Potting up Dahlias

I’m currently babying my wee dahlia seedlings. It’s still snowing outside but I’m hiding in the basement bathed in grow lights checking for germination. This year, I’ll have tubers to plant in May and about twenty plants pinched and ready to go in the ground and pots. The hope is to have a good succession of plants throughout the season. This year I’m adding pots into my gardens as I’m concerned with watering this summer. We had some late drought conditions last August which had the city impose restrictions. I’m hoping to catch rainwater and create better conditions in the pots versus bedding. Adding the pots this year will also allow me some more creative freedom designing the front yard into distinct areas. Play, grow, relax. All the major spaces needed for a family whose backyard is a shadowy slope.

I love the look of terracotta in a cottage style garden so I may have to use plastic liners. I think my terracotta pots would dry to quickly even with a mulch layer or gravel to slow evaporation. I now understand why the pots on my deck suffered so much in 2023. I assumed the water was simply draining quickly but in hindsight I think I was basically putting marigolds into a clay dehydrator come August/September. I’ve included some videos below that I’ve been watching before bed on the subject.

Here is another Youtuber that I love to follow. Anything over 5 minutes is a lesson