Troubleshooting Guide

Why aren't my dahlias growing the way they should?

Dahlias are the queens of cut-flowers, and while we'd love all of these beautiful blooms to come right up without any issues, it can sometimes be a battle for everything to go just as planned in the garden! But it's a battle worth fighting!

These are the most common environmental issues we've seen our growers experience when they plant otherwise totally healthy, viable tubers. Use this guide to help troubleshoot what the issue may be, but also know that we're here to help - you're welcome to email us at contact@sunsetviewfarm.com with any questions or concerns!

A healthy, sprouted tuber ready to grow!

Overwatering

The number one reason is overwatering from excess rain or from a gardener, which can cause tuber rot. Here in NJ, we don’t water our dahlias at all! Tubers have a lot of moisture in them already, and they don’t like to sit in wet soil.

Animals

We have seen voles, groundhogs and squirrels steal tubers right out of the ground many times. Deer, birds, and other critters also eat the sprouts. This is very frustrating but is very common.

Extreme heat or cold

Hot spells and cold snaps can kill your tubers also.

Mulch

Any organic material mulch, especially fresh woodchips, can heat up as they decompose and scorch what’s underneath it. It can also be laid on too thick for sprouts to get through it to the surface.

Planting too deep or not deep enough

Planting tubers too deep or in the wrong orientation (with the crown down) has killed many a tuber that can’t push through the soil. Planting tubers too shallow can expose them to too much heat before they establish roots. 2-4 inches is typical with the crown facing up or with the tuber on its side, but in very loose soil, 6” deep can work. In clay soil, tubers will have a hard time pushing sprouts through that much dirt.

Pests

Slugs and ants are common culprits of early tuber loss. Ants especially are difficult to see above ground.

Waiting too long to plant

Tubers should be planted or started as soon as they arrive so that they don’t dry out, shrivel, or grow leggy sprouts.

Native disease or fungus

There are all sorts of soil conditions that can inhibit tuber growth.

Tuber that rotted after planting

Poor soil

Tubers like soft, well-draining soil. Rocky soil has poor nutrients, and heavy clay soil will retain too much water. Tubers ideally like sandy soil with PH balanced for tomatoes.

Positioning at the bottom of landscape drainage

We’ve seen gardens die off because of positioning at the bottom of a drainage location in your landscape, which results in water pooling and tuber rot.

Damage during planting

Many tubers are very fragile – if the crown or neck is damaged during handling or planting, the tuber won’t grow.

And of course, it’s possible to receive tubers that have been damaged during shipment! However, we check our tubers several times throughout the fulfillment process, and while we are not perfect and occasionally make a mistake with a single tuber here and there, if everything isn't coming up, it's likely to be an environmental issue.

If you're concerned about one of these issues, let us know and we'll do what we can to help! We're here all season, and we are happy to share any advice we have from our experience to help you.

We also recommend the Dahlia Growers Facebook page- this is an online community of growers and it can be a resource for lots of advice and insight!

A row of our dahlias growing early in the season!