PLANTS THAT I LOVE
beauty of these flowers for that reason — treat them as annuals and
let the plant succumb to frost.
They can be the centerpiece of a new container or planted out in
the garden.
Dahlias come in all shapes and sizes, from just a foot tall with tiny,
button-sized flowers to towering plants with blooms the size of din-ner
plates.
“Duet” was bred locally by the late Fred Scott, who introduced the
flower in 1955, and it’s still a popular plant. I love growing things
with a Pittsburgh history.
They are best grown with as much sun as possible and would ben-efit
from fertile soil and plenty of water if rain is scarce. Container-grown
plants would enjoy a drink of organic liquid fertilizer, such as
Grow from Espoma, at every watering through the summer.
I love to grow lots of different varieties and use them as cut flowers.
A vase full of unique blooms is a real treat.
I save the tubers — it’s part of being cheap. I learned how to do it
from the Greater Pittsburgh Dahlia Society, but there are hundreds of
different ways to store the tubers. Everyone has their own process.
This is how I was taught to save them. At the end of the season,
wait for the foliage to be blackened by frost. Cut the plants down and
cover the hollow stems individually with some aluminum foil. This
stops water from getting down into the tuber.
After two more weeks, dig the tubers. By now, the eyes on the tuber
have started to grow. (Any tuber without an eye goes into the com-post
pile, as it won’t flower.)
Never rinse the tubers. Put them on some newspaper in a dry area
that gets cool but won’t freeze. I spread them out on a table in a sun
porch.
Dahlia tubers can be planted in early summer.
They will put on a show until frost.
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Floating dahlia flowers is one way to display them around
the garden. They also make great cut flowers for vases.
After a few days, it’s time to store them. This is when I like to sepa-rate
them, because it’s easier than waiting until spring since they are
still soft and can be cut apart easily.
I use a large plastic bin filled with an inch of vermiculite at the bot-tom.
Place the tubers in the medium so they are not touching. Once
the first layer is in place, add more vermiculite and fill the container
with layers of tubers and put on the lid. The best place for storage is
in a cool, dark place that will not freeze.
Check on the tubers once a month, and remove anything that starts
to rot. The next spring they can be potted up and added to the garden
or given to friends.
One tuber planted in the spring can make 10 or more by the end of
the season.
Make your summer garden a real showplace by planting dahlias.