How to Plant Dahlias with Bone Meal, Epsom Salts and Sugar

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Dahlias are known for their large, colorful blooms that can often grow to the size of dinner plates. If you enjoy growing dahlias and displaying them around your home, you can make the blooms even more vibrant by treating the soil with a few household items, including bone meal, Epsom salts and sugar. These items feed and nourish the growing dahlia bulbs and help increase the vibrancy of the flowers. Bone meal, Epsom salts and sugar can be found at any supermarket or garden supply store.

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Make Dahlias more colorful by adding a few household items to the soil.
Image Credit: Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images

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Things You'll Need

  • Epsom Salts

  • Mixing Spoon

  • Tablespoon

  • Sugar

  • Garden Trowel

  • Potting Soil

  • Dahlia Bulbs

  • Bone Meal

  • Bucket

Step 1

Add potting soil to the area in your garden where you want to grow the dahlias. Dig holes in the potting soil that are 3 inches deep, using a garden trowel. Do this in April or May to ensure that the ground is at least 60 degrees. Space each hole 3 inches apart.

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Step 2

Add 3 cups of bone meal, 1 cup of Epsom salts and 1 cup of sugar to a bucket. Stir the mixture with a spoon for two minutes until completely combined.

Step 3

Pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each hole.

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Step 4

Insert a dahlia bulb into each hole, with the sprouting tip facing up. Cover the bulbs with more potting soil.

Step 5

Saturate the soil with water. Water again every three days as needed.

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