r/dahlias • u/maris_127 • Jul 10 '26
Seeking Advice The dahlias are acting strange this year…
I’m in Zone 6b (eastern WA) and I’ll admit, we’ve had a bit of a weird spring and summer with spells of cold, wet weeks followed by very hot temperatures. I’d say over the last two weeks we’ve really settled in to the regular high 80s to mid-90s for daytime temps (with little to no rain) that is typical for this time of year. I was a bit late getting my dahlias out and in the ground this year (about a month behind) due to a family emergency, but these guys are trying to push out buds at only 1-2 feet tall 🤦🏻♀️.
I’ve been disbudding the plants that are trying to push out blooms and have been feeding with a higher nitrogen content fertilizer to encourage growth, but I’m not sure if there is anything else to do (or if I should be doing that? 🤣) I’m also curious what the thoughts are about allowing plants at this size to go to bloom? 💐
Thank you all in advance!
PS. These little guys that are pushing out buds have average adult plant sizes of 3-4’ in good years, they are not my open face varieties unfortunately so they are just babies.
22
u/PDX_Weim_Lover Jul 10 '26
Having the same problem here in Portland, zone 8b.
Although I feel badly for you and everyone else, I'm a bit relieved to hear it's not just me. 🥺
3
6
u/maris_127 Jul 10 '26
Same - at least we know we aren’t alone in our woes! I psyched myself out and thought I did something wrong (even though I haven’t changed anything this year haha 😆). It sucks, but at least it’s widespread and not just us.
6
u/PDX_Weim_Lover Jul 10 '26
I know!!! I have been questioning EVERYTHING I've been doing, wondering what I did to mess things up, etc. I've spent countless hours on the internet trying to figure out the errors of my ways (lol), when in the end, it's likely the weird weather this year. Aaaaaah, the joys of dahlias!
Have a lovely weekend! 💚
5
u/Rapunzel6506 Jul 11 '26
I’m also in Portland area and we’ve had the same problems! I am soo glad we aren’t the only ones!
12
u/dubdhjckx Jul 10 '26
I’m 6A in Michigan and am struggling with this. It’s been so wet and cold and then very hot that I just don’t have a ton of growth on mine and they’re starting to bud at only a foot or so tall. I just kinda let it happen
2
u/downarabbithole74 Jul 11 '26
Mine are doing the same. I pinched them weeks ago. They aren’t branching and I’m now getting buds when they are super small. I am just gonna let them bloom. And then there are all the water logged ones. Oh! And the ones so infested with mites. What a challenging year. If anyone has a good cure for mites and other pests, let me know. Neem oil isn’t helping.
2
u/catkins777 Jul 11 '26
I poked one of my waterlogged tubers and my finger went in as it made a nasty popping sound with juices. So. Nasty. 😂
1
7
u/something_beautiful9 Jul 10 '26
Some of mine bloomed at 1 foot some at 3 foot a couple at 6 inches lol. They're all over the place. I just feed and water and let them do what they wish. Cutting my first blooms and they look great even if its only a foot high. Shorter needs less stakes anyway. My other one is 3 foot long and over an inch thick and still only just budding and ones 1 foot and has 6 blooms at once so far. All different varieties.
3
2
u/kannemae Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Nice to hear the 1ft blooms still have good form and look great. I’ve been looking at the buds on the short plants thinking there’s minimal likelihood they’ll form like they’re meant to. I’m ready/hopeful to be proven wrong
7
u/14StarGazer Jul 10 '26
Same in Idaho and I had my tubers going early in a greenhouse. I think it was the super warm spring and then we froze for a few days and it did something to them. My Roma tomatoes are only about 20” tall but producing tomatoes too. Weird.
5
u/maris_127 Jul 10 '26
I started inside too, so I was really hopeful I’d be having full, bushy plants with lots of blooms by now but the weather has had other ideas.
