How to grow dahlias in pots. All about dahlias: planting and care How to plant dahlias with tubers in pots

The choice of containers for planting

For landing use:

  • clay pots;
  • Plastic pots and buckets;
  • Wooden boxes.

Landing dates

Location selection

Priming

  • Sand;
  • Humus;
  • Complex of microelements;
  • rotted manure;
  • Perlite.

Landing

  • Watering;
  • loosening the earth;
  • Application of fertilizers.

Pot selection

What container to use

Need to find a big pot

It is better to choose a heavy pot

Hole drilling

Landing

Landing dates

Filling the pot

Planting tubers

Soil watering

fertilizers

  • watering,
  • soil loosening,
  • top dressing,

Watering the stem and soil

Lighting

Timing for fertilizer

Removing the lower leaves

wintering dahlia

Dahlias in a pot: how to grow and care

Popular with gardeners, dahlias, despite their height, can be grown at home, in pots. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of cultivation and select the appropriate varieties.

Choosing a dahlia variety that is suitable for growing in pots

For planting dahlias at home or on the balcony, varieties with a small root system are selected. Special varieties of indoor low-growing dahlias have been developed - for growing in pots at home. These are pot dahlias, miniature dahlias, etc. But high varieties can also be grown. It is important to choose the right container for planting and take care of the support if the flower has grown to 85-90 cm.

Pot selection

Indoor dahlias can be planted in plastic containers, wooden, wicker, clay, of different sizes. What's better?

What container to use

In plastic containers, overheating of the soil is possible, oxygen access to the roots is reduced. Wicker baskets do not have these disadvantages, but they are usually short-lived. Wooden boxes are comfortable for flowers, but not decorative enough for a room or balcony. For attractiveness, they can be painted, but then breathability is disturbed. In a clay or ceramic pot, dahlia roots do not lack oxygen. These pots are attractive and durable.

Need to find a big pot

To plant a dahlia, you need a large pot. When choosing a volume, the dimensions of the flowers should be taken into account. The size of the root system for low varieties requires a capacity of 4-5 liters. Medium-sized dahlias will feel comfortable in pots of 7-8 liters. For flowers over 90 cm tall, 10 liters or more will be required.

It is better to choose a heavy pot

The pot must be heavy. An adult dahlia requires a stable support, so plastic or wicker containers are not suitable. A thick-walled clay pot is able to ensure the stability of the flower.

Hole drilling

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. If the water stagnates in the pot after watering, the roots will die due to lack of oxygen. It is necessary to ensure the outflow of water through the drainage holes. If there is only one drainage hole, you need to drill a few more to improve drainage.

Why is it necessary to thoroughly rinse the pot?

When using already used pots, they should be pre-treated. Microorganisms, insect eggs, fungi, salts, etc. can remain in the clay. Therefore, before use, the pot should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and disinfected with a non-chlorine solution.

Coarse soil mix

Dahlias are demanding on the quality of the soil. You can buy ready-made soil mix or mix it yourself. The soil should be coarse-grained, loosened to provide air access to the roots. Peat, humus, sand are added to it. Experienced flower growers are advised to mix in perlite, the hygroscopic granules of which remove excess moisture from the soil.

Landing

It is important to correctly determine the timing of planting, so as not to spoil the planting material.

Landing dates

If the pots are in the apartment or on a heated balcony, then the tubers can be planted in late March - early April. If it is planned to put the pots outdoors (on the porch, in the garden or on the open balcony), then it is better to wait until May, when even at night it will be at least 12 0 С.

Dahlias in pots begin to bloom about 45-50 days after planting. This period can be reduced if the plants are provided with heat and sunlight.

Filling the pot

When filling the pot, special attention is paid to the drainage layer.

Gravel can be poured into the bottom of the pot. The height of the drainage layer is about 15 cm. The drainage holes must remain free, ensuring the outflow of water. Soil is poured over the drainage. The height of the soil depends on the pot - about 20 cm must be left to the top edge.

The tubers are planted to a depth of about 15 cm. After planting, germination and backfilling of the tubers, the distance from the soil to the edge of the pot should be at least 2 cm. The filled soil is moistened and slightly crushed - the earth should be loose.

Planting tubers

Tubers with short roots should be planted. If the roots are allowed to lengthen, they will intertwine and be damaged when untangled. Restoring the roots will delay the growth and flowering of the dahlia.

The tuber is placed on the ground with an eye up so that the stem can grow unhindered. It is desirable that the sprout is located approximately in the center of the pot, and the distance from the ends of the roots to the wall of the pot is at least 5-6 mm.

The tuber is sprinkled with moistened soil, it is not necessary to fill the peephole. As the stalk appears and grows, the soil is added, but very carefully so as not to damage the delicate sprout. Adding soil continues until the distance to the edge of the pot decreases to 2-3 cm.

A pot with a planted dahlia is placed in a warm, bright place protected from the wind. There may be some shade in the evening.

Soil watering

For planting, the soil is moistened. After planting, the dahlia does not require watering, the soil is only lightly sprinkled with warm water. Watering begins a few days after the formation of absorbent roots.

fertilizers

For rapid growth and lush flowering, flowers require top dressing. Dahlias respond well to fertilizers based on algae and fish, bone meal. You can buy a ready-made mixture for plant nutrition in a specialized store.

Use fertilizers with high levels of nitrogen carefully. An excess of nitrogen leads to diseases of dahlias, they bloom poorly, tubers do not tolerate wintering well.

Caring for potted dahlias is simple and includes:

  • watering,
  • soil loosening,
  • top dressing,
  • protection from diseases and pests.

If potted dahlias grow outdoors (on an open balcony, veranda, porch), then under adverse weather conditions they are simply temporarily brought into the room.

Watering the stem and soil

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. The frequency of watering depends on the weather. Usually it is two or three times a week. If it is cool, once is enough, depending on the condition of the soil. In dry and hot weather, you can water daily, avoiding moisture stagnation.

Lighting

Dahlias love sunshine. For high-quality growth and flowering, they need about 6-8 hours to be in direct sunlight. If the pots are on the balcony, choose the sunniest place for them. If dahlias grow in a room, then it is useful to make up for the lack of sunlight with fluorescent lamps. The lamp can be installed immediately after planting at a level of 15 cm above the ground. As the dahlia grows, the lamp rises.

Timing for fertilizer

Dahlias need a large amount of potassium and phosphorus, to a lesser extent - nitrogen. Feeding starts in June. Fertilizers are applied every two weeks when watering. Avoid "overfeeding" with fertilizers. Top dressing continues until September.

Removing the lower leaves

Around mid-July, the lower leaves are removed from the stem to improve air circulation. It also protects plants from powdery mildew disease.

Spraying insecticide and fungicide

To protect against pests, potted dahlias are treated twice a month with a fungicide or insecticide.

Pests and methods of dealing with them

Yellowed and twisted leaves - a signal of the appearance of aphids. If the colonies are single, then the damaged leaves are simply removed. In severe infestations, insecticide treatment is necessary.

Slugs gnaw through or completely destroy the leaves. To combat them, metaldehyde preparations, superphosphate, red pepper are effective - they scatter on the ground.

Plant bugs cause leaves to bore. To get rid of them, dahlias are sprayed with an insecticide. Processing is best done in the morning when the bugs are inactive.

Earwigs spoil the buds by gnawing out their core. From earwigs, watering once a week with a decoction of wormwood or celandine helps.

When mold appears, treatment with a fungicide helps.

In case of powdery mildew, treatment with a preparation containing copper is necessary. You can apply gray treatment.

wintering dahlia

At the first autumn frosts, even if dahlias grow in the house, you need to think about winter holidays. Before winter, the dahlia is cut off, leaving 4-5 cm of the stem. Tubers can be dug up, or left in the same pots in which they grew.

