Anyone CAN grow Dahlias

ANYONE can grow DAHLIAS!!!

Yes! I do believe it!!

When I started growing dahlias over 8 years ago, I had not seen all the media attention online about them. Subsequently, I had no fears of trying to grow them. I bought about 50 tubers, amended the soil, planted them, watered them, and waited. What do you know… most of them began to sprout a few weeks later and I had no idea what I had started.

I feel like so many people have anxiety about growing dahlias and I feel sad for them to experience that around such an amazing species of blooms. So I am here to share my 5 things to do to eliminate the fear and find success that will lead to a passion and love that is unexplainable.

1. Prep the soil! Do not take this step lightly, If you are NOT going to amend the soil to 6” deep DO NOT even try to plant them as you will not be successful. The soil is the life for the dahlia and the primary source for growth. The soil will provide the nutrients the tuber needs, it should be able to drain and not hold water as that will cause rot and disease during the season.

   
   

2     Location! Location!  Location!! Tubers need 8 hours of sunlight each day for purposeful blooms. Be sure to plant them in proper sunlight and you will be rewarded with many blooms as they hit their stride in August and September.

3     Regular watering once the tuber begins to peak above the ground is a must! We are sure to keep our soil moist but not wet and set our irrigation to run every other day for 20 minutes. If we get into a rainy period we turn the irrigation off. If we get in a dry spell we dial it up. Thus a well drained soil comes into play again to keep the tubers healthy.

4.    Fertilization is important to keep the blooms coming thru the season. We like to use fish emulsion on our dahlias every month after they start blooming. If you do this step you will literally see blooms set up and open within days of the application. It is like they are thanking you for your efforts and so begins the addiction.

5. Harvest every 3-5 days. The more you harvest, the more blooms you will get. Be sure to harvest each deep in the stem to allow a strong set up for new blooms. It takes so much energy to create a bloom and continue to open up. So by eliminating any spent stems or damaged blooms, that energy can move into creating new blooms to enjoy.

I know “You and do it!”

You will have some successes and some failures. But that is the process for any gardener and the fun part to see yourself grow and improve each year. Wishing you much success and joy growing dahlias.