop over there real quick and take a read.

Planting:
Now if you did you homework last week, you will have made your decision on where to plant. Planting is very easy- people try to make it complicated but let’s simplify. For tubers, dig a hole. If you have well draining soil, then you can dig 6” or so deep. If you have heavy clay, go 3-4” deep. If you have done your soil test and amended according to the directions in it, you don’t need to add anything extra to your hole. Place the tuber in the hole with the crown facing up. If you don’t know where the crown is (it’s where the sprouts come out), lay the tuber horizontally. The good thing is that even if you put it upside down, it’s still going to work. That sprout will find it’s way up!
A rooted cutting is planted very similar. Dig a hole about 2” deeper than the depth of your pot. Strip off the bottom pair of leaves from your cutting and make sure the node (where the leaves join the stem) is underground. This will help your cutting grow more tubers. Water it in well.
For more planting info: Go here and here.

Support:
Dahlias need support- most varieties grow a minimum of 3’ tall and around 4’ on average, occasionally 6’. So you definitely want to give it a little help. There are several ways to do this. On a small scale for a few plants, place a stake (3-4’ tall) next to your tuber/cutting when you plant it. (Don’t stake tuber planted dahlias later b/c you’ll pierce your tuber clump). Tomato cages also work well for single plants. Horizontal netting with 6” squares works well for full beds of dahlias. Sometimes 2 layers can be required. Twine woven through the plants and wrapped around stakes can work as well. Put your support in before you think you need it (b/c they’ll grow faster than you think!)

Weeds:
They are inevitable in any kind of gardening. The best strategy is to not let them get out of control but this is easier said than done. Don’t worry, we’ve all had the day that made us want to quit growing things because of the weeds. Using some stray or chip mulch from the beginning will help. Tuber grown plants will push through either type of mulch so you really can put it down from day 1. Some people use landscape fabric with holes burned into it. We found this to be too hot for our climate but in cooler climates it may work successfully.
For more weed control tips: The Mulching Chronicles

Watering:
We talked of securing access to water in the first blog so now it’s time to use it! Hand watering works just fine if you have the time and can be quite therapeutic at the end of a long day or to start your day. Automated drip irrigation systems are great too! They ensure your dahlias get watered evenly and on a schedule. Do whatever fits your daily life. But most importantly, don’t forget to water. If planting tubers, don’t water until they sprout unless your soil is very dry and it’s really hot! But generally speaking you want the tuber to sprout before you start watering but green on top, means roots on the bottom to use that water. Once you see buds on your plants, you’ll want to increase your watering. They will flower more profusely with more water. Most really hot climates will need water each day.

Fertilizing:
Your soil test should give you the first clues as to how to fertilize. You’ll need to amend according to what the test says. Do this before planting. We then add a fertilizer higher in nitrogen than potassium and phosphorus when planting as this aids green growth. After about 2 months, we switch to a fertilizer with higher potassium and phosphorus as this aids flowering. You can apply these as granular or liquid sprayed on the leaves or watered in. Either works!
Don’t get too hung up on brands either. Look for the nutrients you need. Different brands are popular in different places but they usually have the same nutrient combos. We apply fertilizer every 2 weeks during the flowering season. During green growth, we apply at planting and about a month later.

“Homework” for the week:
1. Decide on your support method and acquire supplies
2 Develop a schedule/plan for watering your plants
3. Source your fertilizer and a method to apply it.

This post has just skimmed the surface of how to be a successful dahlia grower. If you’d like to hear me teach live about getting your dahlia garden started right- I’m hosting a “Dahlia Bootcamp” on March 12 inside The Petal Society. It will be a live workshop - we’ll have dahlia giveaways, plenty of Q&A time, and everything you need to know to get started successfully with your dahlia garden this Spring!

Continue on to Part 3 of our Beginner Dahlia Growing Series

So You Wanna Grow A Dahlia?

You’re browsing around the internet… you are stopped dead in your tracks at these beautiful bodacious blooms! And you must have some! Before you know it, your clicking the order button and now you have some dahlias on the way to your door this Spring!

You live in the post retail therapy bliss for a few days and then the reality sets in (b/c most likely by that point, you’ve hit “buy” a few times.) You suddenly realize you have no idea what you are doing, where you are going to grow these or even what kind of care they need.

Sound familiar? Don’t panic— over the next few weeks, we are going to walk through how to get started in your dahlia journey. How to move from “I’ve got 50 dahlias coming and I don’t know what to do” to being confident that you can have a beautiful harvest of bright bold blooms this Fall.

Let’s begin. Dahlias are sold usually in the winter/early Spring months so chances are you have a bit of time on your hands before they arrive. (even if not, these steps can be accomplished quickly) The interim time between purchase and arrival can be used wisely so let me walk you through what to focus on right now.

