Planting Indoors
·
Select the
dahlias you want in late winter. There
are a growing number of garden centers, hardware stores and even supermarkets
that sell the tubers. There are also
several websites which offer huge selections.
·
Start growing the
dahlias (tubers) indoors at the beginning of April. These plants can grow as tall as 5 or 6 feet and
need a long growing season. Since they
bloom late in the season, you want to make sure they bloom before the first
frost. It is helpful to give them a head-start.
·
Place the tubers
in a container (recycled plastic cartons) with enough potting soil to cover the
entire tuber, with either the beginning growth or “eye” placed near the
surface. If a stem has already appeared
before planting, make sure it is not buried.
The stem will be a whitish color.
If there is no stem, one will eventually appear from the “eye”. The root that you are planting is called a
“tuber”, and the “eyes” are the same as the “eyes” on potatoes.
·
Water the soil
just a little bit. The tuber does not require a lot of water, and should only
be watered after growth appears. WARNING: Too much water will rot the tuber! The soil should have moisture and not be
dry. It should not be wet, either. Water
just a little bit after growth appears.
·
Place the tuber
either in a sunny window or under a grow-light.
The tuber does not require light around the clock, just from morning to
early evening.
·
The tuber will
soon show a stem. At first the stem will
appear white, but with the light, it will quickly turn reddish in color.
·
Soon, leaves will
appear! You will see your plants grow! Water lightly.
Growing Outdoors
·
The plants will
need to be hardened off in mid-May. This
process takes about a week. This
requires bringing the dahlia plants outside for increasing lengths of time,
exposing them gradually to warmer and
cooler temperatures. Do not let them
stay outside on cold nights.
·
After any danger
of frost is gone, the plants may be transplanted outdoors. The frost-free time
here in southern Massachusetts is usually about Memorial Day weekend.
·
Plant the dahlias
in sunny locations. The soil temperature
should be around 60 degrees. The soil should be well-drained, with a pH of
6.5-7.0. Mulching is beneficial.
·
Many dahlias
require staking. You may place a stake
at the time of planting to avoid damaging the tubers later on.
·
Dahlias should be
fertilized, but with a fertilizer low in Nitrogen (5-10-10, for example). Apply fertilizer one month after planting,
and then side-dress monthly.
·
THIS IS
IMPORTANT: Make sure you label your
plants by name or color, to make storage later on easier.
·
Earwigs and slugs
can be a problem for dahlias. Begin to
treat plants as soon as leaf damage becomes noticeable. Also, slug bait can be
applied at time of planting.
·
Dahlias will
begin to bloom in July or August and continue until the first frost - if the dead blooms are continually
removed. Make note of the day when the frost comes and kills the blooms. This is usually in October. Do not dig up the tubers immediately, as they
are not yet dormant. It will take about
2 weeks for the tubers to go dormant.
·
Dahlias are hardy
to Zone 8. This means that in New
England, tubers have to be dug up and stored in a garage, shed, or basement
until the spring in order to preserve them.
Storing Indoors
·
Dahlias are hardy
to Zone 8. This means that in New
England, tubers have to be dug up and stored in a garage, shed, or basement
until the spring if you want to preserve them
·
Two weeks after
the first frost (November), it is safe to dig up the tubers. You will find that the tubers multiplied in
number, especially if you fertilized them!
Be sure that you tag the plants
with something to identify them.
After the frost, it will be impossible to tell one brown dahlia plant
from another.
·
Take the mounds
of tubers to be washed off with a garden hose.
Before cutting the stem, be sure that there is a label on it. Cut off
the stem, leaving about 6 to 8 inches.
·
17 – Leave the
mounds of tubers to dry in the garage for a day or two.
·
Find a cardboard
box in which to store the tubers. You
may want to take a sharpie and mark the name of the dahlia or the color on the
tubers. This will not hurt them.
·
After placing the
dried tubers in the box, completely cover them with peat moss. Place some plastic (bags) on top to keep too
much air from getting in and drying the tubers out.
·
Place the tubers
in a place where the temperature is cool but not freezing. Ideally, they should be stored in a place
that is in the low 40’s and dry.
Basements, porches and garages are good places. Check on them once or twice to make sure they
are not drying out.
c Donna Leone, Master Gardener
www.leonegarden.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment