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Today we planted out the dahlias. I love, adore, have to have, flowers. Flowers are truly the showpieces of Mother Nature. Dahlias are one of my most favorites and they are relatively easy to grow and will give you years if not decades of pleasure if you take proper care of them. Dahlias are also one of the easiest to grow for the cut flower market. Dahlia bouquets sell themselves for their colour and variety. We have always made flowers part of the diversity of product we bring to the farmer's markets. They make your stand, stand out !
Dahlias are native to the mountain areas of Mexico and Guatemala. They are the national flower of Mexico. They were originally a 20 foot or more tall plant and were used extensively by the Aztecs for food as well as practical purposes. The tubers are like a potato, starchy, and have a similar taste. The stems are hollow and were used as irrigation type pipes to transport water from a distance to the crops in the field. When growing they are also full of water and could be used as a source of water to drink.
Today dahlias come in an amazing array of blooms and spectacular colours. I have read that there are 50,000 or more types. WOW ! Once they start blooming they keep on flowering for about 3 months here on the west coast. You get a LOT of SHOW for a small cost and the tubers if properly cared for will last decades.
We usually start them in gallon pots in late March, early April. Earwigs and slugs love to eat the first new growth that appears above ground so we have learned to start them in pots and avoid disappointment. We get them into their permanent summer spot by late May. By this time they are 2 feet or more in height.
We dig a good size hole, at least as deep as the size of the pot, add a shovel of compost and mix it with soil. Next I put a tomato cage into the hole. I tap the plant out of the pot and GENTLY remove it and lower it through the ring of the cage into the ground. Finally the soil from the dug hole is filled back in and the plants are watered.
Other than weeding around the plants during the season and watering them the main work is done. Once they start blooming it is important to keep the flowers cut off so they don't go to seed. You will want to keep them picked and enjoy them in your home and in bouquets to give.
I make sure to have a bucket of water with me when I am cutting them. The sooner any flower gets into water, the better. At the house I put them into a vase of relatively hot water. They take up the water much quicker if you use hot water. NOT boiling water, just hot tap water. To keep your vase water from getting "skunky" you can put a tiny bit of bleach in the water. It also keeps your vase cleaner. The flowers will last a good week or so this way.
At this point I will not discuss digging up and storing the tubers. This will be another blog in the fall once the tubers are dug up. I have had blooms till November some years here on the coast. Normally its till mid October or Thanksgiving here in Canada.
If you like having flowers and growing them then give dahlias a try. They give me enormous amounts of pleasure and beauty and really show off at our market stand.
