Dahlia Flowers – How to Grow Dahlias by the Bunch

Dahlias come in a variety of colors and shapes, and they add style to any space. Learn how to grow dahlias for your garden with our detailed guide!

Dahlias are beautiful flowers for the garden. In hot climates, they attract pollinators and thrive. Dahlias are beautiful cut flowers and they’re easy to care for. You may want to plant tubers now if you haven’t done so yet.

Dahlias are best grown in warm climates, but can also be grown in colder climates as an annual. You can choose between a variety of dahlias including ball dahlias and cactus types.

This article will discuss the basic needs of dahlias, both during and outside the growing season. We’ll also cover how to plant dahlias.

Dahlia Flowers: All You Need to Know

Dahlias are found in Mexico and Central America. These flowering herbaceous plants grow from tuberous root systems. You may wonder , are dahlias a perennial?

It depends where you plant them. Perennials are found in areas with similar climates or close to where they were originally native. Dahlias are annuals if you live in a cooler climate.

Dahlias can have long, woody stems, or shorter, herbaceous ones. This depends on the age of the plant. The dahlia is a member in the aster family and has a composite rayed flower structure around a central disk, which is usually yellow or orange. Dahlias bloom from midsummer to fall, then die in winter and emerge in spring.

Dahlias are cultivated by indigenous peoples in Central America and the United States. In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadors in Mexico discovered dahlias.

In the late 1700s French colonists became enchanted by the beautiful flower forms that were found at the same location. The flowers were taken back to Europe and the first flower cultivation began in Spain during the 1800s.

Different European scientists classified the species of plants and named the genus Anders Dahl, a student Carl Linnaeus.

Dahlia rosea with its dark pink flowers and Dahlia coccinea became the most popular species in Europe. In 1915, the American Dahlia Society in New York was founded and its activities were dedicated to this beautiful plant.

Dahlias are available at most local nurseries. The majority of dahlia tubers are single cultivars, so you can easily choose dark red flowers if that is what you desire. You can find both dark and light blends. If you combine both, then you can expect to see petals in light and dark colors.

Planting Dahlias

Planting dahlias is easy, as long as you know when to do it. Planting dahlia tubers in containers a month or so before the last frost is an easy way to prepare for transplanting from mid-spring through mid-June.

Prepare the planting area and dahlia pots with rich soil that drains well, but can still hold moisture. Containers should have a minimum of 5 gallons and a diameter of 12 inches.

Plant your dahlias indoors in a hole that is 4 to 5 inches wide. Plant the dahlia tubers with the eye facing up and at a distance of 12 to 18 inch apart.

Give your dahlias a sprinkle of water and cover them with soil. Dahlias will grow in a few weeks and you can then transplant them into your garden. You should wait until the danger of frost is past in spring to plant your tubers. Cold soil can cause them to die.

You can also plant your dahlias in the ground, but you will still need to maintain the same planting depth. This is 4-5 inches, with the eye pointing upward, and 12-18 inches between each one.

The Power Planter can be used to break up soil and prepare planting holes quickly.

Dahlia Flower Care

Let’s talk about caring for dahlias as they grow. You can then enjoy them as cut flower – although they do not have a very long vase life – or just appreciate their beauty in your garden.

The sun and temperature

Dahlias require at least six to eight hours of direct sun daily for optimal growth. Dahlias will benefit from partial shade during the hot afternoon sun in areas with extremely hot summers.

Temperatures between 68degF and 72degF are ideal. In periods of prolonged heat above this range, the plants’ overall vitality can be reduced.

Give afternoon shade to plants in hot weather. Plant them near obstacles or cover them with a shade cloth if you want them to bloom less often in hot weather.

Dahlias will die off in cold weather, but if you have enough mulch around them, they should be able to survive. Dahlias can be annuals in areas with very cold winters and hard frost. In USDA zones 8-10, most are perennials and hardy.

Humidity and water

Dahlias require at least an inch of water each week. When you plant dahlias in your garden for the first time, water them every week with 2 inches until they become established. Watering these plants consistently is important, since they prefer moist soil and temperate weather.

The best way to water dahlias is with drip irrigation or absorber hoses. The slow drip of water doesn’t overwhelm tubers below ground. They can rot in excess moisture if they sit there for too long. Increase watering when the large flowers in your garden bloom.

Dahlias will need more water during times of drought. They won’t require extra when it rains heavily. Water in the morning, before the sun dries the soil and evaporates the moisture. It’s also a good idea to plant them in an area with high humidity.

Soil

Dahlias need a rich soil that drains well and is slightly moist-retentive. Grit, such as agricultural sand and perlite, should be added to heavy soil or clay soil. They improve the soil texture. If the soil drains well, Dahlias can thrive in poor soil.

peat Moss can be added to the soil to help retain moisture. Dahlias will also benefit from aged manure, but do not add too much. They thrive with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. A soil that is too acidic can be caused by adding too much manure.