The dug tubers are carefully cleaned from the ground, treated with a solution of potassium permanganate of medium brightness and dried. They are stored in a cool dry place at an air temperature of about 5 0 C. So that they do not dry out during storage, the tubers can be sprinkled with sawdust, sand, peat.

When wintering in a pot, protruding roots are cut off, the pot is wrapped in newspaper in several layers and packed in an opaque bag. Until spring, the pots should stand in a cool, dry place.

Growing dahlias in pots

Beautiful flowers - dahlias, can be successfully grown not only in a flower garden, but also in pots. To do this, choose varieties that have a small root system. For container growing, border, miniature, pot dahlias are suitable.

The choice of containers for planting

The volume of the pot for planting dahlias depends on the size of the root system. Low-growing varieties have small roots; 5-6 liters are needed to grow one plant. For medium-sized ones, you will need 7 - 10 liters, for tall ones, at least 20 liters.

For landing use:

  • clay pots;
  • Plastic pots and buckets;
  • Wicker baskets and containers;
  • Wooden boxes.

Clay and ceramic pots allow air to pass well to the root system, do not overheat, and look very attractive. The disadvantages of such containers are high cost, fragility, and heavy weight. With caution, use containers in which flowers have already grown.

From fungi and harmful microorganisms, pots are treated with disinfectants that do not contain chlorine.

Plastic pots, buckets, and containers look good, are light in weight, and are inexpensive. But the root system of plants growing in such a container often overheats, the roots may not have enough oxygen.

Wicker baskets with flowers look very decorative. They are light, breathable, the roots are protected from overheating. The only drawback of wicker baskets is their fragility.

Wooden boxes are great for planting dahlias. The tree passes air well, the roots do not lack oxygen. The disadvantage of wooden boxes is the low decorative effect. To make the boxes more attractive, they are painted with oil paint, decorated with ornaments and drawings. But, a painted tree stops letting air through, plants develop worse in such boxes.

Landing dates

Potted dahlias bloom 40 to 50 days after planting. To get a flowering plant early, dahlia pots can be placed in a warm, well-lit room. In a city apartment, a dahlia will grow well on a heated balcony.

If the flowers are planned to be grown immediately in the open air, the germinated tubers are planted when the air temperature is at least 12 degrees at night.

If potted dahlias can be placed indoors before the threat of frost has passed, planting can begin in late March. If the tubers are planted earlier, it is necessary to illuminate the seedlings.

Location selection

Growing dahlias in pots is convenient because they can be placed anywhere: on the veranda, in the garden between the trees, along the paths. A row of pots can visually divide the site into zones.

Best of all, these flowers will grow in a sunny area, protected from strong winds. Some shade is allowed in the evening.

Priming

One of the most important steps in growing dahlias in pots is soil preparation. The earth should be loose, breathable, contain all the necessary nutrients.

You can buy ready-made earthen mix, or cook it yourself. The finished mixture is chosen with the marking "for flowering plants."

To grow dahlias, add to the garden soil:

  • Sand;
  • Humus;
  • Complex of microelements;
  • rotted manure;
  • Perlite.

All components are thoroughly mixed, large stones, lumps of clay and other debris are selected from the soil.

Add organic fertilizers to the soil should be very careful, dahlias in pots do not like an excess of nitrogen in the soil. Dahlias overfed with nitrogen fertilizers do not bloom well, the tubers of such plants hardly endure wintering.

Perlite is added to the soil in order to protect the root system from waterlogging. The granules of this substance quickly absorb excess water.

Landing

Planting dahlias in pots does not take long. Once the containers, tubers, soil and drainage are ready, you can start planting.

A drainage layer is poured at the bottom of the pot, at least 15 cm high. Dahlia roots cannot stand waterlogging, if water remains in the pot after showers or heavy watering, the flowers may die due to lack of oxygen. Make sure the drain holes are not clogged.

The drainage layer is covered with soil, the size of this layer depends on the height of the container. At least 20 cm should remain to the edge. The soil must be moistened and slightly crushed. The tuber is placed sprouts up, sprinkled with soil, without deepening the root collar. The soil must be carefully compacted.

The pot is placed in a bright place protected from the wind. A few days after planting, dahlias are not watered, only the soil is sprayed. Watering begins when absorbent roots form at the tuber.

Caring for potted dahlias is easy. They do not require weeding, protection of roots from pests. They can be moved if there is a threat of frost or a hurricane, and then put back in place.

Dahlias growing in pots require:

  • Watering;
  • Treatment for sucking insects;
  • loosening the earth;
  • Application of fertilizers.

Watering is carried out depending on the air temperature. In cool weather, dahlias are watered no more than once a week. In hot weather, the plant may need daily watering.

Potted dahlias are very much harmed by sucking insects such as aphids. It is necessary to treat with insecticides 2 times a month.

The formation of an earthen crust must not be allowed. It interferes with the free flow of oxygen to the root system. After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the top layer of soil.

Potted dahlias need a lot of potassium and phosphorus for bright, long flowering. Fertilizers are applied weekly during watering, or foliar application is used.

Growing dahlias will not be difficult, this flower will gratefully accept care and care, responding to them with magnificent flowering.

Dahlias in a pot: how to grow and care

Popular with gardeners, dahlias, despite their height, can be grown at home, in pots. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of cultivation and select the appropriate varieties.

Choosing a dahlia variety that is suitable for growing in pots

For planting dahlias at home or on the balcony, varieties with a small root system are selected. Special varieties of indoor low-growing dahlias have been developed - for growing in pots at home. These are pot dahlias, miniature dahlias, etc. But high varieties can also be grown. It is important to choose the right container for planting and take care of the support if the flower has grown to 85-90 cm.

Pot selection

Indoor dahlias can be planted in plastic containers, wooden, wicker, clay, of different sizes. What's better?

What container to use

In plastic containers, overheating of the soil is possible, oxygen access to the roots is reduced. Wicker baskets do not have these disadvantages, but they are usually short-lived. Wooden boxes are comfortable for flowers, but not decorative enough for a room or balcony. For attractiveness, they can be painted, but then breathability is disturbed. In a clay or ceramic pot, dahlia roots do not lack oxygen. These pots are attractive and durable.

Need to find a big pot

To plant a dahlia, you need a large pot. When choosing a volume, the dimensions of the flowers should be taken into account. The size of the root system for low varieties requires a capacity of 4-5 liters. Medium-sized dahlias will feel comfortable in pots of 7-8 liters. For flowers over 90 cm tall, 10 liters or more will be required.

It is better to choose a heavy pot

The pot must be heavy. An adult dahlia requires a stable support, so plastic or wicker containers are not suitable. A thick-walled clay pot is able to ensure the stability of the flower.

Hole drilling

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. If the water stagnates in the pot after watering, the roots will die due to lack of oxygen. It is necessary to ensure the outflow of water through the drainage holes. If there is only one drainage hole, you need to drill a few more to improve drainage.

Why is it necessary to thoroughly rinse the pot?

When using already used pots, they should be pre-treated. Microorganisms, insect eggs, fungi, salts, etc. can remain in the clay. Therefore, before use, the pot should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and disinfected with a non-chlorine solution.

Coarse soil mix

Dahlias are demanding on the quality of the soil. You can buy ready-made soil mix or mix it yourself. The soil should be coarse-grained, loosened to provide air access to the roots. Peat, humus, sand are added to it. Experienced flower growers are advised to mix in perlite, the hygroscopic granules of which remove excess moisture from the soil.

Landing

It is important to correctly determine the timing of planting, so as not to spoil the planting material.

