Dahlias???Its going to frost tonight and my Dahlias are in full bloom!!?

This is my 1st yr. for Dahlias and they are loeaded with gorgeous blooms. It is going to frost tonight and they will all die. Did I do something wrong in the timing of putting in my bulbs or will it be this way every year? I hate to lose them this way.Dahlias???Its going to frost tonight and my Dahlias are in full bloom!!?
Firstly, cover those dahlia's. They're frost sensitive, but will survive the cold snap, as long as the frost stays off of the leaves. Put in a couple of stakes, and drape a cloth cover over them. An old bed sheet is great. They sell frost cloth which is very light, that's very good. Take it off during the day. The stakes will keep the fabric from crushing/ breaking the plant. If it's going to get wet (rained on ), the stakes are very important.





Planting time is critical, or you'll have this problem again and again. I live in USDA hardiness zone 5. Our last day of frost is concidered to be May 15th. If I plant my Dahlias after May 15th, I get flowers just in time to be killed by the frost. (Giant Dahlia's, smaller ones bloom earlier). Start your tubers indoors. Plant them in 6-8'; growers pots. Pot them up in late March (target date of May 15th), keep them in the basement, water them as needed, be sure not to over water. Once they sprout, move them to a window. It'll be mid April now. Treat them like a houseplant until May. Fertilize them and water them. Once it gets nice outside, let them spend the day in the outside air, in at night. This hardens them off, so they can survive in the garden. Once the danger of frost passes, plant them in to the garden where you want. You've now got a plant 8-10'; inches tall (at least) on the day you would normally be putting the tubers into the ground! That means flowers 2-3 weeks earlier than this year.





Give it a try!


Good luck-





Oooops - the spell check is on the fritz... sorry about spelling errorsDahlias???Its going to frost tonight and my Dahlias are in full bloom!!?
try to plant them earler next year, dalihas have to have a good growing season to flurish , this some times takes bloom time late in the season so covering them to protect from frost is what you will have to do to enjoy them , this is why dalihas are not grown by a lot of people and winter storage of the tubers is a nother problem , dig them after bloom dry them then put into saw dust or spagnmun moss to keep cool and keep them in a cool spot out of the light ,
Throw a sheet over them...or a plastic light weight tarp...you can do that every nite till almost Thanksgiving.