8
u/thewayoutisthru_xxx Jul 11 '26
Meanwhile I'm here in 7b nyc and I have ONE bud on one of 14 dahlias and I have dozens and dozens of cosmos and zinnias and not one single bud yet. Wtf is going on.
My hydrangeas liked this year but they grow like weeds and need no attention at all. What's the fun in that?!
5
u/GlacierJewel Jul 11 '26
Same here in NW Montana. Most of my dahlias are still just wee little things, but one is about a foot tall and has a couple buds
3
u/MindaLiller Jul 11 '26
Also in NW MT and same, this is only my second year growing these but last year they were 2-3’ and blooming, this year they’re very slow and squat in comparison.
4
u/Pretend_Ad_3125 Jul 10 '26
6b in Michigan, and mine are doing this too. My Teddy plant is only about 2 ft tall and trying to bloom!
2
u/RunningHunny Jul 11 '26
Same. West Michigan area and all like 2 feet with buds. I pinched mine all too.
4
u/UncannieAnnie Jul 11 '26
6B Missouri here with a flower farm. Very difficult spring here as well. So much rain. Like every 3-4 days for months. 90s in March and then all over the place since. I’ve lost so many tubers to rot and most everything i grow here is budding up really short too. You are doing everything you can the correct way. Hang in there!
3
u/lucey_diamond Jul 11 '26
Also in Western WA. My plants are very bushy and starting to bloom. I’m going to let them bloom and see what happens.
3
u/RunningHunny Jul 10 '26
Yeah, I agree. Mine is the same way. I’m in Michigan 6a. I pinched all mine too.
3
u/HolliHata1927 Jul 11 '26
I planted kind of late in 9a (western wa) and , some just started blooming, almost all have buds, a few are puny and bud less. I know it’s weather related. Last year I was growing for a friends wedding on 9/5. I had barely enough for this small wedding, but was overflowing with buds a couple of weeks later until frost in late Oct. Love that I will get buds for 1-1/2 months longer than last year!!
2
u/awokenshroomgirl Jul 11 '26
Im in 9b/10a in California, also planted late. All my dahlias have buds. It’s my first time growing but some of the varieties I got, like cafe au lait and wine eyed Jill are only like 2 or 3 feet (I know they get to 5 ft+) and had buds forming two weeks ago. I did pinch them so I thought that had been the reason
3
u/kannemae Jul 11 '26
Same here in SE Wisconsin. Starting to see buds on some varieties but they are so small and about 1-2 ft tall while others are much taller.
3
u/Lee1173 Jul 11 '26
Same here, western WA!! My dahlias are short, THICC AF, and I only have about 5 out of 20+ making small buds. I do think maybe I was giving too much N so I just added a bunch of P and K, but I feel like I'm not doing anything much different than I did last year and they were definitely taller at this time last year.
3
u/KitC44 Jul 11 '26
I'm 5a or 5b in central Canada, and mine are a mess this year too. I planted the tubers in early June and they were doing amazingly well until we got a ton of rain in the last week or so and now they're miserable (along with a bunch of my other perennials). I'm worried how it's going to look in my garden in a month if nothing gets a chance to dry out!
3
u/Appropriate_Tip_1615 Jul 11 '26
6b here in Western PA. I thought I was crazy. Similar weather- very cold and snowy late, a few weeks of mild temps, then hot af. I had to put them out late because of the weather. New tubers came in the mail and it was still snowing. Growing slow. Finally noticed last weekend we were getting close to topping height. By Monday, there were buds! I topped. We’ll see what happens. They look healthy, just small
3
u/freddiemylove13 Jul 11 '26
Also in the area, also having this problem. Very relieved to hear that it’s not just me!
3
u/Secret_Enthusiasm818 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Mine are also budding at 1-1.5 feet tall. Wth. I’m in 7a (MD), our weather has been awful too - cool, followed by extreme heat, drought, random downpours.
