Beautiful dahlias keep on giving
Dahlias are delightful additions to the garden because they keep on giving.
“Dahlias are the ‘love flower,’ because the more you cut them and give them away, the more flowers they produce,” says Becky Heath of Brent and Becky’s Bulbs — www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com — in southeastern Virginia.
“If for some reason the flowers die on the vine, those dead flowers need to be clipped off, which also encourages the plant to produce more.”
Dahlias like full sun, or just a bit of shade, and prefer well-drained soil. A weekly watering — from rainfall or your garden hose — is necessary during flower production time, according to Becky.
“Once established, they begin blooming in late spring, continue to bloom a bit during the hottest part of the summer and then gives tons of flowers in the fall when the evening temperatures cool a bit.
“They continue flowering as long as the dead flowers are cut until frost.”
Dahlias are cold hardy to Zone 7, so in colder zones they need to be lifted and stored before fall’s first killing frost arrives. Come next spring, they can be planted outdoors again — much like caladium bulbs.
Dahlias come in different colors, sizes and heights — and shapes, from the smaller, tightly formed pompon types to the larger, looser-formed cactus and spider styles.
Taller, bigger dahlias, which often need some support, work best at the back or center of a garden design.
Shorter, compact dahlia varieties look great as welcoming borders along walkways, sidewalks and driveways, says Hans Langeveld, president of Longfield Gardens, another flowering bulb supplier — www.longfield-gardens.com. They also make good front-of-bed plants with taller perennials at the back.
“My favorite thing to do with shorter dahlias is to plant them in clumps of threes,” says Langeveld.
“They grow into each other, forming somewhat of a dahlia bush-it’s a terrific design technique and makes cutting the flowers easier.”