Landing dates

If the pots are in the apartment or on a heated balcony, then the tubers can be planted in late March - early April. If it is planned to put the pots outdoors (on the porch, in the garden or on the open balcony), then it is better to wait until May, when even at night it will be at least 12 0 С.

Dahlias in pots begin to bloom about 45-50 days after planting. This period can be reduced if the plants are provided with heat and sunlight.

Filling the pot

When filling the pot, special attention is paid to the drainage layer.

Gravel can be poured into the bottom of the pot. The height of the drainage layer is about 15 cm. The drainage holes must remain free, ensuring the outflow of water. Soil is poured over the drainage. The height of the soil depends on the pot - about 20 cm must be left to the top edge.

The tubers are planted to a depth of about 15 cm. After planting, germination and backfilling of the tubers, the distance from the soil to the edge of the pot should be at least 2 cm. The filled soil is moistened and slightly crushed - the earth should be loose.

Planting tubers

Tubers with short roots should be planted. If the roots are allowed to lengthen, they will intertwine and be damaged when untangled. Restoring the roots will delay the growth and flowering of the dahlia.

The tuber is placed on the ground with an eye up so that the stem can grow unhindered. It is desirable that the sprout is located approximately in the center of the pot, and the distance from the ends of the roots to the wall of the pot is at least 5-6 mm.

The tuber is sprinkled with moistened soil, it is not necessary to fill the peephole. As the stalk appears and grows, the soil is added, but very carefully so as not to damage the delicate sprout. Adding soil continues until the distance to the edge of the pot decreases to 2-3 cm.

A pot with a planted dahlia is placed in a warm, bright place protected from the wind. There may be some shade in the evening.

Soil watering

For planting, the soil is moistened. After planting, the dahlia does not require watering, the soil is only lightly sprinkled with warm water. Watering begins a few days after the formation of absorbent roots.

fertilizers

For rapid growth and lush flowering, flowers require top dressing. Dahlias respond well to fertilizers based on algae and fish, bone meal. You can buy a ready-made mixture for plant nutrition in a specialized store.

Use fertilizers with high levels of nitrogen carefully. An excess of nitrogen leads to diseases of dahlias, they bloom poorly, tubers do not tolerate wintering well.

Caring for potted dahlias is simple and includes:

  • watering,
  • soil loosening,
  • top dressing,
  • protection from diseases and pests.

If potted dahlias grow outdoors (on an open balcony, veranda, porch), then under adverse weather conditions they are simply temporarily brought into the room.

Watering the stem and soil

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. The frequency of watering depends on the weather. Usually it is two or three times a week. If it is cool, once is enough, depending on the condition of the soil. In dry and hot weather, you can water daily, avoiding moisture stagnation.

Lighting

Dahlias love sunshine. For high-quality growth and flowering, they need about 6-8 hours to be in direct sunlight. If the pots are on the balcony, choose the sunniest place for them. If dahlias grow in a room, then it is useful to make up for the lack of sunlight with fluorescent lamps. The lamp can be installed immediately after planting at a level of 15 cm above the ground. As the dahlia grows, the lamp rises.

Timing for fertilizer

Dahlias need a large amount of potassium and phosphorus, to a lesser extent - nitrogen. Feeding starts in June. Fertilizers are applied every two weeks when watering. Avoid "overfeeding" with fertilizers. Top dressing continues until September.

Removing the lower leaves

Around mid-July, the lower leaves are removed from the stem to improve air circulation. It also protects plants from powdery mildew disease.

Spraying insecticide and fungicide

To protect against pests, potted dahlias are treated twice a month with a fungicide or insecticide.

Pests and methods of dealing with them

Yellowed and twisted leaves - a signal of the appearance of aphids. If the colonies are single, then the damaged leaves are simply removed. In severe infestations, insecticide treatment is necessary.

Slugs gnaw through or completely destroy the leaves. To combat them, metaldehyde preparations, superphosphate, red pepper are effective - they scatter on the ground.

Plant bugs cause leaves to bore. To get rid of them, dahlias are sprayed with an insecticide. Processing is best done in the morning when the bugs are inactive.

Earwigs spoil the buds by gnawing out their core. From earwigs, watering once a week with a decoction of wormwood or celandine helps.

When mold appears, treatment with a fungicide helps.

In case of powdery mildew, treatment with a preparation containing copper is necessary. You can apply gray treatment.

wintering dahlia

At the first autumn frosts, even if dahlias grow in the house, you need to think about winter holidays. Before winter, the dahlia is cut off, leaving 4-5 cm of the stem. Tubers can be dug up, or left in the same pots in which they grew.

The dug tubers are carefully cleaned from the ground, treated with a solution of potassium permanganate of medium brightness and dried. They are stored in a cool dry place at an air temperature of about 5 0 C. So that they do not dry out during storage, the tubers can be sprinkled with sawdust, sand, peat.

When wintering in a pot, protruding roots are cut off, the pot is wrapped in newspaper in several layers and packed in an opaque bag. Until spring, the pots should stand in a cool, dry place.

Dahlias in a pot: how to grow and care

Popular with gardeners, dahlias, despite their height, can be grown at home, in pots. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of cultivation and select the appropriate varieties.

Choosing a dahlia variety that is suitable for growing in pots

For planting dahlias at home or on the balcony, varieties with a small root system are selected. Special varieties of indoor low-growing dahlias have been developed - for growing in pots at home. These are pot dahlias, miniature dahlias, etc. But high varieties can also be grown. It is important to choose the right container for planting and take care of the support if the flower has grown to 85-90 cm.

Pot selection

Indoor dahlias can be planted in plastic containers, wooden, wicker, clay, of different sizes. What's better?

What container to use

In plastic containers, overheating of the soil is possible, oxygen access to the roots is reduced. Wicker baskets do not have these disadvantages, but they are usually short-lived. Wooden boxes are comfortable for flowers, but not decorative enough for a room or balcony. For attractiveness, they can be painted, but then breathability is disturbed. In a clay or ceramic pot, dahlia roots do not lack oxygen. These pots are attractive and durable.

Need to find a big pot

To plant a dahlia, you need a large pot. When choosing a volume, the dimensions of the flowers should be taken into account. The size of the root system for low varieties requires a capacity of 4-5 liters. Medium-sized dahlias will feel comfortable in pots of 7-8 liters. For flowers over 90 cm tall, 10 liters or more will be required.

It is better to choose a heavy pot

The pot must be heavy. An adult dahlia requires a stable support, so plastic or wicker containers are not suitable. A thick-walled clay pot is able to ensure the stability of the flower.

Hole drilling

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. If the water stagnates in the pot after watering, the roots will die due to lack of oxygen. It is necessary to ensure the outflow of water through the drainage holes. If there is only one drainage hole, you need to drill a few more to improve drainage.

Why is it necessary to thoroughly rinse the pot?

When using already used pots, they should be pre-treated. Microorganisms, insect eggs, fungi, salts, etc. can remain in the clay. Therefore, before use, the pot should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and disinfected with a non-chlorine solution.

Coarse soil mix

Dahlias are demanding on the quality of the soil. You can buy ready-made soil mix or mix it yourself. The soil should be coarse-grained, loosened to provide air access to the roots. Peat, humus, sand are added to it. Experienced flower growers are advised to mix in perlite, the hygroscopic granules of which remove excess moisture from the soil.

Landing

It is important to correctly determine the timing of planting, so as not to spoil the planting material.

Landing dates

If the pots are in the apartment or on a heated balcony, then the tubers can be planted in late March - early April. If it is planned to put the pots outdoors (on the porch, in the garden or on the open balcony), then it is better to wait until May, when even at night it will be at least 12 0 С.

Dahlias in pots begin to bloom about 45-50 days after planting. This period can be reduced if the plants are provided with heat and sunlight.

Filling the pot

When filling the pot, special attention is paid to the drainage layer.

