Starting Dahlias indoors

 

 

Dahlias are one of the most productive flowers you can grow in your garden.

They come in an endless variety of colors and sizes and can be grown in containers as well as directly in the garden.

Dahlias need warm weather. They don’t like cold soils or temperatures, which means mid to late May before they can be planted directly outdoors. You can get an early start by potting up your dahlias now and then transplanting them after the weather is warmer and more stable, usually after Mother’s Day.

Dahlias are grown from tubers. When you pull them out of the package they look like small potatoes bunched together. Start by selecting at least a one gallon container.

Fill your container about 1/3^rd full with potting soil. Add some bone meal and mix it into the soil.

Place your dahlia into the pot, then fill in with more potting soil and then water.

Note the name of your dahlia on a plant label and stick it in the pot. Place your dahlia in a warm, bright spot in your home. A window ledge or under grow lights will do well. Try to keep the soil evenly moist. Avoid letting it dry out.

Soon, your dahlia will send up shoots, indicating it is rooting out. Wait until after the last frost date has passed to plant your dahlias outside. More on transplanting dahlias in later blogs.

 

 

Tips for understanding Garden Fertilizers

 

 

There are many choices when it comes to plant fertilizers. You can buy liquid, granular, water-soluble, slow-release, organic, non-organic, so how do you know you’re giving your plants what they need when it comes to nutrition.

What do all of these fertilizers have in common? Regardless of the type of fertilizer or the size of the bag, the 3 basic ingredients – Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash will always be listed prominently on the label. An easy way to remember what the numbers do is to think “up, down and all around”.

The first number on the label is Nitrogen. Nitrogen helps the plant with growth above ground (Up).

The second number, Phosphate promotes roots (Down). In addition,

Phosphate helps your plant bloom and produces more fruit. The last number – Potash is important because it benefits the whole plant (All Around).

We’ll use Happy Frog’s Fruit & Flower granular fertilizer as an example. The numbers on this 4 pound bag of Fruit & Flower are 5-8-4.  The middle number is larger than the first number, so this fertilizer will help your plants get bigger roots and more fruit. Finally, liquid and granular fertilizers are both effective. You can use either one or both throughout the growing season. Remember, no amount of fertilizer will make up for poor quality soil. Take the time to amend your soil every year and you’ll get the most out of your fertilizers.