THE DAHLIA The dahlia is the ultimate easy-care flower factory. Given a place in the sun and a fertile, well-drained soil well plumped with organic matter, dahlia plants bloom prolifically through the summer until the fall's first frost. And because dahlias come in such a remarkable range of heights, their uses are many in the home garden.

 

Probably the most familiar and commonly planted are the the large dinnerplate size dahlias with flowers measuring up to 13 inches (33 cm) across, in cactus and decorative flower styles. Cactus-flowered dahlias are fully double, the flowers made of slender rays that are often rolled, quilled, curled or twisted with a pleasing feathery effect. Decorative dahlias are also double, but with rays that are more broad. Some are perfectly regular (formal decorative), while others are more informally waved, or broad and flat like a waterlily. Colarette dahlias have a charming fringe of small florets between the central disc and a single row of large petals. In anemone-flowered dahlias, tiny tubular florets form a pincushion effect at the centre of single flat-petalled flowers. Ball dahlias have deep, round blooms four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) wide, tightly packed with blunt petals. Pompoms are smaller round flowers. Both these round-flowered styles are particularly beautiful as cut flowers.

Starting A purchased dahlia root division looks quite like a sweet potato with a piece of the mother plant's stem left attached. It's at the base of the old stem that the growth buds will swell to form the stems of the new plant. Plant dahlias as the soil begins to warm in the spring and is no longer wet. Prepare the site by digging into the soil some organic material such as compost, composted manure and/or peat along with a small handful of bone meal to each square yard (metre). Take out a planting hole six to eight inches (15 to 20 cm) deep and lay the dahlia tuber in it with the old flowerstalk pointing upwards. Before filling in, set stakes behind tubers of the tallest types. Space average-height (four-foot/120-cm) dahlias 24 inches (60 cm) apart, low-growing ones 12 inches (30 cm) apart and the tallest 30 (75 cm) inches apart.

White Tip Dahlia

As the plants are up and growing, you can train them for different purposes. If, for example, you are interested in having the largest possible blooms, then pinch out the side buds at the end of each stem, leaving only the one central flowerbud to develop. If on the other hand you prefer the more overall colorful effect of spreading, bushy plants bearing a multitude of flowers, pinch out the centre growing tip of each stem when the plants are about 12 inches (30 cm) high. Or simply let the plants grow and flower in their own natural way. For the best possible continuing bloom, remove spent flowers and keep the soil deeply dampened. Give dahlia plantings deep, thorough waterings rather than frequent, shallow sprinklings.

Wintering The first light frosts that blacken and wilt the foliage signal that it's time to dig and store dahlias. First, cut the stalks down to within six inches (15 cm) of the ground, and then carefully lift the root clumps. Let them dry a little and then brush away clinging soil, paying special attention to the tight places between the tuberous roots. Recut the stem just above where the roots join, leaving the stem base intact. Store the clumps in open plastic-lined boxes covered with vermiculite, sawdust, or perlite in a dark, dry, cool spot at 40 to 45 F (5 to 7 C). As with tuberous begonias, dahia roots will shrivel if left exposed to dry air. Check the roots periodically during the winter and spray-mist lightly with water to moisten the storage medium if the roots have begun to shrivel. In the spring, divide the dahlia clumps when the buds become clearly visible by cutting them into planting pieces, each one with a sprout and at least one tuberous root. The clumps can be divided in the fall, but the divisions are more prone to rotting and dehydration in storage than are whole clumps.

Dahlias from seed A project I very much enjoy is growing my own dahlia clumps from seed. Several beautiful seed-grown varieties are available in most catalogues, and the ones I've grown start blooming in July from an early March indoor seeding. They're very easy, and the dwarf varieties make fine compact, flower-filled mounds until frost. Dandy, a 20-inch (50-cm) colarette dahlia listed in the Stokes catalogue, is a favorite of mine. The first year I grew these dahlias from seed I could hardly believe the perfect little clumps of tuberous roots the plants had formed by fall, their small size most convenient for storing.

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