Cactus dahlias: growing from seeds, planting and care (photo)

Cactus dahlias are a real flowerbed decoration. They harmonize perfectly with other flowers to create stunning floral arrangements. Dahlias delight with their flowering for a long period. It is for their bright colors that flowers are one of the most beloved among summer residents.

Cactus dahlias have interesting petals and stand out with bright colors. Many gardeners pay attention to plants and find them very attractive.

Characteristics of the variety

Cactus dahlias are perennial plants. They can be from 30 to 150 cm in height. They can be grown in different ways: in a pot or in open ground.

Flowers can be presented in different shades.
The abundance of colors is simply amazing. The exceptions are blue and black colors; such tones are not found in this group. The structure of flowers attracts special attention. They are rolled into a tube and have sharp ends. The diameter of the flowers can be from 10 to 30 cm. Please note: there are also two-color dahlias.
Petals can be presented in several shades. Dahlia bushes can be used for single plantings or used to decorate flower beds. In any case, you will be able to create an amazing composition and arouse interest in your summer cottage.

Description of the variety and photo

The plant is presented in a wide variety of species - there are mono- and multi-colored varieties, tall and short. Dahlias are planted in flowerpots, grown in a flower bed, or placed directly between the beds. Flowers of this type get along well with many other vegetable and flower crops, so there are usually no problems with the neighborhood.

The diameter of the flowers varies from 5 to 30 cm. They are presented in a variety of shades; the abundance of colors is truly amazing - here you can find any colors except blue, black and brown. There is perhaps only one drawback of these representatives of garden flora - in the fall you have to devote some time to preparing the tubers for wintering.

Pros and cons of cactus dahlias

The main advantages of cactus-shaped dahlias include:

• a wide variety of varieties;
• the presence of large double flowers of different diameters and shapes with ultra-thin pointed petals;
• plants bloom already in the first year after planting;
• the bushes are quite compact, with thick leaves, which gives them additional decorativeness;
• all varieties are easy to care for and have no special soil requirements;
• cactus-shaped dahlias tolerate drought;
• plants can be easily propagated in several ways;
• are rarely attacked by parasites and practically do not get sick;
• They do not lose their freshness for a long time in the bouquet.

As for the disadvantages of cactus-shaped dahlias, they can rather be classified as features. Cactus mixes need support and do not tolerate frost. Gardeners will have to dig up tubers of cactus-shaped dahlias every year and send them for storage; they will also need to resort to division every 3-4 years.

Advantages and disadvantages of cactus dahlias

Many gardeners plant dahlias in the flowerbed. Cactus dahlias have some benefits. The main ones are the following:

• variety of varieties;
• bright and lush flowers;
• long flowering period;
• Dahlias harmonize perfectly with other flowers.

Among the disadvantages, the following can be highlighted: in order for flowers to delight with their splendor, you will have to make every effort. Only by following a certain growing technology will it be possible to create a flower bed of incredible beauty.

How to collect seeds yourself

Annual double dahlias variety Vasilisa

To grow annual dahlias, not only purchased seeds are used. They can be collected from faded plants in the garden. High-quality plants are selected in advance; the first blooming flowers are best suited for this.

Faded inflorescences are not cut off, but left on the stem . After the petals fall off, a green box with seeds remains. They ripen within 1-1.5 months. The box changes color to dark beige. If it is not cut in time, it may open and the seeds will fall to the ground. To prevent this from happening, the ripening box is tied with gauze.

Harvest seeds in dry, warm weather. They are dried indoors at room temperature for several days, and then placed in paper bags or fabric bags and put away for storage.

If the weather is rainy during ripening, the seed pods are cut off, brought into a room with a temperature of 20-25°C, hung with their heads down and allowed to ripen in room conditions. Seed germination is maintained for 4 years.

The most popular varieties

Dahlia cactus attracts special attention. The variety of varieties is amazing. Each type is special and has its own characteristics:

1. Snobo Diana is a flower of amazing beauty. The bush can reach a height of up to 1.4 meters. You can cut up to 10 flowers from 1 bush.
2. Ferdif illusion - lush buds that attract attention. From 1 bush you can cut 4 large flowers.
3. Summer night - colorful flowers are a real decoration of the flower bed. Scarlet petals look luxurious.
4. Kiruna is an interesting variety that is distinguished by luxury and grandeur. There are bicolor petals. The colors move from one tone to another, creating gorgeous buds.
5. Shuting Star is a tall variety. Large flowers are lemon-colored, with lilac-colored petals along the edges. Externally, the flowers resemble chrysanthemums.
6. Grand finale - the plant can be up to 140 cm in height. The petals are presented in red and white.
7. Lilaste Seren is an amazing variety. The tips of the petals have a lilac tint, the middle is pale yellow. The bush is compact, the leaves have an openwork shape.
8. Lemon is a large plant, it can reach 200 cm in height. The petals are pale yellow.
9. Cherio - red flowers, the tips of the petals are white. The diameter of the inflorescences can be up to 16 cm. The bush is tall, up to 130 cm in height.
10. Acapulco - raspberry petals, slightly dissected, collected in large inflorescences. The bush is compact, its height can be up to 170 cm.
11. Anderson - delicate flowers that harmonize perfectly with other plants. Dahlia cactus can become a real flowerbed decoration.
12. Aloha - the height of the bush can be up to 1.4 meters, the flowers have a diameter of up to 18 cm. Up to 10 flowers can be cut from 1 bush.
13. Volcano - you can get up to 6 flowers from a bush, the height of the plant is no more than 1.4 meters. It is important that the petals are red in color; when exposed to sunlight, the edges become orange.
14. The dream is that you can cut up to 20 flowers from a bush. The bush can reach a height of 1.4 meters.
15. Red carnation - bush height up to 1.2 meters. In the sun, flowers can change their color.