Gravel can be poured into the bottom of the pot. The height of the drainage layer is about 15 cm. The drainage holes must remain free, ensuring the outflow of water. Soil is poured over the drainage. The height of the soil depends on the pot - about 20 cm must be left to the top edge.

The tubers are planted to a depth of about 15 cm. After planting, germination and backfilling of the tubers, the distance from the soil to the edge of the pot should be at least 2 cm. The filled soil is moistened and slightly crushed - the earth should be loose.

Planting tubers

Tubers with short roots should be planted. If the roots are allowed to lengthen, they will intertwine and be damaged when untangled. Restoring the roots will delay the growth and flowering of the dahlia.

The tuber is placed on the ground with an eye up so that the stem can grow unhindered. It is desirable that the sprout is located approximately in the center of the pot, and the distance from the ends of the roots to the wall of the pot is at least 5-6 mm.

The tuber is sprinkled with moistened soil, it is not necessary to fill the peephole. As the stalk appears and grows, the soil is added, but very carefully so as not to damage the delicate sprout. Adding soil continues until the distance to the edge of the pot decreases to 2-3 cm.

A pot with a planted dahlia is placed in a warm, bright place protected from the wind. There may be some shade in the evening.

Soil watering

For planting, the soil is moistened. After planting, the dahlia does not require watering, the soil is only lightly sprinkled with warm water. Watering begins a few days after the formation of absorbent roots.

fertilizers

For rapid growth and lush flowering, flowers require top dressing. Dahlias respond well to fertilizers based on algae and fish, bone meal. You can buy a ready-made mixture for plant nutrition in a specialized store.

Use fertilizers with high levels of nitrogen carefully. An excess of nitrogen leads to diseases of dahlias, they bloom poorly, tubers do not tolerate wintering well.

Caring for potted dahlias is simple and includes:

  • watering,
  • soil loosening,
  • top dressing,
  • protection from diseases and pests.

If potted dahlias grow outdoors (on an open balcony, veranda, porch), then under adverse weather conditions they are simply temporarily brought into the room.

Watering the stem and soil

Dahlias do not tolerate excess moisture. The frequency of watering depends on the weather. Usually it is two or three times a week. If it is cool, once is enough, depending on the condition of the soil. In dry and hot weather, you can water daily, avoiding moisture stagnation.

Lighting

Dahlias love sunshine. For high-quality growth and flowering, they need about 6-8 hours to be in direct sunlight. If the pots are on the balcony, choose the sunniest place for them. If dahlias grow in a room, then it is useful to make up for the lack of sunlight with fluorescent lamps. The lamp can be installed immediately after planting at a level of 15 cm above the ground. As the dahlia grows, the lamp rises.

Timing for fertilizer

Dahlias need a large amount of potassium and phosphorus, to a lesser extent - nitrogen. Feeding starts in June. Fertilizers are applied every two weeks when watering. Avoid "overfeeding" with fertilizers. Top dressing continues until September.

Removing the lower leaves

Around mid-July, the lower leaves are removed from the stem to improve air circulation. It also protects plants from powdery mildew disease.

Spraying insecticide and fungicide

To protect against pests, potted dahlias are treated twice a month with a fungicide or insecticide.

Pests and methods of dealing with them

Yellowed and twisted leaves - a signal of the appearance of aphids. If the colonies are single, then the damaged leaves are simply removed. In severe infestations, insecticide treatment is necessary.

Slugs gnaw through or completely destroy the leaves. To combat them, metaldehyde preparations, superphosphate, red pepper are effective - they scatter on the ground.

Plant bugs cause leaves to bore. To get rid of them, dahlias are sprayed with an insecticide. Processing is best done in the morning when the bugs are inactive.

Earwigs spoil the buds by gnawing out their core. From earwigs, watering once a week with a decoction of wormwood or celandine helps.

When mold appears, treatment with a fungicide helps.

In case of powdery mildew, treatment with a preparation containing copper is necessary. You can apply gray treatment.

wintering dahlia

At the first autumn frosts, even if dahlias grow in the house, you need to think about winter holidays. Before winter, the dahlia is cut off, leaving 4-5 cm of the stem. Tubers can be dug up, or left in the same pots in which they grew.

The dug tubers are carefully cleaned from the ground, treated with a solution of potassium permanganate of medium brightness and dried. They are stored in a cool dry place at an air temperature of about 5 0 C. So that they do not dry out during storage, the tubers can be sprinkled with sawdust, sand, peat.

When wintering in a pot, protruding roots are cut off, the pot is wrapped in newspaper in several layers and packed in an opaque bag. Until spring, the pots should stand in a cool, dry place.

Dahlias: growing and caring for them is what worries many gardeners and summer residents. Flowers are quite beautiful and relatively unpretentious. But in the absence of basic skills and some special knowledge, it is impossible to achieve the desired result. It is possible to grow flowers in open ground and at home.

There are several classes of this type of flowers, which are divided into several varieties.

Table 1. Classification of dahlias.

Dahlia classKey Features

They have only one row of flowers with a diameter of 10 cm. The length of the stem is not more than 60 cm. Yellow, pink and red-orange colors are the most common today.

They consist of one or more marginal flowers, in the center the petals are tubular in shape. Inflorescences do not exceed 10 cm in diameter. Flower height up to 90 cm. Bronze and yellow-lilac are considered the most popular colors.

They have straight petals along the edges and tubular in the middle, which resemble a collar. The bud can reach up to 20 cm, the stem length is up to 120 cm. The most common colors are red, scarlet with gold, yellow.

Bud reaches 15 cm, marginal flowers are large and flat. Closer to the center, they fold into a tube. Stem height up to 120 cm. The most popular colors are lilac and red.
The inflorescences look terry, their size reaches 25 - 30 cm. The height of the stem varies from 60 cm to 100 cm. There are quite large varieties and miniature ones.

Terry-type inflorescences, sometimes slightly flattened on top. The diameter of the flower is up to 15 cm, and the height of the stem is not more than 120 cm. There are red, yellow and red-peach buds.

Outwardly, they resemble a small festive ball. The diameter of the inflorescence rarely exceeds 15 cm. The marginal flowers are folded with a blunt or rounded end. In nature, there are pink, lavender and purple colors.

The buds themselves look like terry, reach 25 cm. The flowers located at the edges are rather narrow and folded from the center. The height of the stem is not more than 150 cm. The colors are pink, yellow and red.

The diameter of the bud is up to 25 cm, it has terry-like petals, the height of the stem is up to 150 cm. Toward the end, the petals are bent from the core. The colors are yellow, orange and white.

They have the correct shape and look like lilies. The diameter of the flower reaches 20 cm. The height reaches 120 cm. There are several colors: pink, purple and white.

This view is unlike any of the above and is worth mansions.

These are the main classes of colors. However, their number is gradually increasing due to crossing with new varieties.

Briefly about growing dahlias

Table 2. Step-by-step instructions for growing dahlias.

StepDescriptionA photo
Digging the earth and fertilizing
Digging the soil and loosening it with a pitchfork and rake, creating holes, fertilizing the earth with potassium solutions (should be done when there are definitely no frosts)
Careful planting of the rhizome in the center of the hole, powdering with ash and burying
Use of fertilizers and insecticides
Removing the stem, digging up the root, removing the earth and drying. After that, it is possible to place it in a box with sawdust for wintering.

Cultivation and care in the open field

Most often, dahlias are grown in the country, so planting takes place in open soil. It is necessary to complete the preparatory stage so that the earth is fully suitable for the flowers.

Prices for dahlia seeds

dahlia seeds

Soil preparation and site

Important. You can not plant dahlias where asters or other plants that may be affected by fungal diseases have previously grown.

