Flower Power : Dahlia

 

 

 

 

 You won't get a failure with a Dahlia. 

 

 

These reliable stunners are sound as a pound with their guaranteed impact, long flowering season and diversity of colour, size and style. Although out of fashion for a little while they're back with a vengeance and bang on trend now, full of attitude and surely a must for any situation. 

 

They are the very epitome of an English summer with their lollipop heads standing above straight stems which appear barely sturdy enough to support them.

It does take a little while for them to gather sufficient muster for the flowering to begin but once the blooms appear they'll continue with such a profusion of flowers per plant long past late summer and into early autumn. 

Long in fact until the first frost. 

Native as they originally are to Mexico they cannot tolerate extremes of cold and will fail immediately our temperatures dip.  The foliage will appear damaged with a burnt appearance and all life will simply dissolve from the plant.

Much is written on whether it is possible to overwinter the tubers in situ, or if they should be lifted and stored inside until the following spring.  The solution it would appear is in your soil conditions.  Some people have much success in plant resurgence throughout successive years, even in pot dwellers.  Others will never see the light of day again after the initial die back.

It is believed that the answer lies in your soil type; as unlike Clematis, who like always to have wet around their root system, the Dahlia requires a dry situation to avoid the tubers and roots rotting off over the dormant months. 

Lots more details about lifting and storing and how to do that in the growing guide below.

There's a Dahlia for everyone, no matter what your taste, being such a wide genus with many varying forms, comprising in brief:

    

    

     Single flowered
     Anemone
     Collerette
     Waterlily
     Decorative
     Ball
     Pompon
     Cactus
     Semi-cactus
     Miscellaneous
     Fimbriated
     Orchid (star)
     Double orchid
     Peony flowered

This £1 pack has grown to full maturity at around 3' and is showing with approx. 15 flowers and 15 buds at any time providing a profusion of flower. 

It has been flowering for a few months and has plenty of life left in it for as long as optimum flowering temperatures prevail. 

Is this our favourite ever Dahlia? 

Well my favourite is whichever one is flowering at the time - as they are always so pleasing that just to see them is such a delight that it's impossible not to be swept away with enthusiasm for each and every one. 

Beginners Guide

You can buy Dahlia tubers and start these off yourself and they will be very reliable although will take longer to develop to maturity.  Alternatively, you can pick up established young plants from garden centres and specialist growers, thereby ensuring that flowering begins much earlier and provided you continue to water well and deadhead throughout the season you will be rewarded with non-stop flowering for months to come.

Hunt around for the best bargains and try and to peep inside the packaging to ensure it contains healthy plant material - although this is not always possible as they are sometimes packed in sawdust or shavings. 



Start the tuber off in some rich compost and ensure it is kept watered.  Keep it inside, or under glass if possible, and always protected from cold nights.  The first shoots will appear and quickly develop leaves.  Once all danger of frost is passed, which could be as late as June, you can transfer your tender plant(s) to its forever home.  Upend the pot to check for nice healthy looking established root development before transplanting.

That's pretty much all you need to worry about at this stage to ensure you get the best results.  A happy plant in tip-top condition and smothered in flowers, from what is one of the best all round summer performers.  You can feed once a week during the growing season to encourage flowering. 

Things to remember

Your Dahlia needs loads of full sun. 

Never place in a shady position and don't let it become crowded by its neighbours.

Your Dahlia needs loads of water. 

Ensure it gets a good daily dousing and check it twice a day during the hottest weeks if it's living in a pot.

Your Dahlia needs loads of deadheading. 

Keep it deadheaded to encourage repeat flowering.  Once a week is enough.

Guard against slug/snail attack

At summer's end, to preserve the life cycle of your precious plant you now have to decide whether to lift and remove under cover (if you have the space) or to cut back all the frost damaged vegetation and overwinter in its existing home.









To move it inside, first cut away all the top spent material so only a tiny stalk and the tuber(s) below ground remain.  Fork about the base, being careful not to spear or damage any of the tuber(s) underneath.  This is because the original one thumb sized tuber that you planted will probably have massively developed and multiplied over the course of the summer. 

Therefore, more you can find, the more you have to split and divide up to make more plants for the following season.  Theoretically once you've bought one plant you should be able to get a lifetime's production of future plants from all the tubers generated by the original.

Loosen well all around as you might find you have a bit of a battle on your hands to dig it up and wrestle everything free.  Once you've lifted it and cleaned it off the aim is to keep it warm and dry over the course of the winter.  Do this by covering with dry compost, sawdust or even newspaper.  Think of them as going in to hibernation and remember they can cope with cold, but need to be kept dry.  You then of course have your own tubers all ready for next year, to plant up early enough to give you a head start in the next growing season.