A garden without dahlias or georgines, as the pretty summer bloomers are also called, is hardly conceivable. Few ornamental plants bloom as persistently and are as easy to care for as dahlias. However, the prerequisite is that you replant the non-hardy dahlia tubers every year.
How to plant dahlias correctly?
To plant dahlias successfully, you should plant them in a sunny, warm and wind-protected area of the garden or in pots in the spring after the Ice Saints. The soil should be deeply loosened and enriched with compost, cattle dung and horn shavings. Make sure there is appropriate planting distance and sufficient watering.
Are dahlias only planted in the garden or also in pots?
You can plant dahlias in the flower bed or grow them in pots or buckets on the balcony and terrace.
Small dahlia varieties can even be planted in the balcony box.
Should dahlias be preferred?
Since dahlias can only be planted outside in spring due to the risk of frost, it is worth growing them indoors from March. They are then more likely to form flowers.
Georgines can also be sown. The seeds are sown on the windowsill in March. The seeds are kept bright, warm and moderately moist until they sprout. They are then planted separately or in individual pots.
The planted dahlias are not allowed to go outdoors before the end of May, as night frosts occasionally occur by then. You can put dahlias in pots on the terrace or balcony. But bring the pots into the house if temperatures below zero are expected at night.
Which location do Georgians prefer?
- Sunny
- Warm
- Protected from the wind
Dahlias tolerate direct sunlight. They thrive poorly in the shade or don't bloom at all.
Georgines can be planted in the same spot every year if you ensure the soil receives enough nutrients.
Large dahlia varieties should be planted in a place protected from the wind so that the heavy flower heads do not break off in the wind. Supports to which the shoots with the flowers are tied are also helpful.
When is the best time to plant?
Dahlia tubers can be planted in prepared planting holes in the garden from the end of April. Only put pre-grown dahlias outdoors after the Ice Saints, as the risk of night frosts is too great before then.
How should the soil be prepared?
Loose the soil deeply. Enrich it with compost (€12.00 on Amazon), cattle dung and horn shavings. The soil must be permeable to water so that waterlogging does not occur. You should mix compacted earth with sand.
How are georgines planted correctly?
Dig a planting hole about one and a half times as deep as the tubers are long. Place the dahlia tubers in the planting hole with the root neck facing upwards. New shoots grow from the neck, not from the tubers.
What planting distance should be maintained?
The planting distance depends on the dahlia variety. As a rule of thumb, the distance should be half the future height of the dahlia.
When is the dahlia blooming time?
Dahlias bloom from July. The flowering period lasts until late autumn. The flowering period ends after the first frost. Regularly thinning out faded flowers stimulates flowering.
How are dahlias propagated?
Propagation takes place via:
- Dividing dahlia tubers
- Cuttings
- Seeds
The tubers are divided at the end of April and planted straight away. Make sure that you only plant he althy pieces that have at least one eye on them.
Take cuttings from the sprouted tubers from January onwards and let them grow indoors. To do this, you have to get the tubers out of their winter quarters in good time.
The seeds are sown indoors in March. It can be harvested from the dahlias in the garden in summer. However, the new dahlias are not always of the same variety, but can have completely different colors and shapes.
Are dahlias hardy?
Georgines are not hardy. The plants are cut down and dug up in autumn. The tubers need to dry for some time before they are overwintered indoors - preferably in the basement.
In very mild areas, dahlias can also be overwintered outside if they are well protected from light frosts. However, you have to expect losses, also because voles like to eat the tubers.
Are dahlias suitable for family gardens?
Dahlias are not only non-toxic, they are even edible. The leaves can be used in salads, and the flowers make a pretty decoration for soups and other dishes. They can also be used to prepare a very delicate liqueur. The Aztecs used the dahlia tubers as food.
You can therefore safely plant dahlias in the family garden or care for them on the balcony or terrace.
Do georgines get along with other ornamental plants?
Dahlias look very decorative with other summer flowers such as sunflowers, gladiolus and cosmea. They get along with all other ornamental plants that have the same location and soil requirements.
Tips & Tricks
Dahlias are the national flowers of the state of Mexico. The long stems were already used by the Aztecs to store water. The Aztec name of the dahlia is “acocotli” and means water storage.
