5 Dahlia Care Tips- Farm News

   Summer is in full swing!  There are some things we can do right now insure our dahlias will be blooming on time, and will stay productive into the fall season.  Here are 5 dahlia care tips, that are important this time of year.

1)  If you HAVE fertilized once this season, fertilize again with a 5-10-10 fertilizer.  If you HAVE NOT fertilized yet, fertilize now and then fertilize again around August 10th.  Don’t fertilize after August 15th, your dahlias will not have time to absorb the fertilizer that is already in the ground.

 2)  Water Water Water – If they don’t get good waterings right now, they will be late to bloom, and won’t be as productive as they could be.  A deep soaking 2-3 times per week will get them blooming on time.  Be sure that you are soaking the ground long enough so that the water is reaching the tubers.  We find a 1 hour soak with a soaker hose is the most effective.  Hand watering is never enough.

3)  Stake for fall rains – Especially for dinnerplate dahlias.  Place your stake about 1 foot away from the dahlia stalk.  Giving that space will insure that you don’t

If your dahlias are planted in rows, 2 stakes at the end of each row works great.

damage the tuber clump underground.  If you plant in rows, like the picture on the right, 2 t-posts at the end of the row works best.

4)  Weed management – Pull weeds so they aren’t competing with your dahlias for water and nutrients.

5)  Pinching your dahlias for better growth and flower production:

This is most important for people in the Northern United States, whos dahlias are probably at bud stage.  For the southern and central United States, your dahlias have probably been in bloom for awhile now.  When cutting dahlias that are in bloom, focus on taking the center out of the plant, cut the blooms then cut the center out.

Pinching your dahlias will benefit in a few ways:

1)  It will keep your plant from getting so tall and top heavy.

2)  It will branch out your plant into 4 stems instead of one.

3)  You will get a much more manageable plant with more blooms

Please see our Dahlia Care page for more information on caring for your dahlias

Dahlia Barn owner Jerry Sherrill shows us how to pinch your dahlias

Farm News:

FLOWER FESTIVAL  – Opening Weekend is September 7-9th

NOW ACCEPTING DAHLIA TUBER/PERENNIAL ORDERS FOR SPRING 2019 SHIPPING ON OUR WEBSITE

Cut Flower orders in Bulk for Local Weddings and Events:

We will soon be in our cut flower season here at Dahlia Barn!  Need flowers September through mid-October!  Call us and we’ll set you up with the most gorgeous dahlias!  See our ‘Cut Flowers’ page for more information.