Dahlia Happy First Love question

[Cheffi]

I know absolutely zilch about flowers. My son bought me this Dahlia in a pot. Will it die at the end of the flowering season never to return or is there something I can do to keep it going? Thanks.

[shirlthegirl43]

Can't say I know much about flowers but I am sure dahlia's come back year after year. Sure there will be a flower growing grape along soon to help out more.

[terrier]

Hi Cheffi. Have a look at this site dedicated to dahlias

http://www.dahlias.co.uk/Page2/Index.html

[dinah gale]

Good luck with your dahlia, Cheffi. You can certainly keep it going and it should last for years, making more tubers all the time so you'll be able to propagate from it.

We're lucky enough, here in the south west, to be able to leave them in the ground all year round and it's only in an exceptionally cold winter that we would lose them.. I also grow some in big pots to stand in the garden and, at the end of the season, just shove the pots on their sides in a frost-free place, letting them dry out until about April. Haven't lost a pot yet.

Hope you like dahlias - it seems to be that people either love 'em or hate 'em.

[Cheffi]

Thank you dinah. I am also in the South West so will follow your instructions. I have put it into a large pot for now but next year (providing it lives) I will plant it direct into a flower bed. I love Dahlia's, they have some exquisite colours and forms.

[rustylady]

I would put it into a flower bed or border now if you have the room. Dahlias need plenty of water and feed if kept in pots but seem to do very well when grown in reasonably fertile border soil. They also seem to survive very well in open ground through the winter (even though all the leaves and stems die back).