The use of dahlias in garden design

To decorate the edges of flower beds, miniature plants are planted. Border dahlias 'Berliner Cleene' with delicate pink flowers are used to create floral designs along sidewalks. For contrast, take salmon-colored 'Margareth Cleene' and light plum 'Blusette'. Border dahlias 'Gallery' are a mixture of seeds from plants in rich and pastel colors.

Low growing varieties with large flowers, such as cactus dahlias , are often grown in containers or as a potted plant.

Where to plant tall varieties? They look great as a single bush. They are often planted in a group in a sunny place along a continuous fence that protects from sharp gusts of wind.

IN THE PHOTO: A hedge of tall dahlias as a way to design a garden path.

It is recommended to grow varieties for cutting, the buds of which remain fresh in a vase for at least a week.

Planting dahlias

Before starting planting work, it is necessary to prepare the site. Dahlias prefer a sunny location. In this case, the soil must be nutritious. It is necessary to prepare the site in the fall; it needs to be dug up. In the spring, you need to dig up the ground again and apply fertilizer.

Sowing work should begin in May, when frosts are not a threat. First of all, you should select the tubers. They must be strong, healthy, large. If the tubers have defects, they must be excluded immediately.

The distance between plants should be approximately 100 cm. It is necessary to make holes, place tubers in them, and water the soil. Since the flowers will need support in the future, it is best to stick a peg in right away. If this is done later, the tubers may be damaged.

Growing and care

It is recommended to grow dahlias using the seedling method. But you can immediately sow dahlia seeds in the ground. If you choose the second option, then do not rush to sow. This must be done in May, so that in July you can already admire the luxurious flowers. But sowing seedlings should begin in early April. At first, boxes with dahlias need to be covered with film to create a greenhouse effect. For rapid germination, peat and sand are added to the soil.

Important! It is better to water the seedlings using a spray bottle. Excessive moisture can interfere with normal growth.

When the first leaves appear on the stems, you should pick the plants into separate pots. But before this, the soil must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or steamed with boiling water. Before planting, the plants are hardened off by taking them outside. The first day we hold the seedlings for only 5 minutes, each next day we increase the time by another 10 minutes. Some flowers may bloom at this stage.

Advice! Dahlia loves warmth and light, take this into account when choosing a planting location.

You can start planting in open ground at the end of May, make sure that the frosts have completely passed. For full growth, flowers need to be planted at a distance of 30 centimeters from each other. We leave about 40 centimeters between the rows of dahlias. Flowering may continue until frost occurs. In this case, it is necessary to pick dried flowers from time to time, as well as loosen the soil. Water dahlias as needed.

Dahlias can also be grown from rhizomes. This method allows you to plant flowers year after year without spending money on seeds. Landing is carried out as follows:

1. In April, the roots should be removed from the cellar and placed on sawdust or peat in a sunny place. Only with good lighting will the roots produce healthy shoots. Due to insufficient sunlight, pale shoots will sprout and are unable to grow.
2. After the buds appear, the rhizomes should be divided. Each tuber must have at least one bud.
3. One rhizome is enough to plant 6–10 tubers. We place each of them in a box and cover it with earth. In early May, you can plant dahlias in a greenhouse. They can be moved to a flower garden or flower bed in early June.
4. Tubers are planted in the ground to a depth of about 15 centimeters downwards with their eyes. Next, you need to sprinkle it with soil and water it thoroughly.

Caring for dahlias

When growing cactus dahlias, it is important to follow the planting technology and provide appropriate care in the future. Plants cannot be called capricious. However, if you make every effort, the flowers will delight you with their splendor for a long time.

