Hello everyone, I was hoping someone could let me know what is happening to my Dahlias. The leaves are curling I hope I can save them, any suggestions on what I can do. Also it’s my first time growing Dahlias. I live in south Texas the weather has been crazy, we have received hot weather, to cool fronts and hail just this week. I keep my Dahlias under my porch , and the rest I have them in a small greenhouse, that have been protecting them from the hail and rain. Thank you I appreciate any help I can get
Can you post a picture of the Dahlia`s ? Helps to see what you are dealing with ! I am in NE Texas and even here the weather has been a problem ! Poor plants don`t know what to expect from day to day !
Leaf curl could mean the presence of a virus or mites. It could also be caused by water stress (too much or too little) or nutrient deficiency. There are a couple of other reasons that leaves curl - one being to much potash in the soil. The second is oscillating temperatures.
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate it. I’m worried they have a virusi would hate to throw them away Yes let me post a picture. @mart @eileen
I did some online research and it all leads to a virus, which scares me so much! I just want to make sure it’s not a deficiency they are lacking. Is it time for me to start using a fertilizer? Or are they still too young ? I did notice many fungus gnats on them so I looked up an organic pesticide formula and it seemed to help a little. I also saw a black looking beetle on the stem and sprayed it off with the organic pesticide and killed it. I tried the hydrogen peroxide and water formula on the first dahlia picture I posted. It was much more bubbly before but with the hydrogen and water soil soak it helped a little.
I've had dahlia wilt & it looks different from your photos. The whole dahlia wilts or one whole stem totally wilts. It's pretty spectacular. I wouldn't worry about your dahlias. Maybe the changes in the temp's? Maybe some aphids damage? Just keep an eye on them insect-wise.
Dahlias often have these problems in my region. But only when they are planted out of season. Otherwise they are very tough plants. We usually plant them in the middle or the end of winter, (which is between mid December to early January). So by late February or early March, they start flowering. If however they are planted too early or too late. Then we see such problems. Otherwise no. Therefore my guess is that something in your environment, or climate, isn't agreeing with your plants. So maybe you just need to adjust the time when you plant the seeds. And by the way, best organic pest control is by using any type of Neem extract. Nothing beats this in my experience.