Before planting, you need to dig a hole 30 - 35 cm. Water is poured into it, fertilizers are applied and a dahlia tuber is placed. It is important that the distance between the holes is at least 50 cm.

A dahlia tuber is planted in a hole 30 - 35 cm

When to plant

Dahlias are sensitive to weather conditions, so it is not recommended to plant them early. So that the tubers do not die, you need to wait until the weather is established and there are no frosts. Even slight frosts can kill flowers. Thus, the ideal time for planting is mid-late May.

Planting dahlias

It is necessary that the hole be 3 times wider so that after placing the tuber there is still 7-10 cm of free space. If the stem is high enough, then you can immediately install a peg. Before you bury the hole, you need to water the tuber abundantly and fill in the ashes (no more than 5 cm).

Features of care

Outdoor flowers require special care:

  • systematic watering so that water irrigates the soil to a depth of 30 cm;
  • top dressing every 2-3 weeks (slurry until buds appear at the rate of 1:10 in relation to water, after buds appear, potassium or superphosphate fertilizers are used);
  • the use of a garter and support, since the flowers are rather fragile, and their stem is hollow;
  • giving the bush the desired shape (in order to get healthy and beautiful buds, it is necessary to leave no more than 3 inflorescences on the flower).

When affected by various diseases, the leaves begin to turn yellow. To exclude infection of other flowers, the diseased dahlia is removed from the summer cottage along with the tuber.

For the winter, the roots must be dug up and stored in sawdust. Perhaps the placement of tubers in a box.

Growing dahlias from seeds

It is possible to grow flowers from seeds, but you need to be patient, as it takes much longer than from tubers. Usually the seeds are used by breeders to produce new varieties of dahlias. There are two ways to grow seeds:

  • in open ground;
  • in greenhouse conditions.

The second method is recommended, since here the percentage of seed germination will be much higher. It is required to plant them in specially prepared boxes with earth. She must be fertilized. The seeds are covered with sand or loose soil to a depth of 0.5 cm, when 2-3 petals are formed, it is necessary to transplant dahlias into open ground at the rate of 5-7 cm between seedlings. You can read more about growing dahlias from seeds at.

Features of care

There are several fundamental differences in growing dahlias from seeds:

  • the soil before planting in open ground does not need to be fertilized;
  • top dressing of dahlias is not carried out in the process of their growth.

Such a hike allows you to get the strongest and healthiest shoots. Those whose decorative qualities do not meet the requirements of gardeners are removed from the site.

Growing from tubers

There are two ways to grow dahlias from tubers. Regardless of the method chosen, flowering can be achieved in the first year.

Growing from a portion of tubers

These flowers reproduce by dividing the tubers. Therefore, they can be cut by hand. To do this, you need to take a tuber and divide it in such a way that each part has 2 - 3 eyes. The knife must be sharp and clean so that it can quickly divide the tuber without unnecessary damage. Its purity will reduce the risk of diseases in the plant.

Sprinkle the incision site with activated charcoal or wood ash. After that, the roots can be placed in sawdust or planted in the ground, depending on the time of year and the air temperature outside.

Cuttings are another way to grow dahlias from tubers. It is considered more efficient. In this case, in January, the roots must be placed in sawdust for their germination. When the sprouts reach 7 cm, they must be carefully broken off or cut off. Best of all, the sprouts are preserved if they are cut with part of the rhizome. From them you can get the strongest and healthiest flowers.

Important. A new sprout will soon appear at the cut site. It can also be used to breed rare varieties of dahlias. However, experts do not recommend cutting more than 2 to 3 layers for rooting. This is due to the fact that each new generation is weaker than the first.

Activated carbon prices

Activated carbon

Growing at home

Sometimes dahlias are grown at home. There are several important nuances that you need to remember when choosing this flower as your home.

Pot selection

It is best to use wooden or ceramic products for growing dahlias. In them, the roots will not lack oxygen, and many models are quite attractive and original.

You need to choose a large capacity. So, small dahlias can grow well and fairly quickly in containers of 6 - 8 liters. But if the stem height exceeds 100 cm, then it is better to use pots over 10 liters. Holes must be drilled from the bottom side, as these flowers do not tolerate an excess of moisture. So they can be protected from it.

Soil selection

The earth can be bought in a specialized store or prepared independently. It should be coarse-grained and well loosened to provide the roots with sufficient air. It is recommended to add peat, humus or sand for fertilizer there. Experts also advise using perlite to remove excess moisture from the soil. It is sold in granules.

Landing features

It is necessary to spread the dahlia tuber up. The root is best placed in the center, as the root system grows quite quickly. When the tuber falls asleep, the eye is left. As the shoot appears, you need to add earth. However, this is done in small quantities and carefully so as not to damage the stem.

Important. Place the pot in a warm place with enough light. Shading is only possible in the evening.

Since flowers do not tolerate transplanting, they need to be planted immediately where they will grow. The frequency of watering depends on the humidity in the room. As a rule, watering is carried out up to 3 times a week. But at high indoor temperatures and the rapid drying of the earth, you need to water daily.

To ensure that the level of oxygen supply to the root does not decrease during growth, it is necessary to periodically remove the lower leaves.

When to plant

Regardless of whether you plan to plant flowers at home or outside, it is recommended to follow a specific schedule. In the south of Russia, dahlias are planted already at the end of March, as the soil warms up enough and the sun is high. But in other regions, planting begins in mid-May. If the dahlia grows in an apartment, then it can be planted as early as mid-April.

It is best to use germinated tubers for strong and healthy flowers. It will also reduce labor costs. Seeds are best used only to obtain a unique variety of dahlias.

autumn care

Dahlias die at a temperature of +1 degrees, so any frost is fatal for them. But growing in an apartment where the air temperature is approximately the same is not the basis for their year-round maintenance.

In autumn, flowers must be prepared for winter. At the same time, they must be dug out carefully so as not to damage the tubers. This is done as follows:

  • the stems are cut so that their height is about 10 cm, and wrapped in foil to prevent rot;
  • after 2 - 3 days, dahlias must be dug at a distance of 30 cm from the flower itself;
  • a pitchfork is brought under the tuber, pulled out of the ground and cleaned of it;
  • the root system is dried for 1-2 days and placed in boxes with sawdust.

In this state, the tubers should survive the winter.

As such, caring for dahlias is relatively easy compared to many other flowers. Therefore, they are popular with many gardeners. If you have any questions, you can find the answers in the video.

Video - Reproduction of dahlias by cuttings

Several centuries ago, having overcome the long journey from America to Europe, the dahlia managed to adapt to a variety of climatic conditions. Today, this flower is loved and grown in different parts of the world. What is the secret of such popularity? Dahlias are beautiful, elegant, diverse, unpretentious in care.
It is enough to know a couple of simple tricks for dahlias to become a signature feature of your flower bed or garden!

  • Is it worth buying tubers with tall sprouts?
  • Is it true that dahlias are not afraid of acidic soil, but the earth must be given a rest from this plant?
  • Why can't you plant dahlias and asters side by side?

Many small or a couple of luxurious flowers on a bush - you can decide! Do you love dahlias, but don't have the opportunity to mess around with annual digging-disembarkation or organize storage? There is an exit! We tell…

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Planting and caring for dahlias

  • Landing: from the second half of May to the second half of June.
  • Digging: autumn, after the first frost.
  • Storage: at a temperature of 3-5 ˚C and air humidity of 60-70%.
  • Bloom: summer and autumn.
  • Lighting: bright sunlight.
  • The soil: any, but fatty garden loam of a slightly acidic or neutral reaction is preferred.
  • Watering: plentiful, 1-2 times a week.
  • Top dressing: organic and mineral every two weeks alternately.
  • Garter, hilling, pinching: required for tall varieties.
  • Reproduction: seeds, tubers.
  • Pests: slugs, earwigs, slobbering pennitsy, flower beetles, aphids.
  • Diseases: powdery mildew, bacterial canker, growth, smut, gray mold and virus mosaic.

