Advantages and disadvantages of annual dahlia
It is much more common to see perennial dahlias that are planted in the ground for many years. But as for annual species, it is much easier with them and they have a large number of advantages. These include:
- Annual dahlias begin to bloom in the first year, while perennial dahlias may not please with their flowering in the first year. In addition, annual plants bloom much earlier.
- Annuals bloom for about 4 months, starting to bloom in July, they delight the eye until the first frost. Perennial dahlias begin to bloom closer to autumn.
- With the harvesting of perennial dahlias, everything is much more complicated. First you need to dig up the tubers, and then they still need to be stored until spring. With annuals, everything is easier, you need to collect seeds and clean up the stems that have dried up on the flower beds.
- Perennial dahlia tubers are more vulnerable. They often suffer from pests and various diseases. Annual dahlias are not so vulnerable and undemanding to care for. Planting and caring for annual dahlias won't be a hassle.
- Almost all regions of Ukraine and Russia are suitable for one-year-old dahlias.
It is important to understand that if, when choosing a dahlia, preference was given to tall or medium-sized species, then they will have to make a support
Care in the garden from the moment of planting in the open ground until autumn
This variety does not require special care
It is important not to overdo it with watering, since the plant will not tolerate excess moisture
How to care for dahlias during growth and flowering
For abundant flowering Weeds should be weed out throughout the summer as they contribute to disease and block out sunlight. And also you need to timely feed with complex fertilizers for flowers. Organic fertilizers should be added to the soil 2 weeks after planting, and mineral fertilizers can be added after another 14 days.
After the beginning of flowering, fertilizing with phosphorus additives should be done (25 grams per 10 liters of water).
Possible problems and solutions
The variety is susceptible to common diseases and insect attacks. Among the most common problems are the following:
- Brown spots appear on the foliage, and subsequently - gray rot, after which the tops begin to dry. If this happens, then the plant is suffering from an excess of moisture. It is necessary to process dahlias with Topsin and continue to control irrigation.
- The roots began to rot. Most likely, this is due to a disease such as fusarium. "Fundazol" or "Oxyhom" will help to cope with the problem.
- The flowers have white rot. Most likely, there is an open wound somewhere on the stem. To save the plant, you need to treat it with bleach.
- Aphids have appeared. It is necessary to use Iskra, Fitoverm or other insecticides.
- Holes were found in the leaves. Probably, the plant was chosen by slugs. As a preventive measure, you can pour sawdust mixed with red pepper between the seedlings.
- The leaves turned yellow and curled up. This means that the dahlia was attacked by bedbugs. It is necessary to carry out the treatment with "Phosphamide" or "Karbofos".
- Dark spots appeared on the leaves. Most likely, this is the onset of botrytis disease. Infected specimens should be pulled out and destroyed, and the soil should be treated with insecticides. In the future, it is recommended to change the landing site.
How to harvest seeds correctly
Annual seeds are usually harvested after the end of the flowering period.
They are carefully separated from the petals and dried in the sun, after which they are folded into paper envelopes and stored at room temperature.
Harvesting dahlia tubers
You need to dig up the tubers after the onset of the first frost. All the leaves and shoulder straps are cut off from them, and the shoots are shortened to 5-10 centimeters. There are gardeners who cut the stems a few days before harvesting tubers. But if liquid gets on the sections, then the base of the stem may begin to rot. In this regard, after cutting, the plant must be covered with aluminum foil. It should be remembered that the necks of the tubers are very fragile, and therefore their experts advise you to start digging in the morning in dry sunny weather. By the evening, the neck will have time to dry out and become stronger. It is also much easier to remove the remaining soil from dried tubers.
You need to dig out the tubers correctly. Dig in the dahlia from 4 sides, while you need to retreat from the stem by 30 centimeters. This will cut off long roots.
Then the pitchfork must be carefully brought under the earthen lump and pushed to the surface. Remove soil and arrange tubers to dry
The dug tubers must be rinsed with running water (from a hose) to remove soil residues, which may contain pathogens. They need to be removed on time, since if warming occurs in the fall, the dormant buds may wake up, and this can destroy them.
Description of the variety
We recommend that you familiarize yourself
As you know, the variety of flowers "funny guys" is most often referred to as a dwarf form of dahlias. Their height can be from 20 to 70 cm. Cheerful flowers are called so because of the variety of plant colors. Professionals claim that this dwarf form can be white, yellow, pink, red, purple and even blue. Having planted different dahlias in your garden, you can see a rather nice picture, composed of different shades.
This variety is a herbaceous perennial plant. Unfortunately, dahlias of this species are very thermophilic and do not tolerate excessive frost, therefore, before each winter, the owner must dig up the tubers and store them properly at home. Otherwise, the plant will be an annual and will not rise next spring. Lazy owners may not dig up the tubers and enjoy the plant for only 1 year.
The flower stems are strong enough for a herbaceous plant. The leaves are bright green. Sometimes dahlias have brownish leaves, but this is inherent only in certain varieties with burgundy buds. There are also plants with simple, double or semi-double petals. Their color can be very different.
The dahlia inflorescence is a basket, inside of which simple tubular flowers are collected. They are framed with reed flowers. A beautiful picture comes out: a yellow center and a multi-colored border. The diameter of an open bud averages 8-10 cm. Professionals managed to find a pattern for this variety: the lower the bush, the earlier it blooms. Therefore, each owner can, looking at his plant, navigate the approximate flowering period of dahlias.
5 Transplanting seedlings into open ground
The optimal time for planting seedlings in open ground is late May, early June. At this moment, the seedlings hardened, became stronger, and built up a good root system.
