A departure for me this month, an article not about vegetables!
Gradually, over the years, I’ve started to grow more flowers in the garden. This year, I decided to remove an old hedge, so had a convenient space to try something new. After seeing some amazing dahlias at the Wroughton and District Gardeners’ Society Autumn Show, I plumped for a mix of lupins, fuchsias and sunflowers, but mainly dahlias.
Photo: Richard West’s prize-winning dahlias at the Wroughton Autumn Show
Photo: Hedge now removed, plenty of room for some dahlias!
My aim was to create a hedge of flowers, with dahlias being the main focus. One of the advantages of dahlias is their long flowering period, from late May until the first frosts. At the time of writing this (mid-October) they are still going strong, with a good colourful display.
Photo: Still flowering Mid October
Another benefit is that they are relatively easy to grow. Dahlias are easiest grown from tubers. The good news is that each tuber can be used to produce several plants, so you don’t need to buy many.
I planted my tubers in pots indoors in mid-April. You can simply plant the tubers in soil and let them grow, but it is possible to take several cuttings from one tuber by planting your tubers, in pots, just proud of the compost. Once the shoots start to grow, you can take some of the shoots off (slice a small amount of the tuber under the shoot) and plant these cuttings. So long as you leave a few shoots on the tuber this will grow quite happily. Once the cuttings have rooted, they can be grown on and will be a similar size by the end of the season to those grown from tubers (Sarah Raven has some very good videos on YouTube explaining how to take dahlia cuttings).
I grew some of the dahlias in large pots in the greenhouse to get some early flowers, but the rest I planted out in late May. Flowers started to appear early June, but they really start to get going late July.
Photo: Earliest bloom was the 2nd June (greenhouse grown)
Whilst dahlias can be grown in (large) pots, they appear happiest in garden soil. They also need minimal watering, which is a useful trait. They do not seem to have any significant pests, although slugs can be a problem.
Photo: Dahlia ‘Lady Darlene’, blooms are about 15cm diameter
Dahlias come in many varieties, from tiny pompons to “dinnerplate” blooms, so large they need to be supported. You will get familiar with terms such as “cactus dahlia” (rolled up petals that look a bit like spikes), anemone dahlia, waterlily dahlia, decorative dahlia and several more.
Photo: Dahlia 'Clair-Obscur’ (Cactus type)
The first frost spells the end for dahlias and you need to take measures to make sure they survive the winter. If you have free draining soil and a sheltered spot, then it is possible to cover them with mulch and leave them in place. With Brinkworth clay soil, this is probably not an option.
Last year I left some in pots in the greenhouse – all these survived, and lifted others and stored them in the garage – these all rotted. Lesson learned, I obviously did not allow them to dry enough, and then left in a damp garage. This year I will lift the tubers, wash, allow them to dry and then pack in vermiculite (in a potato sack). Hopefully I will have more success.
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