How to Plant Dahlia Bulbs & Tubers for Summer Color

dahlias flowers

One of the most beautiful summer flowers you can plant in the spring is the dahlia. They are a tuberous plant, which means it will come up next year with the right care. It will bloom beautifully all summer long, coming in a wide variety of colors and sizes to compliment any garden from small border varieties to large ones that reach a height of 6 feet in height. The border Dahlia varieties make a beautiful cut summer flowers for your table, typically lasting about a week indoors.

Things You'll Need

• Well-drained soil area
• Peat moss
• Dahlia tuber or seeds

Instructions

1. Plant when the ground is free of frost. Plant yourself a bulb garden with daffodil bulbs, tulips bulbs, crocus bulbs, and dahlia bulbs and other flower bulbs and plants. Excessive wet soil may cause the tubers to rot. Wait until it is dry to plant your garden dahlias. Dig a hole which is about 12 inches in diameter by 12 inches deep. Make a deep planting hole, mixing compost, dolomite, lime and bone meal and plant.

2. Fill the hole with a planting mixture until it is about half full. Place the tuber horizontally, in the mixture with the eye pointed upward. Tall varieties will need to be staked so they won't break. Cover the tuber with 2 inches of soil, and water thoroughly. Add dirt when you see the sprout peek, and you know the plant is in its hole. Dahlias at full bloom are heavy feeders, and drink lots of water. It would be best to give them some fertilizer about a month before they begin to bloom.

3. Stake the plants as they grow fast. You can start dahlias from seed plant, but usually the dwarf varieties which you can use for bedding plants. They will produce tubers in their first year of growth, which can be cut and replanted. If you live in a warm area and they are left in the ground, you will have more than adequate amount of tuber bulbs. They will have to be thinned out eventually. Store them in a dry place in winter at about 40 degrees.

4. Using a fork, dig around the garden tubers gently lifting them out of the ground; you can separate the plant bulbs in the spring when you replant them again. Store them in a dry place about 40 degrees.

Tips & Warnings

• plant flower bulbs and plants that will come up again the next spring.

• Replant garden tubers

• Plant in full sun for lots of summer color

Resources

• http://www.dahlia.org