Read more about growing dahlias below.

Flowers dahlias (lat. Dahlia) Aster family - one of the most beautiful and long-blooming garden flowers, represented by the widest palette of colors and variety of forms. They bloom from July to the very frosts, and this is the most important thing, besides beauty, the dignity of dahlias. The first dahlia tubers were brought to Europe from Mexico at the end of the 18th century. The dahlia received its name in 1803 from the botanist Karl Wildenau, who named the dahlia plant in honor of the famous botanist, ethnographer and geographer from St. Petersburg, academician Johann Georgi. There are about thirty species and about 15,000 varieties of dahlias.

Features of growing dahlias

The shapes, colors and varieties of dahlias are so diverse that they can be used to decorate not only flower beds, but also border lines, as well as solo, even potted plants. Dahlias are dazzlingly beautiful, but at the same time completely unpretentious. The main thing that is required for their successful growth and lush flowering is to choose the right planting site, provide the necessary soil composition, timely watering and top dressing.

You need to buy seedlings no earlier than mid-spring, and the tubers should be fleshy and strong, with already noticeable, but not tall sprouts. Soft or dry tuber is better not to take.

How to grow

Growing dahlias involves labor-intensive digging and responsible storage of tubers, but if these chores scare you, you can grow annual dahlias from seed. annual dahlias they are just as beautiful and unpretentious in culture as perennials, and their choice is quite wide: Coltness Hybrids up to 50 cm high with abundant non-double flowers of various colors; bronze leaf Redskin; terry small Rigoletto; early Figaro ... You can buy seeds and sow them in open ground in mid-May, but then they will bloom only by mid-August. If you want to achieve earlier flowering, you will have to germinate the seeds.

To do this, in the first days of April, you will need to sow dahlia seeds in greenhouses or plastic containers, using calcined sand as soil: seeds are poured onto a layer of sand, which are again sprinkled with sand on top, moistened well and covered with transparent polyethylene. It takes about ten days to germinate the seeds at a temperature of 25-27 ° C, then the sprouts need to dive into separate pots. The soil mixture should be moisture-intensive and loose, you can buy it, or you can cook it: one part of peat and sand and two parts of leafy soil. Three days before picking, the soil must be treated with a hot solution of potassium permanganate (70 °) of a dark pink color. After picking, the seedlings are watered as the soil dries. In mid-May, it can be planted in the ground.

Where to plant

You need to start preparing with landing site selection. The dahlia flower hates drafts, but requires a well-ventilated and lit place, so you need to plant dahlias in a sunny area, protected from the wind. The soil on the site should be well-drained, permeable and nutritious. Dahlias can grow in soil with a lack or excess of acidity, but a slightly acidic or neutral environment will be optimal for them. If the soil on the site is too acidic (pH 5-4), add slaked lime to it, but if the pH is more than 8.5, you can "acidify" the soil with peat.

In the fall, when digging, enrich the area allotted for dahlias with humus and compost (3-5 kg ​​per 1 m 3). In the spring, before planting, again scatter mature compost (not leafy) and some wood ash on the site and rake it. To save dahlias from diseases and prevent them from degenerating, it is advisable to change the planting site every year, allowing the soil to rest from dahlias for at least three years. Do not plant dahlias where asters or plants prone to fungal diseases grew before them.

In the photo: Reproduction of dahlias by dividing the tuber

Preparing tubers for planting

In April, dahlia roots (tubers) should be prepared for planting: clean them from dry roots, remove damaged areas, treating all sections with brilliant green. Then the tubers are planted in a container with nutrient soil or peat so that the dahlia tubers protrude 2-3 cm above the surface, and keep them for two weeks at a temperature not lower than 18 ° C in good light. As soon as the buds appear, the tubers are cut into pieces so that each has a bud with a root collar. Sometimes one tuber produces five such parts. The tubers divided into parts need to be germinated for some time in a box, and then, after removing the side shoots that have reached a height of 10 cm, planted in the soil. Cut shoots can be used as cuttings: planted in the soil, placed in a dark place and watered well. The accustomed cuttings are planted in a permanent place. The division of tubers and cuttings is carried out to increase the amount of planting material and prevent the degeneration of the plant. If you do not have such a need, you can not divide the tubers.

Planting dahlias in open ground

You can plant dahlias in the ground when the earth warms up, usually this is done in late May or early July. Holes for dahlias should be three times larger than a lump of roots (40x40x40) so that the roots of the dahlia sink into them completely and another 5-7 cm remain. Lay a layer of rotted compost or manure on the bottom of the hole, then sprinkle the manure with earth so as not to burn the roots of the dahlia , lay the germinated tuber and dig it so that there are several centimeters of the stem underground. If you have chosen a variety of tall dahlias, install and secure immediately a support for the future stem. After planting, water the seedlings abundantly with cold water, and mulch the soil around them with a five-centimeter layer of fine tree bark or sawdust, after mixing them with peat or compost.

Dahlia Care

How to care

Site mulching with dahlias, in addition to protecting plants from slugs, will give you the opportunity to abandon such tedious work as weeding and loosening the soil, and also will not allow the soil to dry out quickly on hot days. Watering dahlias should be plentiful 1-2 times a week (if it doesn’t rain), but do not let moisture stagnate in the roots: dahlia tubers are prone to rotting. In extreme heat, hilling after watering helps to retain moisture. Before the next watering, the soil from the stems must be raked, watered, and then spud again.

Dahlia fertilizer

In the process of growth, dahlias need to be fed every two weeks, alternating mineral fertilizers with organic ones: ammonium nitrate (15 g per 1 m 3), mullein tincture 1:10 or bird droppings 1:20. With the advent of the first buds, superphosphate and potash fertilizers begin to be applied at the rate of 30 g per bucket of water (enough for 8 bushes).

support for dahlias

Since the dahlia has a hollow stem and strong wind or rain can break it, it is necessary tie up dahlia to the base peg. If the stem is still broken, try putting a tire on it: attach a strong branch to the stem, secure it and support the stem so that it does not lean. Timely and careful care of dahlias can save even a broken shoot, which will reward you with beautiful flowering for your care.

Pruning dahlias

If you are not interested in the quantity, but in the quality of the inflorescences, do not leave more than three shoots in the bush, otherwise the inflorescences will be smaller in size and not so decorative. On each peduncle you need to leave 1-2 buds. Remove faded buds so that they do not delay the formation and growth of new ones. Throughout the season, try to remove the lower side shoots of high-grade dahlias, these processes can then be used as cuttings. In undersized (pompom, cactus) and single dahlia bushes, side shoots can not be removed.

Pests

Young juicy stems of dahlias attract slugs, and buds attract earwigs, so when the first signs of pest aggression appear, treat the bushes about once a week in the evening with decoctions of wormwood or celandine. In hot weather, spray dahlias with systemic insecticides for thrips, aphids, mites, and caterpillars. Most of all dahlia pests love aphids. Try the old-fashioned way to deal with it: spraying plants with soapy water.

Harvesting dahlia tubers

After the first frost dahlia tubers need to be dug up, cut off the remaining foliage and pagons, leaving only five to ten centimeters of the stem. Some gardeners cut the stems and leaves a few days before digging up the tubers, but if moisture gets on the cut part, the base of the stem can rot, so immediately cover the dahlias with aluminum foil after cutting the stems. The neck of the tuber is especially fragile, so start digging up the tubers in the morning, in dry weather, so that they have time to dry in the air and become less "brittle". In addition, soil residues are more easily removed from dried tubers.

