Garden dahlia, double-flowered, mix

Dahlia

One of the most famous and popular garden flowers. They are used in outdoor beds and are also suitable for cutting. Thanks to breeding work, there is a large complex of cultivars with various shapes and a whole range of colors. Dahlias originate from Mexico, where the tubers were originally even eaten. They bloom from late July until frost. Depending on the variety, they grow from 25 cm to 2 m.

There are many types of flowers. According to flower shape, dahlias are divided into: single-flowering dahlias, anemone-flowered dahlias, collarette dahlias, waterlily dahlias, decorative dahlias, ball dahlias, pompon dahlias, cactus dahlias, semi-cactus dahlias, fringed dahlias, and orchid-flowered dahlias.

How to Grow Dahlias

• Plants require abundant watering. The soil must never dry out. They also require a sunny location; they do not bloom in shade or partial shade. During growth, pinch off side buds and also remove fading flowers so the plants don't exhaust themselves. For taller varieties, provide support so the plants don't break. No later than the end of October, carefully dig out the clumps with tubers from the ground using a spade. Remove the foliage about 7 cm from the tuber. Clean the clump of soil. Let the tubers dry for about a week and place them in a dry, dark cellar. The tubers must not freeze! Regularly check that mold is not forming on the tubers or that they are not getting damp.

• Plant tubers in early May at a distance of 30-90 cm depending on the variety, about 8 cm below the surface. Always plant tubers with the eye facing up.

• Well-drained, rather sandy soil is suitable. In heavy and waterlogged soils, tubers easily rot.

• In heavy and clay soils, adding peat is beneficial. In light soils, add manure or good compost. If the soil is not too sandy, we do not fertilize the plants during vegetation. In autumn, it is advisable to plow the planting site thoroughly. Suitable autumn fertilization is with Thomas meal at a rate of 5 kg/ha and 40% potassium salt at 3 kg/ha. If manure fertilization was not applied, spread dried Organoferm manure at a rate of 80-100g/m2 or complete fertilizer such as Cererit or Synferta at a rate of 30-40g/m2 before spring soil preparation. After 2.5 months, it is advisable to repeat fertilization with complete fertilizer at the same rate, working it in around the plant.

• Powdery spots appear on leaves, leaves yellow and fall off. The cause is powdery mildew. Treat plants with fungicides Sulikol, Topsin M 70 WP, or Baycor 25 WP.

  If plants are covered in gray-brown coatings on leaves and stems, they were probably attacked by gray mold. Treat with Novozir MN 80, Rovral 50 WP, or Euparen Multi.

  Yellow-green spots that appear on older leaves, where they darken and dry out, and leaves then dry prematurely, are caused by leaf spot disease. Treat affected plants with fungicides and remove infected leaves.

  There are many viral infections - from mosaic on leaves to deformations and uneven coloring of flowers. The worst thing is that viruses attack tubers, so we don't detect that plants were infected. The only protection is elimination of infected plants and spraying against sucking insects (aphids, thrips), which transmit viral infections.

  Plants are naturally attacked by sucking pests - aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, thrips, and leafhoppers. Treat especially the undersides of leaves where insects stay with insecticides. Yellow sticky traps catch whiteflies; insecticides such as Applaud 25 WP, Decis, or Karate can be used.