A few tips for fabulous Dahlias.
By sueb
12 comments
I love Dahlias they give such a lot of colour to the garden in late summer and are wonderful as cut flowers. So I thought I would share my top tips for successful Dahlias
1. Grow dahlias on a small mound this stops water logging and helps to ripen the tubers in the summer.
2 .Remove the spent flowers every day. Doing this will encourage the plant to produce more buds thus prolonging the flowering period.
3. Don’t forget to feed your plants with a tomato fertilizer or apply soleplate of potash.
4 Try leaving a few spent flower heads to collect seed from.
Leave the flower heads till the end of the season when they have turned brown collect the seed and store in a paper bag until the end of February when you can plant the seeds and you will get an unusual mix of colour and types !! go on it’s exciting!!
5. If your winters are exceptionally cold lift your tubers once blackened by frost. Cut back foliage and store in a dry frost free place these can be potted up in March and moved outside or plant directly into the ground in April. However if your winter want to leave your tuber in the ground over the winter when the foliage has died cut back and cover mound with a good 5 cm of compost. this will help protect from frost.
One last tip cut a bunch and give them to someone special! :0)
23 Sep, 2010
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Comments
Extyremely useful blog Sue and nice photos. Dahlias have been out of fashion for a wile but I've necer stopped loving them. I prefer the simple daisy shaped flowers and I lovev those with a bronze
Here are some close up photos I've taken of dahlias in my garden
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31559373@N00/tags/dahlia/
23 Sep, 2010
Lovely blog and gorgeous photos Sue. Your tips are most helpful. I think I'm going to give them a go next year. I used to grow a lot of dwarf dalias years ago.
24 Sep, 2010
Thanks Sue..I really want to plant some dahlias...love the big headed ones..and they can be so showy...so versatile as they can be bloomers on into late fall..
24 Sep, 2010
Which is the dahlia in the 3rd picture, Sue, it's gorgeous.
It's worth noting that in milder parts of the country, or in gritty well drained sites, the tubers can be sucessfully left in the ground, the key thing being that the tubers aren't waterlogged which leads to rotting - as with a large number of perennials.
24 Sep, 2010
Love your Dahlias. This is the first year I've ever grown them ... mine were nowhere near as gorgeous as these though.
24 Sep, 2010
I like dahlias but don't have any now. I like your last tip best lol :o)
24 Sep, 2010
Thank you all for all the lovely comments :0) It's good to get my brain away from babies and weddings for a few hours lol!
Thanx San :0)
Anchorman ~ Lovely photos :0)
Linsiffolk~ I shell look forward to seeing your results next summer !!:0)
Louise1 ~ the 3rd Dahlia is Mick's Peppermint
Catfinch ~ Lovely to hear from you :0) a good one for a BIG HEAD! is Zorro it's a lovely red decorative classification.
Bernie ~ Dahlias+ pots =success = Happy Bernie!
Hywel ~ Lol ! Pleased you like the last tip.
24 Sep, 2010
Beautiful. I love dahlias too. I used to grow hundreds for exhibition some 20 years ago. I now grow a few I buy as small plants. You must keep an eye on Earwigs which can eat the petals.
24 Sep, 2010
I place an upturned flowerpot with newspaper scrunched inside on the top of a bamboo Cain with earwigs will hide in their and leave the dahlia alone.
24 Sep, 2010
and they can enjoy reading the paper whilst waiting to die! :0)
24 Sep, 2010
Very good idea Sue...thanks!
29 Sep, 2010
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16 Mar, 2010
helpfull blog sue and lovely pics, i especially like the one in second pics, my fav colours, aslo like the fact it has petals and the spiky bits together ;o))
23 Sep, 2010