Am I too late
"Spider" wrote in message
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"Bald eagle" wrote in message
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Have just discovered some dahlias and begonias in shoe boxes in the
garage where I put them to store last year. They all have 3 - 4 inch
shoots on them.
If I plant them now - in pots - will they do anything this season?
If I don't plant them will they overwinter ok for next year?
Any opinions gratefully received
JC
Goodness, you really *are* late! I doubt you'll get much of a performance
from this this season but, all the same, I would be inclined to pot them
up and water them well and see what happens. They should at least put on
some leafy growth, which you can feed with a high potash fertiliser.
Don't expect flowers. In fact, if they were mine, I would pinch any
flower buds out if they occur, with the idea of feeding up the plant in
time for autumn's die-back into the tubers, rather than stress the plant
by asking it to flower late. This may sound rather rum, but the well-fed
foliage will naturally die back and feed the tubers in readiness for next
year. If you *must* see what the flowers look like, just allow one bud to
flower, then nip out the rest.
At the end of the season (usually first frost for dahlias, slightly sooner
for begonias), stop watering and let the foliage die back. I would be
inclined to leave the tubers potted up over winter, so you can store them
easily. Similarly, you can bring them out in spring and start them in to
growth more easily, so you don't have the same problem next year.
Good luck.
Spider
Sounds like a sensible idea. I'm not bothered about flowers - I've grown
these before and know what they look like - just would like to save them
for next season
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