Dahlias came to the world from Mexico a long time ago, in the XVI century, and from a wild flower turned into luxurious beauties. Their proudly raised colorful heads, familiar to everyone, perfectly decorate the garden at the end of summer. But from time to time, the interest in them somehow fades.
Now dahlias are back in fashion. This is evidenced by the increased demand. But breeders have created many amazing masterpieces that every lover of dahlias would like to have in their collection. Unfortunately, it is impossible to buy them in stores, but every year all the counters are filled up with new Dutch varieties.
Why flower growers love and dislike dahlias
This is a very grateful and trouble-free flower. It grows on any cultivated soil, does not require special care. When planting a shovel, the humus is enough for him to feed throughout the summer. Feeding dahlias, especially with nitrogen, is undesirable, since the foliage will grow luxuriantly to the detriment of flowering. They require watering only in drought, otherwise the tubers will grow huge, but saturated with moisture — they will be poorly stored. However, the plants need to be tied to the stakes, otherwise the bushes will fall apart, and even make sure that they are not attacked by aphids. If this is such an easy-to-care flower, then why does it often fall out of the water?
There are reasons. First, it needs to be dug up for the winter, which is not always liked by flower growers. Secondly, it does not tolerate frost at all. And so it’s a shame to see your wildly blooming pets after the first September, even very small, frost with blackened leaves and drooping flower heads. After this outrage, there will be good warm weather for a long time, but nothing will help the dahlias, they need to be dug up. How right the poet was when he said: “Oh, if only for flowers and not frosts…”.
There are troubles in the spring, and even in the early summer. There was a year when on the night of June 7 to 8 in our district, the air temperature dropped to zero. This was quite enough to make the grown dahlias freeze, and the delicate emerald leaves turned into ragged black rags. They recovered, as the stems remained alive, but bloomed much later.
However, the biggest problem, perhaps, is the winter storage of tubers: they are wet, then dry, then hot, then cold. Even if there is a suitable room for this purpose, it is very difficult to preserve everything that is grown. At least, I never manage to save the entire crop, something always falls out, and, as always, the rarest and most valuable, although it is these outstanding varieties that are given the closest attention. Professionals say that the loss of up to 20-25 percent of tubers is a good result when storing dahlias.
These are the moments that scare flower growers away from growing dahlias. But when they bloom for almost three months (and if you grow up before planting, then even longer), then all these troubles seem like a mere trifle. What kind of garden can exist without dahlias?! They fill our short summer with such a riot of colors that it takes your breath away from this outlandish beauty. It seems that a talented artist visited the garden and left wonderful colorful paintings in it.
Dahlias: variety of varieties
How different they are in height, shape of the flower, its size and colors! Some lovers of dahlias like their huge hats, others-small pompoms. There are varieties that grow to a height of up to two meters, and there are curbstones and even dwarfs. Potted dahlias have recently become very fashionable, which can be moved to any desired place, and brought into the house in the fall, and they will delight with a luxurious flowering for a long time.
‘Baywatch’ is an anemone-shaped variety, a new direction in the selection of dahlias, orange with a purple outline of each petal and a brown fluffy middle with yellow stamens.
‘Jescot Lingold’ – decorative, orange-red with a bright orange border on each petal, excellent cut.
‘Yellow Happiness’ is a decorative semi-cactus-shaped bright yellow flower, very good in bouquets.
‘Jeanette’ – a nymphal dazzling white flower, similar to a huge water lily up to 20 cm in diameter.
‘Giraffe’ is a rare variety of exotic orchid shape, the tongue petals are yellow, on the reverse side with crimson strokes and stripes, slightly turned up and beautifully curved.
‘Pink Giraffe’ — the same as the previous variety, only the petals are pink with strokes.
‘Golden Autumn’ is a decorative variety of domestic selection, bright red with orange highlights and tips of petals, burning.
‘Impression Fantastico’ is a collared variety with maroon petals, a white “collar” and bright yellow stamens.
‘Karibian Fantasy’ is a high decorative variety with a combination of white and yellow tones and bright lilac-red touches.
‘Kioto’ is a decorative dahlia of bright red color with white drops on the tips of the petals, a beautiful flower shape.
‘Kristin’ is a semi-cactus-shaped flower of pale pink color, excellent cutting.
‘My Love’ – pure white cactus-shaped flower, abundant flowering.
‘Malvina’ is a spherical soft lilac-pink flower with a lighter center, spectacular abundant flowering.
‘Nonette’ is a unique decorative flower of creamy-light-orange color, decorated with strokes and intersperses of a darker orange-red color.
‘Noordwijk Glory’ is a decorative variety of rare bright orange color, elegant.
‘Optik Emotion’ – a decorative unusual variety, dark lilac petals alternate with white.
‘Landscape’ is a decorative cactus-shaped variety of domestic selection, orange-salmon with wide terracotta tips, a masterpiece!
‘First Ray’ is a decorative variety, light lilac, beautiful flower shape.
‘Picara’ – a decorative variety, flowing, as if crying petals of orange-red-white color, a great novelty!
‘Procyon’ – a variety of the Dutch breeder Maars, decorative with dissected tips of petals, thick red on a yellow lining.
‘Purple Puff’ is an anemone-shaped variety, bright crimson with darkening towards the center to almost black in the center of the petals.
‘Smokey’ is a decorative variety of lilac color with a thick dark purple shading all over the petal, spectacular.
‘Strawberry Ice’ – a decorative large flower with iridescences of pink, yellow, white flowers, very beautiful!
‘Tartan’ is a decorative spherical variety of rich purple-burgundy color with bright white tips of petals, a beautiful flower shape, a masterpiece!
‘Twilight Time’ – decorative-nymphal, soft lilac-pink to white to the center, very abundant flowering, beautiful bush.
‘Fire and Ice’ – decorative, white semi-double flowers in a bright red stripe, a very unusual “tabby”.
‘Holland Festival’ is a large decorative flower of pastel orange color with white and pink highlights on the petals.
‘Centennial’ – anemone-shaped, yellowish-cream color with a bright red-orange illumination from the inside of the petals, excellent cutting.
‘Ezau’ is a huge decorative flower of bright yellow-lemon color.
‘Explosion’ is a decorative variety of bright orange color with brown-red strokes.
You can have different attitudes to the difficulties and troubles that are associated with growing dahlias. But it is very difficult to argue with the fact that these are some of the most ornamental plants.
Let them in your garden, and they will certainly please you both in summer and in autumn.