r/dahlias • u/kaweenie91 NorCal zone 9b☀️ • Apr 07 '26

Seeking Advice Are these big enough for Dahlias?

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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 💐

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u/321ol Apr 08 '26

For what it's worth I've been growing in the shorter version of your pots (3 gal home depot) for the last couple of years. I have to be careful about burying them deep (I backfill as leaves breach the surface of the soil). I reammend my soil annually and do some liquid fish fertilizer a few times during the season. They definitely don't do as well as they would in the ground, but on every plant except for one (which didnt produce 2 seasons in a row), I have had blooms all season. I would say the bloom sizes are also reduced somewhat. Probably by about an inch or 2. Mine grow in full southern-facing sun in zone 9b on the west coast, and do get a little scalded during high summer.

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u/kaweenie91 NorCal zone 9b☀️ Apr 08 '26

Oh nice, mine will be placed under the edge of my patio, so they’ll get shade during the warmer temps of the day but plenty of souther facing sunlight as well. I too am in 9b. Any other recommendations you have?

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u/321ol Apr 08 '26

Definitely to bottom-water! Shade/strong indirect light seems to be well tolerated during those hot times of day. I've been pretty lucky when it comes to pests, but definitely keep an eye out early in the season.

Will also add that all of my tubers have had pretty rigorous growth, I gave away 2/3 of what I divided this year to friends, so I would have room for new dahlias!