Hi Y'all,

My 3-yr old son picked out a dahlia from the store back in May. Please
keep in mind, to him this is "his" flower in "mommy's" flower bed and he
is very attached to it! When we bought the plant, there were 2 blossoms
and several buds, after those two blossoms died out, one of the buds
opened, but none of the others did. A few more buds popped up, but for
some reason, they are all turning black and dying before they can bloom.
All the leaves are fine and seem to be quite healthy, but the buds
turn black, starting at the very top of it, and then running down the
plant. It reminds me of when frost has killed something in the garden,
but there's been no frost or cold weather in this area for a few months
now. (south-eastern NC, on the border of zone 7B-8B.) I've never had a
problem growing any dahlia's in this same flower bed before, so this has
me stumped. Any ideas on what may be causing this or how I can stop it
before it possibly kills the entire plant??

Thanks!
~Rae