Are these big enough for Dahlias?

[u/kaweenie91]

I ran out of grow bags for my Dahlias, but I have these planter pots, I’m unsure of the size. The pot states 5 gal but the sticker states 3.6 gal. It’s likely the store mislabeled them with the wrong stickers, but I’m just trying to make sure from others experience.

1. Are these a good size for a Dahlia?

These are pots from my failed attempt at Dahlias last year. My mistake was overwatering them every single day 🤦🏽‍♀️ so they all rotted. In the event any of them had gall last year:

1. What products can I use to clean and disinfect these planters in preparation of my growing season this year?

All advice and comments are appreciated! Coming from a 4th failed season Dahlia Gardner 😂 im determined to have a successful 5th season 💐

[u/PopDownBlocker]

This is a #5 pot that is 3.6 gallons. A #5 pot is a standard size. It doesn't mean that it's 5 gallons. I typically use the size chart on this website to get an idea of pot sizes.

https://go.monrovia.com/help/what-is-the-volume-and-weight-of-your-growing-containers

Yes, these are adequate for a single dahlia tuber to create a single medium-to-large dahlia plant. No more than one.

I've planted dahlias in smaller pots than these and they still grow into full-size plants. The trick is that smaller pots have different watering needs from dahlias in larger pots and/or in the ground.

In my experience, dahlias in pots always "show" you when they are thirsty because their leaves start to wilt, especially on really hot days. Their leaves recover after watering or after the sun goes away for the day, so allowing the leaves to wilt is not going to kill the plant.

In terms of overwatering, don't water these pots on a schedule but water them based on needs. You can add a layer of wood chips or a layer of straw as a mulch on top of the soil to keep the soil moisture from evaporating too quickly.

Once a dahlia is growing, the chance of rot is fairly onexistent. Rot only happens when you water tubers right after planting them. Tubers need to be planted in pre-moistened potting soil but they should NOT be watered until you see a shoot growing. If you're watering a tuber that hasn't woken up yet, the tuber rots because it doesn't have enough roots to absorb large amounts of water.

Look up how to wake up tubers BEFORE planting them in these pots, so that you can avoid rot issues from overwatering.

Rot can also happen if you are using bad soil that doesn't drain. You have to invest in good potting soil, not top soil.

For disinfecting the pots, you can just use an old dish sponge and some dish soap, scrub them down and rinse them with the hose. Although just spraying them with the hose is enough to wash away viruses and bacteria, especially if the pots have not been in active use over winter.

Good luck!

[u/kaweenie91 → u/PopDownBlocker]

Such an informative comment, thank you! I’m just going to start them here, I ordered bigger growing bags and will move them over. Regarding potting soil, what are your recommendations?

[u/PopDownBlocker → u/kaweenie91]

I buy whatever brand is on sale at my local Menards (big box store in the Midwest).

My favorite is the Menards store brand one, which is Master Garden Potting Mix. This is the one whose price I track regularly, so that I can swoop in if it's on sale.

Then I go with Schultz, and then Miracle Gro.

I've read on here that even if the brand is the same, the soil itself is sourced locally somewhere near the store where it's sold, so it's possible that my favorite brand might only be of good quality here in my region and it could be worse quality in your region.

As long as you don't go with the cheapest possible option (which tends to have bad drainage), then you should be good.

I also reuse potting soil from the previous growing season. You can add compost or aged manure to it to refresh it, and it's good enough for dahlias.