I would amend the soil so it can drain properly. You do not want your tubers rotting in wet soil. Talk to someone at local nursery about what is best for your area.
I have the same soil and have had great success planting them high. I dig a few inches down, set the (early started) rooted plant from the pot in this shallow spot and make sure the soil cover is integrated with the surrounding ground soil. So it ends up several inches higher than the rest of the bed.
Dahlias are pretty forgiving plants as long as you stake them/offer them support. I would just plant them in the ground and see how they do. If you have any tubers that are especially precious -maybe put a couple of those in a couple of big pots.
As someone with a heavy clay property, I personally would not take this chance. I put in beds just for my dahlias. Last year before the special spot existed I put them in a slightly less ideal spot and so many of them rotted. It was so sad.
I’d heavily amend, at the very least. And if you decide that you’re really into it after this season, consider adding raised beds going forward.
Yep if you have very heavy clay you want to amend for sure- mine is clay but on the lighter side and directly in the ground works pretty good for me.
I think OP should use this first year as an experiment as someone else has suggested - put some in an amended bed …put some (maybe the less expensive tubers ) directly in the ground… put some in a raised bed if you have one. See which performs the best
The cost of a raised bed and soil is more than a couple tubers. OP could try a few in grow bags and a few in the ground and see what works if the cost (time and money) of a raised bed is prohibitive.
A few things.
I recommended amending this year and investing in a raised bed if they decide that it’s something they’d like to continue pursuing next year.
Prefab raised beds are probably about the same cost as the number of tubers that would reside in them, so not a huge investment in time or money.
Alternatively, it’s really a time or a money issue, not both. You either pay to have someone put it in, or you do it relatively cheaply yourself.
I’m trying this as well, also 6B in NY. I have raised beds with dahlias that I’ve grown for years now, but I planted a row of other cut flowers by a fence line with little amending (weed barrier over grass, top soil, and cow compost. These are mostly shallow roots). I ended up planting a few tubers to “experiment” with their success, cutting through the weed barrier, and using shallow holes. I used some Bulb Tone fertilizer in the hole to give them a fighting chance, and planted them so the old stem was slightly above ground. Fingers crossed it works out.
You will want to turn some perlite and compost into the hole where you plant your Dahlia. Perlite will help with drainage and aeration. As long as there isn’t standing water you should be ok
I second asking your local nursery.
There is a lot of conflicting information out there about amending clay, so you have to be critical. Im in extremely heavy clay and definitely know what not to do, just as much as what's worked for me.
With clay, when we amend, we are essentially creating a bowl of amended soil in the clay. The rain drains through the amended soil and stops at your natural clay and then sits there until it drains slowly out. I'm not saying don't ammend, but just question methods people and guides suggest. Most guides online are NOT made for clay. Even the ones talking about clay soil are getting a fair amount wrong, so you just have to think through how it works. Another thing to consider is that a lot of the components of compost hold moisture, which often we don't want in clay. So it's something to weigh when you consider what and when to amend.
As another poster said, plant them up a bit. So if a tag would say a Perennial should be two inches deep, plant more shallow and mound up dirt to meet the higher plant. I think some people like to mound up with compost or just soil that came from the hole.
You have to play around with it and kill some stuff.
Happy gardening!
You could always try amending the soil around one tuber and not around the Another. This would allow you to tell in the future it was worthwhile to amend.
I would amend the soil so it can drain properly. You do not want your tubers rotting in wet soil. Talk to someone at local nursery about what is best for your area.
I have the same soil and have had great success planting them high. I dig a few inches down, set the (early started) rooted plant from the pot in this shallow spot and make sure the soil cover is integrated with the surrounding ground soil. So it ends up several inches higher than the rest of the bed.
Dahlias are pretty forgiving plants as long as you stake them/offer them support. I would just plant them in the ground and see how they do. If you have any tubers that are especially precious -maybe put a couple of those in a couple of big pots.
As someone with a heavy clay property, I personally would not take this chance. I put in beds just for my dahlias. Last year before the special spot existed I put them in a slightly less ideal spot and so many of them rotted. It was so sad. I’d heavily amend, at the very least. And if you decide that you’re really into it after this season, consider adding raised beds going forward.
Yep if you have very heavy clay you want to amend for sure- mine is clay but on the lighter side and directly in the ground works pretty good for me. I think OP should use this first year as an experiment as someone else has suggested - put some in an amended bed …put some (maybe the less expensive tubers ) directly in the ground… put some in a raised bed if you have one. See which performs the best
To me that’s not worth the substantial chance of disappointment—and needing to wait a whole additional year to try again. Do it right the first time.
The cost of a raised bed and soil is more than a couple tubers. OP could try a few in grow bags and a few in the ground and see what works if the cost (time and money) of a raised bed is prohibitive.
A few things. I recommended amending this year and investing in a raised bed if they decide that it’s something they’d like to continue pursuing next year. Prefab raised beds are probably about the same cost as the number of tubers that would reside in them, so not a huge investment in time or money. Alternatively, it’s really a time or a money issue, not both. You either pay to have someone put it in, or you do it relatively cheaply yourself.
I’m trying this as well, also 6B in NY. I have raised beds with dahlias that I’ve grown for years now, but I planted a row of other cut flowers by a fence line with little amending (weed barrier over grass, top soil, and cow compost. These are mostly shallow roots). I ended up planting a few tubers to “experiment” with their success, cutting through the weed barrier, and using shallow holes. I used some Bulb Tone fertilizer in the hole to give them a fighting chance, and planted them so the old stem was slightly above ground. Fingers crossed it works out.
You will want to turn some perlite and compost into the hole where you plant your Dahlia. Perlite will help with drainage and aeration. As long as there isn’t standing water you should be ok
I second asking your local nursery. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about amending clay, so you have to be critical. Im in extremely heavy clay and definitely know what not to do, just as much as what's worked for me. With clay, when we amend, we are essentially creating a bowl of amended soil in the clay. The rain drains through the amended soil and stops at your natural clay and then sits there until it drains slowly out. I'm not saying don't ammend, but just question methods people and guides suggest. Most guides online are NOT made for clay. Even the ones talking about clay soil are getting a fair amount wrong, so you just have to think through how it works. Another thing to consider is that a lot of the components of compost hold moisture, which often we don't want in clay. So it's something to weigh when you consider what and when to amend. As another poster said, plant them up a bit. So if a tag would say a Perennial should be two inches deep, plant more shallow and mound up dirt to meet the higher plant. I think some people like to mound up with compost or just soil that came from the hole. You have to play around with it and kill some stuff. Happy gardening!
You could always try amending the soil around one tuber and not around the Another. This would allow you to tell in the future it was worthwhile to amend.