It is not recommended to plant plants later, since seedlings tend to stretch out due to lack of lighting in the room. And flowering will begin much later.
Dahlias "Merry Guys" tolerate transplanting in open ground well. If the frost has not yet receded, then at night the plants should be covered with geotextiles. The southern regions can start planting bushes at the end of May, and the northern ones at the beginning of June.
It should be taken into account what the land should be, how to properly water and feed the plant:
- 1. Planting site and soil.Dahlias tend to grow rapidly and densely, so it is best to plant them in a spacious place. Since the bushes love warmth and sun, they should be planted where the sun will be in the morning. Dahlias need to be fenced off from drafts. Flowers should not be planted in a shady place surrounded by trees and fences, otherwise the plants will not bloom profusely, and the stems will begin to stretch out, become thin and fragile. "Merry guys" love airy, loose, slightly acidic soil. If there is groundwater nearby, then the flowerbed with plants should be raised. Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to dig several holes at a distance of up to one meter from each other. It is necessary to add a mixture of ash, humus and nitrophosphate to the wells. Dahlias need to be repotted carefully, as they have a heavy root system. At the end of the transplant, it is imperative to mulch the soil. You can mulch the soil with sawdust, grass, bark, wood chips or covering material.
- 2. Watering. The plant is most actively watered in the first two weeks after transplanting. You need to water the flowers abundantly. It is worth monitoring the soil on hot days. At such a time, it is permissible to spray the dahlia with water using a spray bottle. When flowering, watering the plant should be reduced to moderate. Watering should be sparse in August and September. At this time, the flowers do not need abundant watering. It is worth remembering that dahlias do not like waterlogged soil. The Jolly Guys are good at handling drought.
- 3. Top dressing and flowering. After transplanting a flower into the ground, top dressing is carried out three times. The first feeding takes place on the fifteenth day of the dahlia being in the open field. An excellent top dressing will be a mixture of ammonium nitrate and mullein. The second feeding is done when the bushes have gained color. For this, superphosphate and potassium salt are suitable. The third feeding is done during the flowering period of the plant. At this time, the flowers are fed with organic fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers should be avoided as dahlias will not bloom profusely.
The bushes give abundant flowering if the soil has been previously fertilized with humus or nitrogen since last autumn.
"Merry Boys" begin to bloom three months after sowing the seeds (early July). This period lasts until the onset of frost. Tall bushes begin to bloom much later than low ones.
Before the dahlias bloom, it is necessary to pinch the lateral shoots of low bushes during the growth period and the plant will begin to grow in width, which will eventually give a lush flowering. Faded inflorescences must be removed from the plant. In order to prolong flowering, you can cover the plants overnight with a film or non-woven material.
How to grow dahlias
Growing dahlias is quite simple, but they require special care, which is quite laborious. So, in the fall, it will be necessary to dig up the tubers, and also provide them with the most comfortable storage. However, in case you do not want to put a lot of effort into growing such flowers, then seeds can be used for planting. Annuals also have a very spectacular appearance, and there is a fairly large selection of different varieties: Coltness Hybrids, abundantly blooming with non-double flowers, of various colors, the height of the bush is no more than 50 centimeters; Redskin possesses bronze foliage; Rigoletto has small double flowers; early flowering Figaro and others. The purchased seeds are recommended to be sown in open soil only in the second half of May, but in this case they will be seen blooming only at the end of summer. In order to bring the moment of flowering of annual dahlias closer, it is recommended to grow them through seedlings.
To begin with, the seeds need to germinate. To do this, you will need a plastic container or greenhouse, which should be filled with calcined sand.So, dahlia seeds are distributed over the surface, and a thin layer of sand is poured over them, everything is thoroughly moistened from a spray bottle and covered with a film on top. Germination will take about 10 days, while the temperature should be at least 25-27 degrees. After that, the sprouts that appear dive into individual containers. The soil mixture must necessarily absorb water well and be loose. Such soil can be purchased in a store or prepared on its own by combining leafy soil, sand and peat, taken in a 2: 1: 1 ratio. Before picking for three days, the soil mixture must be processed, for this it is spilled with a solution of potassium manganese, which should be hot (about 70 degrees) and have a dark pink color. Dive plants need to be watered as the soil dries out. Seedlings can be transplanted into open soil in mid-May.
Dahlia care
We feed undersized dahlias with full fertilizer. To do this, dilute 15 grams of fertilizer in a bucket of water and add them under the bushes. These plants can be fed with fertilizers such as Kemira Universal. We make top dressing at the beginning of summer. From June to July, we apply slurry under bushes 2-3 times. We make the last feeding with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in early August. Thanks to this procedure, the tubers ripen faster.
Caring for low-growing dahlias also includes regular weeding (at least 4 times per season), loosening the soil.
Fight disease
Dahlias can become infected with viral mosaics, bacterial cancers, or powdery mildew. We burn bushes affected by mosaics or cancer. In the place where diseased plants grew, this type of flowers should not be planted for 4-5 years. When affected by powdery mildew, we produce 2-3 times pollination of bushes with ground sulfur. We also use spraying with 0.5% lye or 0.5% colloidal sulfur.
How to deal with pests
Low-growing dahlias are often attacked by pests. These include aphids, thrips, wireworms, woodlice and slugs (which also often bother irises, hosts, asters and chrysanthemums). To combat thrips and aphids, plants are sprayed with 0.1% karbofos. From wireworms that damage the tubers of flowers, the introduction of 4-5 grams of hexachlorane per 1 square meter into the soil helps. m. To combat woodlice and slugs, we scatter granules of potassium salt and metaldehyde around the plants.