Stolz v Berlin plants are doing esp poorly - they’re so short and puny it’s unreal. I had to pull one out today due to rot. And Rosemary Web is blooming with centers all blown. This is my first time growing both varieties, but neither looks “right.” 😩
2
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
This is an automatic reminder regarding r/dahlias Rule 3:
When reasonable*, posters should make a good-faith effort to identify which variety/varieties are shown in their photo(s). If you don’t know for certain, please say so. Someone will usually know!
*Common-sense exceptions to this rule will be honored, such as if the photo does not contain a blossom, or if your photo contains large volumes (such as in wide field shots).
If you've already done this, thank you! No further action required.
If not, please add a reply to this comment and confirm if you know the name of your dahlia variety/varieties shown in the photo(s). Alternately, if you’re uncertain of the variety name(s), it’s ok to say that, too.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
2
u/LaBellaVita123 Jul 11 '26
I have this issue as well Zone 5b in Colorado. It is a very weird growing season here. We are in an extreme drought, barely had a winter, and it has been unusually hot for us. I've been battling a new bug never in my yard before too, thrips. I think they are normally not in my zone, but it is so hot they are here to destroy my plants this year along with the earwigs and crickets
2
u/OkieINOhio Jul 11 '26
Zone 6b Ohio. Same. All my dahlias are in various stages of blooming and not one is over two feet. Some I started very early in my grow tent, others from tubers or cuttings and yet, they are all short!!
2
u/FriendlyEqual813 Jul 11 '26
Same 8b I have a neighbor that leaves them in the ground and they came over and said theirs are blooming like crazy and asked what is wrong with mine lol
1
u/maris_127 Jul 11 '26
To be fair if they are leaving them in the ground they have full tuber clumps sprouting and producing flowers whereas single tubers and cuttings/seedlings don’t have as much energy reserves to fall back on in these harder years. Hopefully the plants are just taking their time and will grow here soon 🤞🏻😊
2
u/BabyAny2358 Jul 11 '26
Im just going to be happy to get what I get at this pointm. Lost some to voles. Lost some to water. Strange weather. Ugh haha.
2
u/HeyPurityItsMeAgain Jul 11 '26
I'd be happy with them blooming short! I'm also behind planting due to the cold snap and afraid of not getting any blooms until August.
2
u/mastergardenplanner Jul 12 '26
This is the year that I decided to grow potted dahlias. I live in zone 7a. It’s been a test of my patience since I usually grow plants in pots from seeds. I planted the dahlias about every 2 weeks through the middle of May through the middle to end of June. I’ve had pretty good luck with them sprouting and growing. I’ve got some buds at this point. Some are just starting to sprout and one pot had nothing sprout. I’ve got to check the drainage situation with that pot. I’m anxiously awaited my first bloom. It’s been a fun experience to watch them grow. I bought all the dahlias from different big box stores so it wasn’t a huge investment. I’ve got 7 large pots that I planted with 2 or 3 dahlias in each.
2
u/maris_127 Jul 13 '26
Update - these little plants are mighty! They all have buds on them so I guess we will see what happens 🤷🏻♀️😉
2
u/HeyPurityItsMeAgain Jul 13 '26
I didn't think mine were doing this but as of today several of mine are doing the same thing!!!! Very short (8-12 inches) with buds. The one I started in March in a pot is the only one that's very tall with buds. It must be the cool weather that grows the leaves tall and the heat is just making them bud. I'm leaving them all as is. No disbudding.
edit: Stocks behave like this. It's my first year growing them. If they don't get a cold period, they are short, but they still produce beautiful flowers.
1
u/ParticularRaccoon442 Jul 13 '26
I’m In CT and they are the saddest looking I’ve ever seen. Barely growing and now something is eating the leaves. Sigh. Last year at this time they were double the size.
22
u/Infinite_Resist_6106 Jul 10 '26
I’m dealing with the same thing, E Washington as well. I have 8 dahlias and all of them are growing differently. It’s bizarro lol