Photo Credit: Mark Twyning (Marktee1) at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
| Common Name | Dahlia |
| Genus | Dahlia |
| Species | Dahlia Pinnata |
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Life Cycle | Tender tuberous herbaceous perennial, can be grown as an annual. |
| Tray Size | 50 |
| Plug Care | Harden off before planting out. Do not allow plugs to become rootbound - plant soon after receiving or pot up into larger cells. Keep soil evenly moist - avoid drought and oversaturation. |
| Netting / Staking | Dahlias can grow quite large and benefit from staking. For small numbers of plants, individual staking will suffice. For rows of plants, utilize T-posts and heavy duty twine to stake the entire row. Some growers have found success using the Florida weave method. |
| Temperature Range | Extremely frost sensitive at all stages - best transplanted after soil has warmed in the spring and nights stay above 55F. |
| Spacing | 12-18" between plants, 2-3' between rows. The tighter they are planted, the less airflow between plants and therefore greater risk of fungal issues. |
| Soil Preference |
Fertile, loose, well draining soil of neutral pH. Dahlias benefit from soil amended with composts and granular fertilizer, or a light feed with irrigation every two weeks. Heavy, saturated soil can initiate root rot. |
| Day Length | Dahlias are facultative short day plants. This means the plants will bulk up and be mostly vegetative during the long days of early summer and budding will be initiated as the days shorten. They require full sun conditions to thrive. |
| Pinching | Pinch one time, when the plants reach approximately 12 inches in height. Remove the main shoot down to the 2nd or 3rd set of leaves to initiate the development of side shoots. This will delay flowering by a couple of weeks but the plants will be much more floriferous later in the season. |
| When to Plant | Spring, after the danger of frost has passed and the temperature is expected to stay above 55F. |
| Harvesting | Expect to harvest the first flowers approximately 90 days from transplant. Dahlia buds do not continue to open after harvesting and the flowers in general do not have the longest vase life. Cut when the flowers are approximately 3/4 of the way open. Cut deeply for a long stem, do not be afraid to remove 2 or 3 leaf nodes with each stem. This provides the highest quality cut stems and encourages the plant to continue branching near the base. |
| Post Harvest Care | Cut early in the day before the temperature climbs. Plunge cut stems immediately into cool water. Keep in a cooler until ready to sell. Vase life is highly dependent on variety - here at Farmer Bailey we try to source high quality cut flower varieties for the longest vase life possible. |
| Diseases / Insects |
Dahlia mosaic virus and crown gall are two highly infectious diseases that are currently common in dahlia collections across the world. Our plants have been screened and cleaned of these diseases through the meticulous process of tissue culture. Powdery mildew and botrytis (grey mold) may be observed during extended periods of cool wet weather, or late in the season when powdery mildew runs rampant. Increased airflow between plants helps prevent or slow the spread of fungal diseases, as well as drip irrigation to avoid wetting the foliage. Thrips, Japanese beetles, tarnished plant bugs, cucumber beetles, earwigs and slugs are just a few of the many insects that feed on dahlia plants and flowers. |
| Bailey's Notes |
Dahlias grown from cuttings do not always produce a tuber in the fall - sometimes all of the energy goes into flower production. To avoid the labor and costs of digging and dividing dahlia tubers every year, consider growing dahlias as annuals - the price per plant is much cheaper when purchased as plugs compared to tubers. Our plugs are guaranteed virus and bacteria free, which is always a risk with purchasing tubers from untested stock. |
| Resources |