How To Grow Dahlias

Dahlias are fairly easy to grow, and once you stock your garden with this beautiful flowering perennial, you will still have plenty left over for vases in the house throughout summer and fall. Below is a guide to getting you started growing this beautiful flower.

If starting your dahlias from seed, wait about two months until the last frost in your area is due. Use separate pots so the roots will have enough room to grow and stabilize – this will also make them easier to transplant when the time comes. Seed growing is important if you want to develop your own hybrids, because seeds don’t always grow true to type.

You can also grow dahlias from tubers, but be sure there is no chance of frost before you do, since a large frost will easily kill them. Choose a sunny location, then simply dig a hole about 7 to 10 inches deep for smaller varieties, and about 10 to 12 inches for the larger types. Add plenty of compost and manure. Space the smaller types about 17 inches apart and the larger ones about two and a half feet to allow plenty of room for growth. Dahlias are hungry flowers so make sure you keep the soil well fertilized. Use mulch, compost and a fertilizer low in nitrogen. They also prefer soil that is well-draining but with a lot of moisture; and the pH level should be between 6.0 to 6.5.

Put the tubers in the hole and cover them up making sure the crowns are approximately three inches from the surface. The eye of the tuber should be facing up. Little rocks or pebbles added to the bottom of the hole will help facilitate good drainage. Place a stake a few feet long beside the tuber before you cover it with dirt. The stake will serve as a marker and also help protect the roots against damage. Scatter a bit of fertilizer over the ground. If you find that your soil is too sandy, simply add some humus to it and this will help it to retain the necessary minerals. Cultivate the soil surface regularly, stirring up the nutrients. Then when the dahlias reach a foot high, give them a big tablespoon of fertilizer.

Dahlias will bloom in mid to late summer and the tips of each stem will usually develop three buds on average. If you want longer stems with big brilliant flowers, you’ll need to remove the two side buds and leave the middle one intact; and you’ll also need to remove the buds that develop on the leaves. Once a week search the entire plant for any other buds and eliminate them.

If you want a bushier type of growth, wait until your dahlias have grown at least a foot and pinch off the very top of the plant stem to make the blooms grow out to the sides. When the dahlias reach about two feet high, it is time to tie them to the stake you previously put in the hole.

You can also use a mulch of lawn clippings or straw when blooming begins to protect the roots and help them retain moisture.

It’s also possible to grow dahlias from the cuttings of plants, but this is somewhat more difficult, and not too many people use this technique. But some growers claim that when dahlias are grown from cuttings, they actually get better flowers than when they are grown from tubers.

One of the main problems with growing dahlias is insects. Bugs love dahlias almost as much as people love looking at their stunning flowers. Your main pests will be slugs, spiders, and mites, but some other common ones will be aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, Japanese beetles, and corn borers. Use fungicides and insecticides regularly to stop pests before they start since they will quickly destroy your dahlias. Disease may also be a problem, so keep a good fungicide handy as well. Common diseases are ring spots, vascular wilts, powdery mildew, mosaic virus, and botrytis blight.

To store your tubers, simply dig them up being careful not to damage the tuber necks when removing the soil. Some of the smaller necks can be easily broken or cracked, and if they are they won’t grow at all. Wash them to remove all the dirt. Then split the tubers up, and if desired pick only the best tubers to store. Make sure all the ones you select have at least one “eye,” or growing point. Those without an eye won’t grow. Cut the tubers away from the stem with a sharp knife, including a piece of the main stem.

Make sure to dispose of all stalks and other plant residue in the fall to keep away insects that bore into plant matter.

Also label your main tubers so you can identify the variety when the next spring comes. Simply place each variety in a plastic bag with a label marked with the name. Then store them over the winter in a cellar with temperatures between 35 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. A garage is also a good place over the winter. But watch out for frost. Also it is best to cover the tubers to allow no light. Keep them dry but don’t let them dry out. Sprinkle with a little water if you notice they are beginning to shrivel during winter storage.

Further history and facts about dahlias: They got their name from the Swedish botanist Anders Dahl. The Dutch people started growing dahlias after a box of roots was sent there from Mexico in the year 1872. Out of the entire box only one plant survived, and the botanists used it to develop many different cultivars.

The following varieties of dahlias are especially incredible looking so keep them in mind the next time you consider ordering dahlias: Bashful, Fascination, Alpen Furry, Kenora Wow, Alpen Lois, Bristol Stripe, Pink Giraffe, and Popcorn.