The real decoration of the garden are dahlias, planting and caring for bright flowers do not cause any special trouble, but they have their own subtleties. Plants perfectly adapt to the climatic conditions of our country. They belong to the family of astroves, named in honor of the famous botanist from Petersburg Johanna Georgi.
What do the dahlias look like?
Garden dahlias belong to tuberous plants, the height of dwarf varieties is about 30 cm, the tall varieties can reach 2 m. The baskets are magnificent, completely composed of petals, various colors - white, all shades of orange, pink, red, yellow. It is often possible to see two-colored and motley hybrids. Often in the open ground grown perennial varieties, but the ground portion of the bush in their autumn dies to the root neck. Dahlias - detailed description:
- the plant has a hollow stalk on which are located pairwise sitting feather leaves;
- varieties differ in size and shape of lush multilayered flowers. Miniature buds have a diameter of up to 10 cm, in giants the size of the basket exceeds 25 cm.
Dahlias - varieties
According to outlines of rosettes dahlias are divided into the following species:
- Nymphy terry varieties grow to 70-130 cm, they have baskets of impeccable shape 7-20 cm across, similar to water lilies;
- simple undersized dahlias reach 45-60 cm in height, their tubular petals on the center and one row of marginal rosettes form 10 cm in diameter;
- The cactus species is a plant of 90-150 cm in size, double inflorescences consist of sharp, wrapped marginal petals 8-25 cm in diameter;
- pompon dahlias reach a value of up to 90-120 cm, terry baskets have the shape of a ball 5 cm in diameter;
- Pion-shaped flowers have tubular petals in the center and several lines of flat extreme. Color of corolla - purple, purple, red;
- Globular varieties have a height of 90-120 cm, flattened lush baskets of 8-15 cm are formed on the shoots;
- Collar varieties are a shrub up to 120 cm. Their flowers are distinguished by an unusual color. They have a marginal outer line of petals (crimson, yellow, scarlet), on top of them is a layer of shorter, twisted, excellent color;
- anemonic species up to 90 cm high have red, violet-yellow, bronze flowers with a diameter of 10 cm. The basket consists of an elongated tubular center and several marginal petals.
How to plant dahlias?
To get colorful dahlias in the garden, when planting and leaving you need to choose a suitable place. Soil preparation:
- soil on the site must be water permeable, well drained, weakly acidic or neutral;
- in the fall during digging, the site is enriched with compost - 3-5 kg per 1 m 2 ;
- In the spring, care for the soil consists in the repeated rusting with compost and wood ash.
Put the bushes better in the light penumbra, where the flowering period of the culture will be maximum. The landing site is better to change every year, do not use the sites after the asters. An important condition is a moderate level of humidity. When planting it is desirable to equip a drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay. The flower tubers are predisposed to decay, so they should not be placed in the lowlands. Planting dahlias in the ground is performed using ready-made bulbs or seeds. In the first case, you will have to deal with the process of digging and storing the roots.
How to plant dahlias with tubers?
How to plant dahlias with tubers:
- In April, the roots are prepared - peeled from the dried out shoots, remove the spoiled areas, cut the sections with greenery.
- The tubers are planted in a vessel with peat or a nutrient mixture, so that they rise 2-3 cm above the surface, and keep two weeks at a temperature of 18 ° C and good light.
- When buds appear on them, bulbs are cut, so that on each piece there is an ovary with a root neck.
- They are still sprouted in a box until the shoot reaches 10 cm, then planted in the ground.
- Pit for dahlias is needed 40x40x40 cm, put the over-rested compost on the bottom.
- Lukovychka is placed so that the root neck is a couple of centimeters higher than the ground.
- After planting, the seedlings are watered with cold water and mulched with a layer of woody bark.
- For high grades, holes are set up near the holes, so that fragile stems do not break with gusts of wind.
How to plant dahlias in spring seeds?
With the help of seeds, one-year and perennial varieties can be grown. How to plant dahlias in the soil in the spring:
- Plastic containers are used for this. The seeds in the first days of April spread on calcined sand, sprinkled, moistened, covered with cellophane.