Digging up the tubers

Dig the plant on all four sides about 30 cm from the stem to cut off the long conductive roots, run a fork under the earth ball and push it out of the ground. Carefully clean the clods of earth from the tubers and turn them over to dry. When you dig up all the tubers, rinse them from a garden hose from the soil, which contains microorganisms that carry diseases. Do not be late with the harvesting of tubers, because after the first frost, warming may occur, and the buds sleeping in the tubers may wake up and begin to germinate, which is detrimental to plants at such a time.

How to store dahlias in winter

Proper storage of dahlias in winter is 90% success in growing them. The tubers left for winter storage should not dry out too much, because in spring they give weak shoots. Insufficient drying leads to the fact that the roots rot during storage. If any mechanical damage is found on the tubers, they need to be cut, and then sprinkled with charcoal. Root necks, so that they do not rot during storage, are powdered with ash or chalk.

The best way to store dahlia tubers at a temperature of 3-5 °C at an air humidity of 60-70% in a well-ventilated area. A dry basement is fine, but vegetables stored nearby can create high humidity, increasing the risk of rot and fungal diseases in the tubers. You can put the tubers in a box on a layer of dry peat and sprinkle with peat, you can use softwood sawdust or sand instead of peat. If suddenly the tubers begin to dry out or fade, the insulating material is slightly moistened. If there is no ventilation in the basement, you will have to turn on the fan three times a week for half an hour.

In the photo: Storage of dahlia tubers in plastic bags

If you don't have a basement or cellar, and you have to store dahlia tubers in your apartment, place the boxes of tubers in the coolest place (next to the balcony). You can put the tubers in plastic bags with insulating material (sawdust, sand, dry peat) and tie tightly. Some flower growers, wrapping each tuber in a newspaper, put them in a plastic bag, which they put in a cardboard box and put in a cool place, for example, on a glazed loggia. Only in this case, you will have to monitor the temperature outside all the time so that a sharp cold snap or frost does not destroy your planting material.

Warm and humid rooms are the least suitable for storing dahlia tubers, but you can save them even in such unsuitable conditions if you cover the tubers with paraffin. Melt the paraffin in a water bath, immerse the tuber in it for a second, let the film harden for a few seconds and again lower the tuber into liquid paraffin. After the waxing procedure, place the tubers together with dry peat, sand or sawdust in a plastic bag and tie it tightly. Before planting, these tubers will need to be rubbed lightly to crack the film.

During the winter, do not forget to inspect the tubers in order to be able to eliminate the likely appearance of rot in time. Affected areas should be cleaned to healthy tissue and treated with hardwood charcoal powder or brilliant green.

Types and varieties of dahlias

Dahlias are classified according to the shape and structure of inflorescences, in modern culture there are 12 main classes of dahlias, but as new varieties appear, new classes also appear.

So, the most popular varieties of dahlias:

Simple

Dahlias, having one row of flowers, reaching a diameter of 10 cm, in height from 45 cm to 60 cm. Simple dahlias include yellow Hammer varieties, pink Princess Marie Jose, reddish-orange Orangeade

Anemone

From one or more rows of marginal flowers, elongated tubular flowers in the middle. Inflorescences reach a diameter of 10 cm, a height of 60 cm to 90 cm. The most popular varieties are bronze-colored Vera Higgins, yellow-lilac Lucy, red Comet.

Many of the gardeners prefer perennial ornamental plants. Among them are dahlias. These magnificent flowers amaze with a variety of bright colors and long flowering. Depending on the variety, dahlia flowers can have a different shape, size, and height.

They bloom at the end of August and continue to delight the eye until October, if there are no frosts. Many dahlia lovers will be interested to know when and how to plant them in the spring? We will talk about some features of planting and storing dahlias in our article.

royal flowers

Dahlias are perennial heat-loving plants. They are very easy to care for, but the only problem is their planting in open ground and storage of tubers. Cultural forms of dahlias, there are more than 12,000 varieties, although there are no more than 15 species. Dahlias have root tubers that live for 3-4 years. In the process of development, they form new thin roots. The tubers are easily separated, after which they are ready for further planting.

Since the flowers belong to the heat-loving species, they cannot get used to our climatic conditions in the winter season. They need warmth, so already in September, before the onset of frost, their tubers should be dug up and stored until next year.

Among the variety of species and varieties of dahlias, there are many hybrids. The plant has erect, hollow and numerous stems, from 30 to 190 cm high. Deciduous mass may be green, reddish-brown. At the end of the stem there are inflorescences in the form of a basket with a diameter of 3–30 cm. The abundance of varieties allows you to choose the most suitable flowering time:

  • early dahlias (early May);
  • medium (from the second half of June);
  • late (from the end of August).

For successful cultivation, they need to create certain conditions, and then they will delight others with their bright and catchy colors.

Preparing tubers for planting

Already in April, preparatory work begins before planting dahlia tubers in open ground. In preparation much depends on climatic conditions. In some regions, tubers begin to cook only in May. Dahlias breed in several ways:

  • cuttings;
  • seeds;
  • tubers.

Most often, gardeners use the last of the breeding methods. To sprout good planting material tubers must be brought into a warm room. Arrange them on a shelf and sprinkle with a mixture of peat and sand, leaving the root collars open. With good moisture, the eyes hatch in a couple of weeks.

After that, the tubers must be divided with a sharp knife into several parts, leaving 2-3 eyes on each part. If the tuber has a long shape, it should be shortened so that it quickly takes root and new tubers begin to appear in the process of growth. Sections must be dried. a couple of days and sprinkled with wood ash. After that, the tubers are germinated in pots or boxes in a warm and well-lit place. In the second version, the tubers are separated by partitions so that their roots do not intertwine.

As the processes grow, weak buds are removed, leaving no more than 1–2 of the strongest. This will allow them to develop more actively, the shoots will have good nutrition. In the future, the bush will give more inflorescences, and the tubers will be stronger and will be able to winter well.

How to plant tubers in open ground?

The most successful place for planting dahlias is a site that is sunny and protected from strong winds. In order for the flower tubers not to die, they should be planted only in warm ground, when there is no likelihood of spring frosts. The best time to plant them is mid-May.. The soil should be loose, slightly acidic or neutral, with good drainage. Before planting, mature non-deciduous compost, wood ash is brought to the site. It is advisable to fertilize the place for planting with compost or humus since autumn. To prevent disease infection, it is best to plant dahlias in a new place every year. You can not plant dahlias in the area where asters grew before.

After preparing the site, it is necessary to dig holes for the tubers. They should be more spacious than the planting material. They contain manure or rotted compost, and a small layer of earth on top. Thereafter tubers are placed in holes and sprinkled with loose earth with a layer of 3-4 cm. For tall dahlias, you will need to put a support. Wet soil after planting tubers can not be watered immediately. If the first leaves have already appeared on the dahlias, then the hole is slightly moistened with water. After planting, it is desirable to mulch the soil. For this use:

  • sawdust;
  • small tree bark.

They need to be mixed with compost or peat and sprinkled with the top layer of earth. To protect against frost, you can cover the dahlias with insulation.

Further care

Dahlias are unpretentious flowers in care. For normal development, they need timely watering, weed removal and soil loosening. You also need to pinch and cut the stems.. Flowers need regular watering, it is best to do this twice a week. The lack of moisture will negatively affect the development of dahlias.

Flowers need good feeding, there should be at least 2 per season:

  • in the budding phase - in the composition of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium 2; 1; 1;
  • at the beginning of flowering - potassium and phosphorus 1:1.

Stepchildren only tall varieties of dahlias, removing side shoots up to the 4th pair of leaves from below. Already in the second half of summer, the lower shoots are removed. The main stem is spudded to a height of 10-15 cm. If you perform stepsoning, the flowers of the dahlias will be larger. Extra buds will not allow everyone to develop normally, they will be thin and not so beautiful. When tall varieties reach 50 cm, the stems are tied to supports.

