dahlia. noun [ C ] /ˈdeɪ.li.ə/ us. /ˈdeɪl.jə/ a brightly coloured garden flower with long, thin petals in a shape like a ball.

Dahlia as a girl’s name is pronounced DAL-yah. It is of Swedish and Scandinavian origin, and the meaning of Dahlia is “valley”.

Dahlia tubers are quite fragile. and break very easily. If they break, they are worthless! hence the high cost of tubers.

Common uses Dahlias can be used for dyeing. All dahlias (except the white flowers) produce warm yellows and oranges with an alum mordant and greens with iron mordants. A mordant is a substance that helps to fix the colours to textiles.

Dahlia tubers and leaves contain phototoxic polyacetylene compounds that can cause skin irritation in humans who are handling the plant’s leaves and tubers in sunlight. The plant can be toxic if eaten in large amounts, according to the North Carolina State University Extension.

Plant them in a full sun location (giving them 6-8 hours of direct sunlight) and enjoy blooms all summer long. The more you cut a dahlia plant the more it will bloom. Most cut dahlias will last up to 5 days once cut and treated.

Dahlias grow best when they receive a consistent supply of water. Drip irrigation is ideal, as it directs moisture to the root zone while keeping the foliage dry. If you are hand-watering, it’s best to water deeply once or twice per week.

Select a planting site with full sun. Dahlias grow more blooms with 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. They love the morning sunlight best.

Dahlias grow well in pots, though you need to be very careful not to let them repeatedly dry out. It’s also a good idea to put the taller varieties in heavy pots, so a stiff wind doesn’t blow them over. You can buy dahlia tubers online or in nurseries and some big box stores.

A 1% solution kills 60% of slugs while a 2% solution will knock out 95% of all slugs. Next season I plan to use coffee grounds around my dahlia garden to discourage the slugs and snails. In addition to the above grounds make a wonderful addition to your compost pile. ALL THIS and THEY are FREE!!

There is a toxic substance in the dahlia that causes skin irritation and gastrointestinal upset to dogs. Dahlia poisoning is a mild condition characterized by gastrointestinal distress if eaten, and dermatitis with skin contact.

It is important to keep the soil evenly moist, but not excessively wet, or the tubers may rot. Dahlias are fast growers and heavy feeders, so provide supplemental fertilizer during the growing season. Stop fertilizing in the middle of August. Avoid windy sites to prevent stems from being broken.

Dahlia (Dahlia spp.) flowers provide consistent bursts of color during the warm summer months. The flowers produce seeds after they begin to wilt, which detracts from the plant’s beauty and may shorten the blooming season. Removing, or deadheading, the spent flowers ensures a healthy, continual bloom.

1. Dig all around the dahlia clump and lift the tubers with a fork, taking great care not to damage them with the spikes. Shake off as much soil as you can.
2. Rinse off the soil thoroughly, then stand the tubers upside down to dry.
3. Pack the tubers in a box or pot and cover them with dry compost.

Depending on where you live, that could mean that you can have dahlias in bloom for three, four or even five months. However, the most important word in that first sentence was can. Once you know how to grow dahlias, they can flower for extended periods but only if you, the gardener, help them do so.

If the neck of a dahlia tuber is broken, it will NOT grow. However if the bottom part of the tuber gets cut off during the lifting process, don’t worry. The cut will heal and the tuber will be just fine.

Leaving Dahlias in the ground overwinter. These dahlias have remained in the ground for five years now and….. The normal way to overwinter dahlias is to lift them after the frost turns them black and to store in a cool frost free dry place.

Before planting, soak tubers in a bucket of tepid water for an hour so they can fully rehydrate. Starting off your dahlia tubers in pots will also encourage them to develop more quickly, so they’re likely to start flowering earlier.

5 WEEKS

when to plant dahlias Dahlias are tender tubers, which means they won’t survive a frost. Start them off undercover in early spring, then plant them outside after the frosts have passed in late May or June.

A: Dahlia tubers are best planted after the soil has warmed a bit, between mid-April and mid-May. In a sunny location with soil that drains well, dig a deep, wide hole and work in a good amount of compost.

Dahlias are easy plants to grow and yield beautiful blooms from mid-summer 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.

Sown in late winter or early spring in a greenhouse or propagator, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding dahlias that are suitable for growing from seed.

Dahlia may be grown from seed sown early indoors and transplanted outside after frost, or sown directly in the garden after frost, or grown from potted plants or tubers. Sowing Seed Indoors: Sow indoors 8 weeks before last frost using a seed starting kit. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in seed starting soil.

Dahlias get quite large, so allow at least 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) of space between plants. Dahlias require consistent water throughout the growing season, so install soaker hoses or drip irrigation while they are still young.