Year-round gardening: This flower gives maximum blooms for minimum work
A bee sits in a dahlia (Karma Bon Bini) blossom at a horticultural exhibition in Erfurt, central Germany. Dahlias are easy to grow, and they yield beautiful blooms from midsummer through fall.
Jens Meyer, the associated press file photos
Garden trivia: What do tomatoes and dahlias have in common?
Dahlias are easy plants to grow and they yield beautiful blooms from midsummer through fall. In many respects, “dahlia culture” is similar to “tomato culture.” If you can grow tomatoes in your garden, you can successfully grow dahlias. Another similarity is that most gardeners can’t grow just one. Once you grow your first dahlia, you’ll want more — just like tomatoes!
No plant in the flower kingdom gives the gardener spectacular rewards with so little work than the dahlia. Very few flowering plants cost only a few dollars and provide such spectacular color, variety and abundance of blooms. Although no plant is totally deer proof, dahlias are low on the deer’s list of favorite foods.
Dahlias can be purchased as tubers or established plants in pots that will flower sooner. The most difficult aspect of growing dahlias is the selection process as you must choose from a wide range of:
• Color — Nearly all colors except blue.
• Flower size — From miniatures to the huge-flowered “dinnerplate” flowers.
• Plant size — Ranging in height from 12 inches to 7 or 8 feet.
• Type — cactus, pom, dinnerplate, single flower (better for pollinators than doubled).
Go to https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/Growing-Dahlias for an overview of the many varieties of dahlias. Choices should be dependent on where you plan to grow them and how much space you have either in garden beds or containers. Remember dahlias require some support, so drive a stake into the ground 12 inches deep and 6 inches behind the root at the time of planting or use tomato cages.
Plant dahlias after danger of frost has passed, and ground temperature reaches 60 degrees. Select a planting site or container with good drainage and six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. If starting your dahlia from tubers, put them in a hole several inches deep and 2 feet apart with the “eye” facing up. (The eye is the point on the crown of the tuber from which the plant grows.) Separate them by 2 feet.
Dahlias require little water. Excessive water can lead to rotting of the plant. Treat regularly with a water-soluble or granular fertilizer. Dahlia flower size can be increased by removal of flower buds throughout the season.
After the vegetation is killed by frost, prune stalks to 6 inches. Leave the tuberous root in the ground for two weeks to harden before carefully digging them up. Dry the tuberous roots enough to shake off excess soil, pack them in sawdust, perlite or vermiculite, and store them in a cool, dry place until spring, when you can plant them once again. Some gardeners do not bother with overwintering their bulbs and instead treat dahlias like annuals, purchasing new ones each spring.
Submit gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The in-person help desk is open 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at 17 N. Spruce St. Find us on Facebook at Colorado Master Gardeners – El Paso County.
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