Tuber storage

With the onset of the first frost, the dahlia stems are cut off, leaving up to 10 cm, and the root tubers are dug up. They must be cleaned of the remnants of the earth and dried well. Then stored in a greenhouse or other warm and well-ventilated area. Thereafter the stem is shortened to 4 cm and all roots are cut off. Places cut on the roots should be sprinkled with slaked lime. In this form, they need to be stored for another week at a temperature of 19–25 ° C. It is convenient to store tubers all winter in a cellar or basement, some gardeners manage to keep dahlia tubers in an apartment.

If the humidity of the room is 70%, then it is best to store root tubers in coniferous sawdust, sand or peat. When stored in an apartment, the tubers are placed in plastic bags with vermiculite, peat or perlite. They are stacked and hermetically sealed in a bag.. In this form, they can be stored in a box covered with a thin layer of earth and paper.

If stored in a cellar or basement, then the temperature there should not be higher than +7 ° C. The tubers themselves are sprinkled with sawdust, so they are stored all winter. Periodically check the roots and remove rotten parts. With proper storage, in the spring they can be germinated and planted again in a flower bed.

- luxurious plants with a long flowering period. According to one of the legends, dahlias used to grow only in the royal garden and were protected like the apple of an eye. Once a young gardener stole a flower and planted it under the window of his beloved. The gardener was thrown into prison, but the flower ceased to be a wonderful secret and became available to ordinary people.

According to another legend, the dahlia grew when the earth thawed after the ice age, at the site of the last fire that died out. Her appearance has become a kind of symbol of the victory of life and the beginning of a new era. I want to tell you about planting dahlias and caring for them in this article.

Dahlias are native to the mountainous regions of Mexico. Once upon a time, the roots of this flower were eaten by the ancient Aztecs. In Europe, the taste of the plant was not appreciated, but the amazing beauty and grace of the flower everyone liked.

Its Latin name Dahlia, received a flower in honor of the famous Swedish botanist Dahl. And the dahlia in Russia was named after the famous botanist and geographer Johann Georgi.

Place to grow

Dahlias are not very demanding plants. They can take root even in dense shade. But the size and color of the inflorescences from such a location can be noticeably affected. Would you like to enjoy beautiful buds longer? Plant dahlias in light partial shade. The beauty of the plant will not fade from this, but the flowering period will be maximum.

The only condition that must be observed is a moderate level of humidity. Dahlia tubers are prone to decay, so they should not be planted in the lowlands. Before planting, experts advise to equip a drainage layer of broken brick or expanded clay on the garden bed.


But you don’t have to worry about the type of soil. Dahlias feel fine on loamy soils, and on sandy soils, and on fertile black soil. Therefore, they can be safely planted in any area.

Planting a dahlia

Dahlia tubers are planted only in spring or even in early summer, when the threat of frost has passed and it warms up properly. If you are planting dahlias in early spring, be sure to cover them carefully from frost. But it is better not to rush - return frosts can destroy the tubers of the plant.


For planting dahlias you need to dig a recess, focusing on the size of the tuber. Please note that in addition to the rhizome itself, fertilizers should fit in the hole - rotted (lay for a year or two) or manure. Therefore, the size of the hole must be appropriate. The tuber in the hole should be positioned so that the root neck rises a couple of centimeters above the ground.

The root neck is the area that starts above the rhizome. It is here that growth buds are located - the beginnings of new shoots. The deepening of this section of the tuber threatens to rot. Therefore, maintaining the correct distance is very important!

To speed up flowering dahlias can be pre-sprouted. To do this, the tubers should be placed on a layer of light soil or ordinary sawdust and covered with polyethylene on top. It is very important to leave a small gap in order to ensure normal air circulation. Tubers must be regularly irrigated with a spray bottle - they must always be moistened. In such a mini-greenhouse, growth buds will quickly wake up after a period of "winter hibernation". Therefore, the cherished flowers will decorate the garden a couple of weeks earlier.


Dahlia stalks, while powerful in appearance, actually break easily in strong gusts of wind, so they need to be tie up. To do this, during the planting of the tubers, you must immediately equip it - insert a peg into the hole and dig it along with the tuber. Indeed, after a few months, driving a peg next to the rhizome so as not to damage it will be quite difficult.

For low species, thirty-centimeter pegs can be used. And for tall plants, you will need to get at least half a meter supports. Ideally, use not one peg, but several at once, driving them around the perimeter of the bush. This technique will allow you to fix even the most powerful plants well.

Dahlia tubers are not able to survive the harsh winter. Therefore, even in the middle lane they are recommended dig in late autumn to protect from frost.

Dahlia Care

In order for dahlias to please you with abundant flowering, you need to pay attention to them from time to time.

If the hole was well fertilized when planting, then the first application of top dressing can be slightly postponed until a green mass begins to form. If the soil has not been fertilized, then after a week you should take care of fertilizing with organic matter. It is not difficult to do this. It is enough to dig holes around the perimeter of the bush, pour fertilizer into them, and then level the soil. It is recommended to repeat the procedure once every two weeks.

In the next video you will see how to care for dahlias in the summer. Our regular author Tatyana (Tula region) will talk about top dressing, pinching, and also show how you can make an original wattle fence to support flower stems.

In our market you can choose for yourself an interesting variety of this wonderful autumn flower. Take a look at the collection.

Dahlia decorative VECTRA, 1 pc. 249 rub
seedspost.ru

Pompom dahlia LAKELAND AUTUMN, 1 pc. 225 rub
seedspost.ru

Dahlia decorative Caribbean Fantasy (1 pc.) 228 rub
Agrofirm Search

Dahlia semi-cactus Veritable (1 pc.) 228 rub
Agrofirm Search



Types of dahlias

Today, there are thousands of varieties of dahlias and several types of their classification. Among this luxurious assortment you can find amazing specimens of the most incredible shapes and colors. There are also mini-dahlias with compact bushes, and giants whose height exceeds a meter - the choice is almost limitless.
  • collared dahlias- owners of petals of various sizes: in the middle they are short and folded into “tubes”, and on the outer part of the inflorescence they are long and flat.


  • needle dahlias differ from all other varieties in thin petals, each of which is twisted into a tight tube. Their length can vary greatly. In addition, it is worth noting one of the subspecies - semi-needle dahlias. Their petals are more like not needles, but graceful cones.


  • Ball-shaped dahlias - owners of lush round inflorescences. Petals are large and fleshy. Each of them is slightly rolled into a tube. Inflorescence loose, soft.


  • pompon dahlias- close relatives of spherical. They also have fluffy inflorescences, consisting of slightly twisted petals. But in size, pompom flowers are noticeably inferior to their counterparts, and their inflorescences are denser to the touch.


  • Nymphaeaceae dahlias strikingly different from other species. They have flat inflorescences. In the center is a fluffy center of short tubular petals. Most often it looks convex. The edging of the flower is a row of wide flat petals.


Dahlia nymphaeum. Photo from sadovoda.ru
  • Anemone dahlias something like a collar. Inside are short elegant tubes. Along the perimeter - wide flat petals.


Anemone dahlia. Photo from greenservice.kz
  • Peony dahlias- owners of lush inflorescences. In each of them there are several rows of oval wide petals, and in the middle there is a group of short ones twisted into elegant tubes.


Peony dahlia. Photo site dizajn.pp.ua

That, perhaps, is all about these beautiful flowers. As you can see, growing dahlias is not that difficult. If you follow these simple recommendations, chic buds, framed in emerald greenery, will show off in the garden from mid-summer until the first frost.
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