Fertilizing Dahlia Flowers

Dahlias will bloom more and be happier if you apply organic fertilizers and manure regularly. If you use too much nitrogen, it will encourage more green growth and foliage rather than your favorite flowers.

Dahlias need a site for planting that has been amended with manure to produce those huge blooms. As the plant grows, you can apply organic slow-release fertilizer 10-20-20 or 6-24-24 once a month until the end bloom period.

Your dahlias will go dormant at this time. It is not necessary to fertilize your tubers during their dormancy, as they contain enough nutrients to produce new leaves in the spring.

Pruning

There are several ways to prune dahlias for a healthier plant. The first is to pinch back the leaves’ tips when they reach a height of 1 foot or 1.5 feet. This encourages bushier growth on the central stem.

To encourage the growth of buds, you can also prune all flowering stems except one. This will give you a single giant bloom per plant. If you want to get lots of flowers, but don’t mind them being smaller, you can prune all stems except 10 stems.

You can cut the stems of your dahlias when they bloom and place them in a vase along with a flower arrangement. You can also deadhead the spent flowers if you decide to leave them on your plant. This will encourage more blooms to come later in the year. It’s sometimes possible to get a third blooming season by pruning.

It can be difficult to distinguish side buds from spent flowers. You’re good to go if you focus on the cone-shaped flowers and avoid those that have a cup-shaped shape.

Dahlias usually have strong stems. If your stem becomes tall and floppy you can stake it for extra support.

Dahlia Propagation

You can take the tubers out of the plants that you have grown this year when the flowers are faded and the leaves fall to the ground. Usually, this happens after the first freeze. Remove them from the soil, gently clean them with a dry cloth, and allow them to air dry away from sunlight.

Store them in a place that is cool and humid, ideally between 80% and 90%. Tubers can be covered with mulch in areas where dahlias grow well. Mulch protects the roots of plants during colder seasons.

You can plant dahlia seed by removing the seeds from the spent flowers when deadheading. The seeds can be collected by waiting for the dried flowers to dry and then cracking them open. Dahlias can be sown directly in areas that have a long season of growth, or they can be started indoors and transplanted out in the late spring.

Sprinkle seeds in a flat or in a container, or on the ground, densely. Cover the area lightly with soil. After 7-10 days, water the area and you will see sprouts. They will continue to grow over several days.

You’ll be able to transplant a small plant in just a few weeks if you sow indoors.

Repotting Dahlia Plants

can be used to unearth tubers that have been grown in containers annually to see if there is a need to separate them due to overcrowding. You can then grow flowers in different pots, if desired. You can harvest tubers in the same way as you overwinter them.

Remove any damaged or rotten tubers. Separate the tubers into smaller groups. Plant the tubers four to five inches deep in your pots. Bring the pots inside if you intend to overwinter the plants. Then, when the last frost has passed, put them outside again.

Troubleshooting

Dahlias are easy to grow, but there can be some issues. We’ll discuss them so that you know what you should look out for.

Growing Problems

Dahlias can’t flower in the wrong conditions. It is important to have full sunlight, a well-draining and nutrient-rich soil. Keep the soil moist without allowing it to become soggy. This can encourage the growth of rot.

The stem of your dahlias can grow too long and floppy if you overwater them. This is inevitable when it rains heavily. Staking can help your dahlias stay upright.

Pests

Root Knot Nematodes may cause problems with dahlias tubers. This is especially true if they have been in an inground garden for some time. To prevent damage, divide the tubers regularly and move them around in your garden. You can also use beneficial Nematodes to treat your garden twice during a temperate period, about two weeks apart.

Asiatic garden beetles, another pest below ground, feed on tubers while the larvae pupate underground. Use the same preventative methods and, if necessary, treat them with beneficial parasitic nematodes.

The four-lined bug, the leafhopper and the thrip also feed on Dahlias. You can blast them off your plant using a powerful stream of water. You can also use insecticidal detergent to get rid of spider mites if this does not work. Horticultural Oil Spray can be used to treat spider mites.

Diseases

As they feed on your dahlia stems, thrips spread the necrotic spot disease. This disease is characterized by yellow spots and bubbling on the leaves. This virus has no cure, so you should treat thrips in order to prevent it. The virus is dependent on plant tissue for its proliferation. The infected dahlia should be removed and a new plant planted in its place.

Dahlias can be affected by a variety of fungal infections, including Powdery Mildew and Fusarium Wilt. Botrytis is another fungus that may affect dahlias. Powdery mildew appears as a thin white film on top of the leaves. To prevent disease, remove infected foliage and prune your plants. Botrytis can also be treated with the same treatment.

Fusarium wilt is not treatable and will eventually cause death. The disease starts above ground and spreads down to the tubers. The disease is visible on the side of the dahlia that yellows, wilts and dies. Fusarium wilt can be identified by rotten tubers. Avoid growing in the area for two seasons to avoid spreading the disease.