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How to grow Dahlias, the perfect cut flower.

September 4, 2014 By Jill Anderson 2 Comments

I admit that I have a bit of a dahlia obsession, along with many other I suspect, my current passion is for the colourful, geometric, little pom pom types.

They’re looking beautiful at the moment, so I thought you’d like some tips about how to grow Dahlias.

How to grow Dahlias, the perfect cut flower, www.growingnicely.co.uk, The wisley flower show 2014, pop-pom dahlia flowers,

How to grow Dahlias, the perfect cut flower, www.growingnicely.co.uk

The National Dahlia Society have a wonderful show as part of The Wisley Flower Show, where you can see perfect specimens of all the different flower shapes and colours, should you need any extra encouragement to grow these beauties.

dahlias flowers,  pink pom-pom dahlia, www.growingnicely.co.uk,

How to grow dahlias:

They grow each year from tubers, originating from Mexico, our winters can be a bit too cold for them so I dig mine up, dry them off and store them in dry, sandy compost in my cold greenhouse over winter. I plant them up in fresh compost the following spring and plant them in the garden in late May.

Many gardeners leave them in the ground permanently, covering them with a thick layer of straw, compost or similar to insulate them over winter.

Looking after dahlias:

This bit is so easy and you get fabulous flowers for months on end, starting end of June right up to the first frosts.

  • Water the plants in dry weather.
  • Tie them to stout stakes as they grow or they’ll flop everywhere, avoid bamboo canes which make a nice hiding place for ear-wigs, the flowers biggest pest.
  • Keep picking the flowers to encourage them to keep making flowers.
  • Include a liquid tomato fertiliser each week to keep the flowers coming too.

This is sustainable gardening at it’s best, no more supermarket flowers.

More information about the Wisley Flower Show here

Happy gardening

Jill

all images; Jill Anderson

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Plants Tagged With: pom pom dahlia, sustainable gardening, The Wisley Flower Show 2014

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Comments

  1. Jodi says

    January 16, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    What is the name of the 2nd pom pom dahlia in this post? I love the salmon color!

    Reply
    • Jill Anderson says

      January 19, 2016 at 6:27 pm

      Hi Jodi, It is a fabulous colour, but I’m sorry but I haven’t got the name.

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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Have a great Sunday.
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Hope you’re keeping well, & managing to smile some of the time. x
P.S. more of Houghton Hall & Anish Kapoor on my stories
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Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x
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I’ve thought long & hard about how to view the tumult in the world we’re living in now. 
The only thing that works for me, is to choose hope.

It’s a tall order, but avoiding mainstream news & speculation helps avoid the anxiety, that’s often waiting in the wings.

One day soon there’ll be grandchildren clambering over this again.
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