Dahlia - something is killing it

[Masha]

Hi,

I have one beautiful dahila in my little garden. She was blooming and growing wonderfully up untill 2-3 weeks ago when i noticed that the leaves and petals have what look like little black egg like things on them. They wash off easily but come back. They are killing my flower :sad: First it was the leaves (little dots/holes started appearing on the leaves but later whole leaves would be destroyed) and now its so bad that as soon as a flower opens up the petals get destroyed right away. I have no clue what it is or what to do with it. Any ideas?

BTW - I looked through the graden photos that you guys posted and your gardens are SOO gorgeous.

[14+kitties]

I would think some kind of spider. Or mite. Have you tried soapy water or just plain? Try soapy in a spray bottle. Wet the plant well. Rinse after with plain water just to get the soap film off. It may be too late to save.
A couple of options if it doesn't look like it's coming back. Cut it back to the ground, or close, and see if it starts putting out new leaves or............
you could take it up and store the tuber till next year if you want to try it again. No guarantees it will work but if you want to go to the trouble.

http://www.dahlias.net/seabox/savem.htm

[glasslass]

That sounds like you have little catapillars. They eat holes in the leaves and those black specks are their poop. They're common on zonal geraniums and usually treated with Diazanon or similar insecticide.

[Dog Dancer]

Sounds like aphids. I have those on my dahlia's every year. hate them. Talk to your garden store and you should be able to get a dust for them. Sorry I can't remember the name of the one I have (I believe it is called Rotenone and is a broad spectrum insecticide - but quite nature friendly as I have bee's). I dusted some on my aphids the other night and then just hosed them off two days later while watering the plants. But if you take a small sample in a plastic bag the garden store can tell you for sure what they are.

[Masha]

Thanks, I think i will first try to spray it with soapy water, if that doesnt work then i will move on to the insecticide.

[14+kitties]

Masha - could you take a picture of them? Maybe it would make it easier to identify.
Does TO have a pesticide ban yet? So many places do now.