- At a temperature of 25-17 ° C seeds germinate for 10 days, then transplanted into separate pots.
- As a primer mixture is suitable - one dose of peat and sand and two leaf land. Three days before picking, the soil is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- After transplanting, the seedlings are watered as the substrate dries out, after it can be rooted in the ground.
When to plant dahlias in the open ground?
Flowers are placed in the open ground at the end of May or early June, when dahlias are already safely planted - the earth has warmed up, the threat of spring frosts has passed. Some gardeners postpone the time to an earlier time. But then you need to carefully sprinkle the bulbs or seedlings with mulch (sawdust, peat) from possible recurrent frosts that can destroy them. If you plant the plant too late, the future flowering can get to the most hot months of summer and the baskets will quickly burn out.
Dahlias - care and cultivation
To gorgeously and colorfully flowered garden dahlias, planting and care means competent irrigation, fertilizer site, the removal of weeds. Weeding the soil is carried out as weed grows. From loosening can be discarded, as growing dahlias is easier if you mulch the area with flowers. Dry grass and sawdust will help to fight slugs and at the same time will allow the soil not to dry out even in hot days. In late September - early October, the dahlia tubers should be digged. Care of the roots in winter:
- a few days before excavating the shoots are cut off from the bush and covered with foil, so that moisture does not get caught;
- in winter leave 5-10 cm of stem on the roots;
- tubers are dug at a distance of 30 cm, the forks pull out a clod of earth, wash the bulbs and lay them to dry;
- mechanical defects on them are sprinkled with charcoal;
- store the planting material at + 3-5 ° C in a well ventilated area in a container with dry sand or sawdust until spring.
Flowers of dahlia - features of watering
Care for dahlias involves generous watering 1-2 times a week (provided there is no rain). But you can not allow the stagnation of moisture in the bulb of the plant, otherwise it will lead to decay. Water should be so that the water soaks the soil to a depth of 30 cm - this is enough to make the flower received the right dose of life-giving liquid. In a strong heat to keep moisture will help hilling the bush. Before the next watering the soil and mulch from the stem must be scraped off, after moistening - again sprinkle the plant.
How to feed dahlias?
During watering it is convenient to make fertilizer under the bush. How to care for dahlias in terms of dressing:
- Every two weeks in the first half of the season the culture is fertilized, alternating mineral compositions and organic matter - ammonium nitrate (15 g per m 2 ), mullein infusion 1:10 or bird droppings 1:20.
- With the advent of young kidneys, it is recommended to add superphosphate and potassium compounds to the soil at the rate of 30 g per bucket of water - it will be enough for 8 specimens.
- Fertilizer is easy to make - on the perimeter of the bush a hole is made, bait is put in it, watered and sprinkled with earth.
Do they snap dahlias?
Over the entire season, it is necessary to cut off the faded buds, so as not to deter the appearance of new ones. In high grades, it is better to pinch the lateral processes, on low-growing bushes this is not done. Removing leaves at a level of 30-40 cm from the root improves the air exchange between the stems. To get large colorful inflorescences of dahlias, growing is accompanied by the removal of excess buds. In one bush at the same time leave no more than two baskets and three shoots. This will get large and decorative bouquets.
Flowers dahlias - diseases and pests
Garden dahlias, planting and care for which is carried out according to agrotechnics, little sick. But sometimes they can be attacked by pests or infectious viruses. Diseases, parasites and ways to fight them:
- Earwigs, spider mites , aphids and caterpillars are the most dangerous parasites for culture. Care for dahlias assumes, when they appear, the bushes once a week in the evening sprayed with decoction of wormwood or celandine. A soap bubble can be used from aphids. If there are many parasites, treatment with insecticides is required.
- Young shoots strongly attract slugs, which plague them during the rainy season. For prevention, the soil around the bush can be sprinkled with tobacco dust or ground bitter pepper.
- If there is a lot of wireworm in the soil, chlorophos is embedded in it with rakes.
- The mosaic mottledness due to viruses is not treated. To avoid infection of other plants, the affected bush should be dug and burned along with the roots.