"Dave Hill" wrote in message
...
On 29 Jul, 08:51, Sacha wrote:
On 28/7/08 22:25, in article
, "Dave





Hill" wrote:
On 28 Jul, 18:18, "Spider" wrote:
"Bald eagle" wrote in message

... 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

I'd go along with Sacha,

snip

I'm delighted to hear it David but the credit goes to Spider, not to me!!
I
know very little about Dahlias but I think she's probably grown one or two
and you're definitely a Dahlia expert. ;-))

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Apologies Spider for not giving you the credit.
I must learn to read, I must learn to read, I must learn to read etc.
David Hill


Thanks, David, for the acknowledgement, and Thanks Sacha for redirecting the
credit.
Very kind and civil of you both. And, David, your very minor mistake is
only proof that you're human. Thank goodness for that! :~)
As Sacha says, I have grown one or two dahlias. I've also fed several to
the voracious slugs and snails in my garden! Now that I've fattened them
up, perhaps I should try growing garlic. :~(

Spider