You received your dahlia's, what is next?
We have listed the main planting and caring instructions for you to enjoy the beauty and diversity of the dahlias. The dahlias with an open heart provide food for the insects. Our fields in Holland are truly teeming with bees, bumblebees and many species of butterflies. They will find the dahlia's in your garden as well.
Dahlias are easy plants, but you can gain a flowering advantage if you give them extra attention and apply the care below.
And don't forget: the coloured petals of our organic dahlias are edible and look beautiful in a salad. The taste varies per species.
Dahlias are sensitive to frost and are planted after the 'Ice Saints', i.e. after May 15 in the garden. Make sure to give them a sunny location. They will flower from late July until the first frost.
Planting instruction: Dig a planting hole according to the size of the dahlia tuber. Place the tuber in the hole with the stem facing up. Then cover the tuber with a little soil. A layer of 3 to 5 cm of soil on top is sufficient.
Care: Provide sufficient water. Adding a little compost or manure to the soil every two weeks gives richer flowering. If the crop becomes too lush, temporarily stop adding the feed.
Enhance flowering: There are several ways to encourage your plant to produce more flowers.
- Topping: When the stems rise above the ground and are approximately 10 cm long, you can top them. Topping means that you cut out the growing point above the second set of leaves. The plant will form buds again and become more full.
- Prune back: At a later stage you can regularly prune the plant back slightly. The dahlia will become more compact and more side shoots will be formed.
- Remove old flowers: Remove the spent flowers. This also stimulates the dahlia to form more flowers.
Pre-cultivation: You can pre-cultivate dahlia tubers by planting them in a pot with potting soil. Place the pot in a room or conservatory with a temperature of around 18°. Then you will have a nice plant to plant in the garden by mid-May. Pre-cultivation of a dahlia is possible from the end of March. Keep the potting soil moist but certainly not wet. Pour from above and make sure the roots are not in the water. There is sufficient nutrition in standard potting soil for the first 8 weeks. Make sure there is plenty of light. Under dark conditions it is better to place the tubers in a pot in early to mid-April. If the plant becomes too long and limp, place the pot outside so that the plant becomes a bit stronger. Dahlia tubers cannot withstand frost, so if there is a risk of frost, place the pot back indoors.
Overwintering: Dahlias are sensitive to frost. When the foliage has turned brown due to the first night frost, dig out the tuber and store it in a cool, frost-free place. For example in the garage or shed. The best storage temperature is between 5 and 9°. To prevent dehydration, it is best to store the dahlia tuber in slightly moist potting soil. You can also leave the tuber in the ground and cover it with a generous layer of leaves and other plant remains. Then it can withstand some frost, but if it really freezes, the tuber can still be lost.
Organic: Our flower bulbs and tubers are organically grown and Skal-certified. So we do not use any chemical pesticides or fertilisers.