NOVEMBER in the garden
Planting
I find that the frosts have usually finished by the 2nd week in November in our area. Your weather and soil type might allow you to plant earlier or perhaps need to be later. We have a high rainfall and frosts down to -4 degrees.
Raised beds fix lots of drainage problems.
If you haven't sorted out your staking system yet, then now is the time, before you plant. There are many different ways to stake. To a single stake, between two stakes, through horizontal netting or surrounded by vertical netting.
Horizontal netting requires stakes to hold it tight. I put in two layers. I raise them up over winter and drop them down as the plants get bigger. I managed 3 years from my netting before it started to weaken, particularly where it contacts the stakes. This netting can be sourced on line. Mine is "Hortinova" from Polynet.
Tying between two stakes allows the plant room to spread while still being contained and supported. It also allows room for you to debranch, spray and check for viruses. If virus is found it is easier to remove the plant than when using netting.
A single stake tends to squash all the branches together making access difficult and reduces air flow. Same goes for a tube of vertical netting.
Stakes can be made of untreated tomato stakes but they rot very easily and need to be replaced regularly. Rebar steel is very strong and durable while taking up minimal space. Waratahs are more difficult to put in or remove but are ideal for the end posts if you are using netting as they wont break or pull over. There are some plastic covered stakes to buy from garden centres. The small ones are a waste of money. They rust out and break. The big square ones are much better, but don't damage the ends when hammering in as it will let water in and they will rust out quickly.
A note on labels.
You will all no doubt have experienced issues with labels fading. A vivid pen on the hard plastic labels with the hole at the tip has been my usual method. I would turn the label inwards to face the stake so the sun couldn't get at it and write a duplicate on the outside as well. However, I have done a trial last year using a cattle eartag and the pen that is used with them. This can be bought at any of the stock and station stores. My label was written in Aug 2023 and photographed in mid May. I will be using these pens in future. ( Allflex tag pen)
Decide which is best for your needs and then measure out your space. This spacing will tell you how many plants you can put easily in a given area. 750mm between plants is ideal until you become familiar with each variety you grow. This spacing helps prevent fungal issues, allows you access to the plant for spray ,debranching, disbudding etc. Seedlings can be planted much closer as you will usually only allow one or two flowers to bloom and then cull if required. The strike rate of having a good seedling is so low that you will end up with plenty of space between plants.
Plant your tubers approx 10cms deep. Horizontal or at least 45 degree angle with the crown uppermost. (Thats the bit with the shoots appearing). If your tuber has a long shoot on it with leaves then don't cover the whole shoot until it has grown more robust. it is ok to leave a dip in the soil in the initial stages. Fill in the dip as the stem gets bigger. Do not water around new shoots. Only water the root end of the tuber. If you plant all your tubers the same way round it is easier to know where the root end is.
Cuttings and seedlings can all be planted at the same time as tubers. If the roots of cuttings have become congested in their pots then place them in a bucket of water till the roots can be eased apart gently. Do not leave in the water too long. Make a little mound of soil under the surface to spread the roots over before covering roots and lower stem.
Gently water new plants in to begin with and then only water sparingly about once a week. ( depending on weather and rainfall).
If you have spare cuttings in pots for replacements they can be kept in their pots over the flowering season and used as pot tubers next season. A 10- 20cm pot should be fine.
When I plant, I put a little stake next to the tuber(stake in 1st) to tie to while the plant is very small. This just stabilizes the stem until it is big enough to tie between the two stakes or it can reach the first layer of netting. It also tells me that the space has been planted. Label your tubers and stakes as you plant and keep a garden map. You will forget where you put what within 5 mins of planting. Labels pushed into the ground will always seem to get up and walk overnight. Dogs, cats, garden fairies and kids are all culprits.
Slug bait should be sprinkled around emerging plants to ward off slugs and snails.
It is important to allow good airflow round the bottom of the plant as it gets bigger. This helps prevents powdery mildew, especially in wet weather. I open up the base of the stem by taking off the emergence leaves from the soil level. If the first set of true leaves is close to the ground then I take those and their lateral shoots too. You can do this job with a sharp knife or your fingernail. Remember to clean/sanitize your hands or blades between each plant. Soapy water or hand sanitizer should be effective. Viruses might not appear until a bit later on but you could inadvertantly transfer virus from plant to plant as you tidy up leaves off the stem.
It is not too early to spray for fungus or bugs. As it often is rainy at this time you will need to add rain guard to you spray or repeat spray after rain. I normally spray about every fortnight.
My sprays of choice are;
Fungal - 1 tblsn Baking Soda.
A small squirt of dishwash liquid.
15 lt backpack, water.
This mix simply creates an alkali atmosphere on the leaves. Fungus like it acidic. It is not systemic, so you need to spray top and bottom of the leaf. Very cheap and non toxic to anything.
Bugs- Ripcord ( not Ripcord Plus. It is much weaker in strength so you need to use a lot more and have to buy more. Marketing ploy!) Ripcord will deal to all bugs that affect dahlias including grass grub beetle and earwigs. The odd persistent red spider mite could need a miticide spray. As this spray is toxic to bees, I only use it until buds start to form and then I change to "Maveric". This spray is ok with bees once it has dried. You can also spray it directly onto the flower without creating bruise type marks.
These sprays are simply my choice. There is a plethora of products on the garden centre shelf.
If the season is getting off to a warm, wet start, that's great for things to get growing but, that includes things we don't want. FUNGUS! Warm and wet. Perfect conditions for it. It can affect the leaves, tuber and soil.
If your tubers get the fungal rot, it will appear as wilting leaves and failure to thrive. Have a little dig with your finger carefully over the tuber. If it is mushy throw it out. Don't be too tempted to take a cutting off the top as usually, the stem will have the fungus in it too. You can take a little of the dirt where it was, out too.
When spraying for fungus, the spray will not remove existing damage. Affected leaves must be removed first. Do not compost them. Fungal spray is a preventative. Later in the autumn as plants finish for the season it will be almost impossible to combat powdery mildew. Don't worry it wont affect the translocation of sugars to the tubers. Any affected leaves on the ground should be picked up and burnt or to the dump. Fungal spores can overwinter in the ground creating problems for next year.
Fungus - Smut
Fungus - Powdery mildew
Stopping
Stopping is the way in which you increase your flower production. When your plant has 4 sets of leaves (after taking the bottom sets off for airflow) you take the growing tip out.
For those of you who are hesitant about stunting the plant by stopping. Don't panic. It will make flowering a little later, but not by much. However, instead of having only one terminal bud at the end of the single shoot, all 8 laterals will grow and give you 8 terminal flowers. ( I only let one shoot per tuber grow). It is better to plant more tubers all with one shoot only than let multiple shoots per tuber grow.
If any secondary shoots appear through the ground next to your main shoot, I would remove it. Gently push the soil aside until you can get to the top of the crown and snap off the shoot with your fingers. If you want the shoot to increase your numbers then pot it up or simply plant as the next plant in the row.
Dahlia plant before stopping. The bottom set of leaves and laterals need to be removed too.
After stopping. All those visible lateral shoots will now come away.
Note the very short stake for stabilizing plant until it reaches the main staking system.