u/yellbot

Lakeway area. I saw a few stragglers this week but are they gone? Trying to decide when to take down my feeders. Pic is of a little plump one during the rain last week.

In Texas my knockout roses are always very sad this time of year. But one has an unusually thick, very thorny small-ish portion of a cane that looks like it could be RRD. As far as I can tell that’s the only RRD symptom. I would have posted in the Roses subreddit but RRD posts are banned. Think it’s RRD?

You may recall my post about being sucked in by end of season sales in June despite high 90s and now 100s in central Texas. https://www.reddit.com/r/dahlias/s/vBU1VmmaNb And only having grown two dahlias ever. My dilemma was planting when it’s so freaking hot vs. trying to store them until late winter/early spring.

I heeded your advice and went ahead and planted the dahlias—it took me until July 1 because I needed to fill my raised beds with dirt.

With soaker hoses and shade cloth I am happy to report I have 27 healthy sprouts as of today with more popping up each day, despite it being 106 earlier this week!

Thank you all so much for your advice! I might even get flowers this year since our first frost is usually super late.

Sprouts pictured:

1. Winkie Colonel
2. Davos
3. Wizard of Oz
4. Joewy Winnie
5. Luka Johanna

TLDR: In central Texas, 9a (formerly 8b) where the summers are in the 100s, and the winters are generally mild with some light freezes except for three-ish freak low 20s freezes every Jan/Feb. Can I leave my tubers over winter in 10’x10’ raised beds (18” deep with tubers about 5” down).

Longer: I’m that lady who got hooked by end of season sales and bought 75 tubers. But it was June and I live in Texas. I went ahead and planted the tubers per the overwhelming majority of the advice I received (thanks!). I just planted them so hopefully they’ll sprout. The high is in the mid 90s here already. It’ll be 90s-100s through September.

In central Texas where I’m located, we were recently reassigned from 8b to 9a. We usually get around 20 light freezes per winter. We get maybe 3-5 random hard freezes (under 28 degrees). I have big L shaped raised beds. Each leg of the “L” is 10 feet and the beds are 3’4” wide, 18” deep. I planted the tubers 5” deep.

In the winter, I always cover my beds with heavy frost cloth, sometimes two layers. Can I leave my tubers in the beds over winter? I’d really love to avoid digging them up if I can.

*Photo is of a different bed with my first dahlia ever planted. It’s a Pacific View dahlia.

TLDR: is it better to plant my 75 tubers in my large raised beds now, when the highs are in the 90s and our hot July/August/Septembers reach the 100s (central Texas) or wait until our normal planting season starting late February/early March since our ground doesn’t usually freeze (if the tubers survive in storage)? Or plant in our hot September for a super short season (we don’t usually get freezes until late December/early January)?

Longer explanation:

Central Texas 9a. Hot already (low to mid 90s highs). I planted my first three dahlia tubers in early April and now have gorgeous blooms. So, I got overly excited/ambitious and took advantage of the end of season sales. I bought about 75 tubers that just got to my house. I intended to store them and wait until our normal planting season in very early spring (our ground doesn’t freeze, although we almost always get a few twenties-teens days in February), just like I do when I order end-of-season ranunculus and anemone corms.

Then I started reading. People were saying you can’t store dahlia tubers that long (it’s June, I intended to plant late February/early March)—they’ll dry out or rot or won’t have enough energy stored. I have too many to put them in pots or move them inside with grow lights so I can protect them from the heat.

So my dilemma is: plant them now and just water/shade cloth/mulch a ton and hope for the best? They’d get morning sun and late afternoon shade. Plant them in September even though it’s still in the 90s then and hope they bloom before first frost (usually late December/early January)? Or wait until the early spring growing season (could probably plant them February since our ground doesn’t freeze)?