Helpful Hint Friday: What I Learned About Dahlias After My First Season Growing Them

Welcome!  I am back from vacation and ready to share another helpful hint today.  I hope you have been enjoying your summer while I have been gone. Today's helpful hint involves dahlias, the flower.  Having been a floral designer for weddings for the past several years, I have come to absolutely love dahlias.  They are one of the most beautiful weddings flowers available.  They are finicky, delicate and only available certain times of the year for weddings but, they are so, so worth it!  They are delightful!

This summer was my first official time in trying to grow dahlias from bulbs.  I have toyed around with them in the past but, to no avail.  I did not produce any flowers. I put them in a cramped flower bed, and they were not happy. I am trying to learn from my past mistakes. I have been quite happy with the results this summer and am looking forward to improving for next year.

So here we go, this is what I have learned about growing dahlias:

1.  They need the right soil. I did not research this before planting the bulbs because the previous owner of my new home had had success in a certain spot in the yard with growing dahlias so, I just went with it and planted them in the same area.  I have since learned that dahlias need fertile, moist but well-drained soil and some added organic matter is a help as well. I think I will add that matter when I dig up the bulbs this fall.

2.  They need the right amount of sunlight.  Again, I was going off the success of the previous owner and didn't test the light, but I do think the sunlight was perfect.  The garden bed got 6-8 hours of direct sunlight and then just enough shade as to not burn the petals of the flowers.  The plants seemed to thrive!

3.  You, as the grower, need to have lots of patience.  I planted my bulbs in early June after the threat of frost was gone.  The directions said the soil needed to be warm, so I waited as long as I did for that reason. We had a rainy, chilly June. Then, I waited and waited and waited.  I think it was at least a few weeks and finally a little sprout from one of the bulbs appeared.  I had marked the bulbs spots with straws to make sure I watered them in the correct areas and knew just where to look for growth.  The instructions said that they didn't need to be watered until the shoots arrived but, I found you needed to dampen the soil a little bit.  I think it helped.  The bulbs seemed very dry when I planted them, and I was worried I would have another bad experience.

4.  In my yard, the dahlias needed protection from deer. One of the plants got chomped by a deer just as it was starting to flourish and has yet to produce any flowers.  My husband made a fence of chicken wire and that seemed to help.

5.  Once the plants grew, and they grew quickly, they needed to be staked.  The blossoms and greenery made the plants fall over in the wind and the rain.  Staking is absolutely necessary.

6.  Dahlias are worth the wait and care.  There are few flowers that out-marvel dahlias.  The blossoms are gorgeous.  They seem to have few pests and didn't really need a lot of fertilizer.  The blossoms make beautiful cut bouquets or are simply beautiful to look at in the garden.

7.  Finally, you can never have too many.  I plan to buy more bulbs next year.  I am hoping I can over-winter the bulbs I have in the correct manner (I need to do research on that!) and add more next season.  For one thing.  I have one plant that finally appeared, but it stayed very small and never produced anything.  I believe you may need to account for the lack of production in some of the bulbs you buy.  They are expensive so that is a bummer but, as I said, worth it anyway :).

So, there you have it, my take on growing dahlias in the garden.  If any of you have 

had success and would like to share words of wisdom with me,

 I am all ears!

  Have a great weekend!