Let’s Get Planting!

Well, we planted our first dahlias of the season yesterday. We put in rooted cuttings of 20th Ave Memory; she’s a sweet light pink ball.

For some of you, you planted a month ago, for my farm it’s the earliest we can start and for colder regions, you are just waking up your tubers.

But regardless of when you do it, there are always lots of questions about planting. And first thing I want to say about it- Don’t Overthink It!

It’s a really simple process but people tend to overthink it.

Here’s the basic process for planting a tuber:
1. Dig a hole 4-6” deep. Deeper if you have really good draining soil.
2. Put the tuber in (lay it horizontally if you don’t know which end the eye is on).
3. Cover it with about 2” of soil, more if you have well draining soil.
4. Do you water it? Well if you are lucky enough to live in an area with consistent rain, then no. But if you live in the land of roller coaster weather like I do- you need to look at the weather report. If I see we have significant chances of rain in 2-5 days and the temps are under 80 degrees, then I don’t water. But if it’s hot and dry, then I water once- a good soaking. But that’s usually all that’s needed to get the tuber going.

Here’s the basic process for planting a rooted cutting:
1. Dig a hole ( as big around as your pot is but a few inches deeper)
2. Place your rooted cutting (that has been potted up) and place it deep enough so that you are covering 1-2 nodes on the stem with soil (remove any leaves attached to these nodes). Planting those nodes under the soil gives you more chances to tubers being made at those nodes. But you have to pot up your rooted cutting in order to get a tall enough plant to do this.
3. Water your plant deeply. Keep it well watered for the first 2 weeks while it establishes. Not sopping wet, ensure good drainage but don’t water starve it at this stage.

So those are the very basics but let me cover a few things I get questions about:
1. Planting in no dig beds or raised beds- How deep should they be? If they don’t have a bottom on the bed, then 6-8” is fine, more is okay too. If the bed has a bottom (but make sure it still has drain holes, then 810-12” is going to be better.
2. How do I plant a clump? Same way as a tuber but dig a bigger hole and make sure the old stalk is facing up ( you usually have an old stalk on these types of clumps)
3. When can I plant? After you last frost date (Google it) and when your soil has had time to warm up. If you have warm weather after your last frost date for a week or two, that should be sufficient.
4. Can I plant my dahlia in a pot? Yes, but make sure it’s at least a 7 gallon size. Plant just like you would in the ground.

Got a Planting Question, drop me a line here.