Caring for plants is as follows:

1. Watering. Flowers need moderate and timely watering. This is especially true during the period of bud formation. If there is a lack of moisture, the plant will not be able to bloom.
2. Feeding. Dahlias need fertilizing. This is especially true for the period from July to September. It is best to use liquid formulations containing potassium as fertilizers.
3. Mulching. This procedure will retain moisture in the ground and protect the plants from weeds. You can use compost or peat as mulch.
4. Removing faded flowers. This will extend the flowering period of dahlias.
5. Garter. The pole must be buried in the soil to a depth of 40 cm. As soon as the bush grows, the main stem must be tied to a support. As the plant grows, additional tying is required.
6. Stepsonning. As soon as side shoots appear, they need to be cut off. Experienced gardeners recommend leaving only 2 stems. To keep the inflorescences large, you need to pinch them. It is necessary to pinch the stepsons during growth and flowering.

When and how to dig up tubers

In order not to confuse varieties, dahlia tubers need to be labeled

Dahlia tubers are removed from the beds in the fall, after the leaves of the plants turn black from frost. It is better to dig them up in the morning, in dry weather.

Before harvesting, the stems need to be trimmed, leaving about 10-13 cm. When digging up tubers, dahlias should not be held by the remaining part of the stem, so as not to damage the root collar.

The tubers are dug up carefully: on light soils it is better to do this with a pitchfork, and on heavy loamy soils - with a shovel.

The dug up tubers need to be lightly shaken to remove excess soil. They are left in the garden until evening, allowing them to dry. Then, for 7-10 days, the rhizomes are dried in a well-ventilated, dry room. Dried tubers will be stored better.

After drying, the cut stems can be coated with lime solution. This will protect them and the root collar from rotting.

All tubers suspected of having diseases are discarded and destroyed. Damaged, rotten and dead parts are removed. Tubers that received mechanical damage during digging are trimmed and sprinkled with charcoal powder.

Collection and storage

Cactus dahlias are usually dug up at the end of September. For this, it is best to choose a dry day. In this case, the tubers will be able to dry out, which will extend their shelf life.

Using a knife, you need to cut the flowers at a height of 10 cm from the ground. Cover the cut bushes with foil and dig around them on all sides. Use a pitchfork to remove a lump of tuber from the ground, wash it with water and place it in a solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour.

Then the tubers need to be dried, this will take at least 8 hours. After this, they can be stored. Tubers should be stored in boxes with pine sawdust placed at the bottom. In addition, you can use a bag, box, or newspaper to store dahlias.

It is important that the tubers need to be inspected periodically. If there are damaged copies, they should be removed immediately. To protect the tubers from rotting, they can be sprinkled with charcoal.

Watering and fertilizing

should not be allowed to dry out. Watering should be regular. Before feeding, the plant is also watered. Fertilizers are applied once every 10 days. Make a hole 10 cm deep around the bush, water it with fertilizers, and dig a ditch.

What and when to feed ?

1. 5-7 days after planting - the first time. June and first half of July;
2. mullein infusion (1:10) with the addition of nitrogen fertilizers and superphosphate (10 g per 5 liters of water);
3. superphosphate (25 g per 5 l) is added several times with the addition of ash (3-4 handfuls);
4. August. One feeding. Potassium sulfate (30 g per plant) for better ripening of tubers;
5. from a large amount of nitrogenous fertilizers, the vegetative mass only develops, and flowering decreases. The tubers will not store well. From September, watering and fertilizing stops.

Diseases and pests

The most dangerous pests of dahlias are bugs, aphids, spider mites, and caterpillars. To protect plants, crops must be treated with insecticides.

Wireworms are also found in flower beds where dahlias grow. If you are sure that the pest may be present on the site, you need to add chlorophos to the soil when planting plants.

The most dangerous disease is spotted or mosaic wilt. Affected plants must be removed from the site and burned.

Requirements for the site and soil

In order for dahlias to delight with lush flowering, it is recommended to choose a planting site on the south side of the building - the plant loves the sun and loves warmth.

Attention! Dalias should not be placed in lowlands where water stagnates. Dahlias freeze at elevations blown by northern winds and dry out under the influence of hot air masses from the south, evaporating moisture.

Preparing a site for planting dahlias begins with determining the soil structure. In case of increased acidity, add slaked lime and dilute the alkaline soil with peat. If the soil on the site is heavy due to excess clay, add the following to improve breathability:

• coarse sand;
• coal screenings;
• crushed gravel.

The place for planting dahlias is dug up in the fall and 5 kg of organic matter is added per 1 sq. m. m area. In the spring, the soil is loosened, holes are made, into which a bucket of compost is poured, and ash is added. To support the stems of the plants, stakes treated with copper sulfate are driven in.

What to do with tubers of annual dahlias?

Annual dahlias, like perennial varieties, develop tubers towards the end of the growing season. They can be dug up in the fall, stored over the winter and used for planting next spring . But you need to take into account that, compared to perennial dahlias, such tubers are worse stored and are more often affected by fungal infections.

Growing annual dahlias is a suitable option for gardeners who want to decorate their garden without the hassle of preparing and storing tubers of perennial varieties.

You will learn more about annual dahlias from the video.