First, let’s figure out where to plant your dahlia. Plants need light. Light is usually one of the harder things to alter in your landscape so it’s worthwhile to consider it first. Dahlias need full sun as their light requirement. Full sun is defined by 6 hours or more of direct unfiltered sunlight. So next time you have a bright sunny day, go look through your outside space for any area that has this requirement. You’re going to want to look at multiple times on the same day as light changes throughout the day. In extreme heat climates- zone 8b and above it can be helpful to have that full sun be in the earlier part of the day so by the time it gets really hot, your dahlias are getting a bit of shade or filtered sunlight.

Next, let’s look at access to water. Do you have a hose, irrigation system, sprinkler? How far do you have to go to get water? Having easy access to water is important because if you can water your plants easily you are more likely to do it. No access or limited access to water is a recipe for stressed plants.

After this, let’s consider our soil. Start by taking a soil test. DON’T skip this part. So many people do. A soil test will tell you so much about your natural soil and give you the information you need to make sound decisions about soil improvement and fertilization going forward. You can send your soil test to your local extension service or an agricultural testing laboratory.
Dahlias prefer soil with good drainage. You may be lucky enough to live somewhere where good drainage occurs naturally but that’s rare. Most of us are dealing with harder clay soils or poor soils. So in the time before your dahlia arrives, it’s worth the effort to improve your drainage. This can be done in a few ways: Raise your growing area- mound your soil up (even a few inches helps) or create a raised bed with permanent sides. You can also mix in compost - adding organic matter always improves drainage in soil- it creates natural air pockets and pathways for water to move. Both of these put together is an ideal situation. The last part of soil consideration is to remember that building good soil is a multi-year process. Honestly it never stops. However, I tell you this so you don’t stress over getting it “perfect” from year 1- there is no such thing as perfect soil. Just take some steps to make your soil better each year.

So your “homework” is to do 3 things:
1. Figure out where you have full sun
2. Determine your access to water
3. Take a soil test

I’ll be back in our next post to talk about what to do with your tubers and cuttings when they arrive and also how to plant your dahlias.

This post has just skimmed the surface of how to be a successful dahlia grower. If you’d like to hear me teach live about getting your dahlia garden started right- I’m hosting a “Dahlia Bootcamp” on March 12 inside The Petal Society. It will be a live workshop - we’ll have dahlia giveaways, plenty of Q&A time, and everything you need to know to get started successfully with your dahlia garden this Spring!

Continue on to Part 2 of our Beginner Dahlia Growers Series

2026 Dahlia Goals

It is definitely time- Time to get my plans in place for a successful dahlia season. I’ve been tweaking my planting plan for weeks now and I think I’ve about got it. But I’ve also been thinking of some goals for this season. It doesn’t matter where I plant them if I don’t have good goals in place. So here goes:

Goal Number 1: Lower the labor
Growing at a large scale means that every task takes longer. So each year I try to find ways to make it more efficient. Last year we grew more dahlias than we ever had and will do that again this year. So it means it’s really time to inspect every process. Sometimes this means we don’t do things you would do when growing on a small scale. For example, I’m often asked if we strip bottom leaves and well— we used to when it was 1000 plants but with over 5000 now, it’s just not possible. The return on the time spent would not be profitable. It’s a great practice if you can do it, but as we scale certain things aren’t possible anymore.
We left a significant number of plants in the ground this year. So our Spring planting labor should be lower. However, growing a spring dahlia crop means a summer cut back. So the question becomes: Is the labor of cutting back dahlias in mid summer less than planting more from scratch in the Spring? We will have to track our time carefully this summer.
Lowering the labor means we may be able to expand our numbers in the future but first we have to find more efficient processes.

Goal Number 2: Better Pest Control
I think everybody probably has this goal. And it goes in conjunction with number 1- pest control is one of the most time consuming aspects of growing dahlias. A secondary goal is to try methods that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. One major aspect of implementing this goal will be using the experience we have from previous years on pest attack timing. One advantage of growing in the same climate year after year is that pests become predictable. So anticipating and using pest prevention becomes easier over time. After 10 years of growing on this property, I can tell you when certain pest are going to appear. However, a lot of them come during our planting season- which is 5-6 weeks long. So I’m hopeful with less planting to do this year, that I’ll be able to spend some of that “extra” time on pest prevention instead of reaction.

Goal Number 3: Add in more fancy dahlias!
I gotta’ have at least one fun goal right?? In the 2024 season, we had awful deer pressure and lost a lot of our “fancy” dahlias- the big fluffy ones that we mostly grew for fun or for tuber sales. We grow large quantities of ball types and a lot of formal decoratives because these work well for cut flower production. But I really love fancy dahlias! So I am planning space for about 15 varieties- some new to the farm and some old favorites. So look for some new varieties next fall during our tuber sale!!

What are your goals? Drop us a line via our contact form or send us an email! I’d love to hear about them!