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DAHLIA BULBS PROVIDE GREAT BLOOMS WITH THE PROPER CARE
I had to think awhile of how to structure this discusssion of dahlia bulbs. I attempted for a number of years to plant the bulbs directly in the ground as soon as all frost had disappeared in our area. It takes a considerable amount of time by this method to get a plant that will flower. Along the way disaster was waiting at every corner in the form of insect and disease problems. The number and types of insects these dahila bulbs attract are just unbelieveable. The corn rootwarm beetles in the northern,southern,and western regions after finishing with the
corn,attack the petals. The aphids,the grasshoppers who chew all parts of the plants,the Japanese Beetles,slugs,spider mites,thrips and powdery mildew,all take their toll on this
beautiful plant. I became rather discouraged with my results over several years to the point where I was about to give up on this plant.
I made the decision to go completely to container gardening with the dahila bulbs. I got out the old wash tub,I have pictured here,and planted my bulbs about 6-12 inches deep in the tub,using a mixture of real soil and potting soil in about equal proportions,and I worked in some time release fertilizer that you can purchase at your local nursery. I also mulched the surface of the tub to help with the moisture rentention. Even in my frost risk area,I planted these in the tub several weeks prior to what could have been accomplished directly in the ground. THE RESULTS OF THE DAHILA BULB EXPERIMENT WERE QUITE SURPRISING
The plants grew from what you see above into about 5 foot plants with many blooms. Of course,instead of taking a distant picture of this,I only took close ups of two of the blooms. I guess you will have to take my word for this. The most astounding things that happened were with the destroying insects. I had no more grassshoppers,no spider mites,no slugs,which had been my worst enemy,and a reduction in Japanese Beetles. It still requires a
little vigilance with those pesky bugs. I had blooms all the way into October.
I made a decision to bury a 16 inch pot directly in my garden and filled it with garden soil and planted one of my dahila bulbs right in the pot. You can see the results at the left of two blooms in the middle of October. I started this a little late or perhaps it would have been fuller. I experienced no visits from any damaging insects and it was a little late for Japanese Beetles,but never the less,it was what I consider a successful result. These could be grown in raised beds in a really large display or ordinary large pots. I have placed one very large pot on a stump and had a beautiful display. If you love the look of dahlia bulbs then this is the way to proceed.There are so many flower forms or types that a mix display in a raised bed would be incredible. DAHLIA BULB FALL CARE IS IMPORTANTNow a frost in the fall will kill the foliage and the stems so remove them from the surface. You can leave the dahila bulbs,themselves,for one to two more weeks. This provides the bulbs time to cure. Now dig up your bulbs or dump them from your containers if they are not too large. Just be careful in digging you do not slice or gouge a bulb. It is good to clean off as much soil as possible and remove the rest of the stalk to the crown. Let the bulbs dry which usually encompasses a day. Then place the clumps upside down in sphagnum peat moss in boxes and completely cover them with peat moss. It would be a good idea not to let the clumps touch each other in any way. I have found on occasion that touching dahlia bulbs can result in producing a rotting spot over the winter. Another thought here if you have a large amount of clumps,and want to make tiers in your box,seperate each tier or row with a page of newspaper. The box or boxes should be stored in the coolest section of the house at a temperature of forty to fifty-five degrees(F).
ENJOY DAHILA BULBS AS CUT FLOWERSIt is recommended,to achieve long cut vase life for dahila bulbs,to make your cuttings in late evening or early morning. The choice would be those flowers that are fully open like the ones above and do not reveal a green center. A green center is an indication of immaturity. Leaves should be removed that are going to be under water. These blooms could keep on going for up to week as long as the water is changed every three days. In displaying your dahlia bulbs,include two sets of leaves with the flower. The stem should be positioned in a tight necked vase so the bloom shows at a 45 degree angle. You could use such things as plastic wrap or styrofoam blocks to anchor the stem in the bottle neck.Make sure the stem length is in proportion to the flower size.
If you care to review other summer bulbs just close this page and you will be returned to summer bulbs where additional bulbs for your summer garden are listed at the top of the page. However,just below,do not pass up the opportunity to sign up for our garden club newsletter. There is information in the newsletter that is not covered by the web site.
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