We just removed some huge trees from our front yard, which now makes it the biggest, sunniest spot on our small suburban property. I've always wanted to grow an assortment of dahlias, and now I have the room. However, I know that dahlias need to be supported, and I'm afraid the supports (tomato cages or bailing wire supports, for example) would be too unsightly for a front yard in suburbia. Any advice on how to grow dahlias in the front yard and not annoy the neighbors?
-Fleemo
Annoy the neighbors?
Your neighbors apparently need to get a life of their own.
Why not preempt the problem and ask your nosy neighbors for advice?
Wow! You must have some really snooty neighbors if you think that they will be offended by supports for your Dahlias. You could always spray the supports green to make them less noticeable.
As you can see from the pictures of my Dahlias,
Issues of the neighbors aside, I can tell you from experience that tomato cages are inadequate for supporting dahlias. This year I got metal fence posts from the farm supply (you can get them at HD or Lowe's) and used them. They come painted green with a white top. I sprayed the top green and they blended into the landscape fairly well. You need something that is strong and about 6 feet high for dahlias. Here are some pictures:
Indeed. But here in Northern California, four homes are shoved onto the space that holds one in other parts of the country, so the neighbors are a bit more "in your face" here than in some regions.
Doug, those hoops do look pretty pleasing to the eye, but at $12.95 per hoop, I think I wouldn't have any dough left to buy tubers! :{
the snootiest of neighbors.
Indeed. But here in Northern California, four homes are shoved onto the space that holds one in other parts of the country, so the neighbors are a bit more "in your face" here than in some regions.
Doug, those hoops do look pretty pleasing to the eye, but at $12.95 per hoop, I think I wouldn't have any dough left to buy tubers! :{
the snootiest of neighbors.
Indeed. But here in Northern California, four homes are shoved onto the space that holds one in other parts of the country, so the neighbors are a bit more "in your face" here than in some regions.
Doug, those hoops do look pretty pleasing to the eye, but at $12.95 per hoop, I think I wouldn't have any dough left to buy tubers! :{
the snootiest of neighbors.
I put one in per plant and tie them to it as they grow. The posts cost about $4 as I recall.
I know of a user on the Dahlia-net who grows AA sized Dahlias and they are supported by the upside down tomato cages, and they are show winning Dahlias too.
I tried that and it didn't work for me. First of all, the cages weren't tall enough and they also pulled out of the ground.
You totaly MISSED what I said, Note the "UPSIDEDOWN" as in Big hoop sitting on ground held down with U shaped stakes and his grows to 5 to 6ft tall. And they don't show up as the plant hides them.
the snootiest of neighbors.
The support rings that I use are the larger (taller) ones, not the "cheap" ones sold by places like Wal-Mart. They work well for most Dahlias but on the really tall ones I use a ring and a wood stake (6 foot tomato stake pounded about
15 inches into the ground). I tie the main Dahlia stalk to the stake and the ring supports the rest of the plant. That has worked well for me and I have been growing Dahlias for many, many years.
No I didn't miss what you said. I found the technique while doing an internet search. If you google this group you will see that I posted a message over a year ago describing what I used and that it didn't work. The cages were inadequate when I used them. They probably work for some people, but I just added my personal experience. That's why I switch to the metal fence posts. I used the upside-down tomato cages for my peonies this year and they did work well for that application.
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