The Nature of Dahlias
The Nature of Dahlias
Dahlias are grown from tubers which are commonly confused with blubs. Tubers are more like a potato with a thin skin and they sprout eyes while blubs have layers and layers of thin skin for protection. The delicate tuber needs more coddling to keep it away from excess moisture and freezing ground temperatures. If they sit in saturated wet soil, they will rot, which is why they are dug up every year and protected during the winter (there are some exceptions explained below).
When to Plant and Harvest Dahlias
The time to plant dahlias is after the last frost in your gardening zone when the ground temperatures are warm enough. I plant tubers at High Hampton Resort beginning around Mother’s Day through Memorial Day. We are harvesting the majority of flowers 60 to 75 days after planting, which is around the middle of July. The garden is at full peak throughout August and the first couple of weeks of September. Then in mid-October, when we start to lose sunlight, it’s time to dig them up before the first freeze and the rainy season.
Where to Plant Dahlias
Dahlias need a minimum of six hours of sunlight and good breezes and cross ventilation. The secret sauce in Cashiers is our cool nights, which make it an ideal home for dahlias. If you live in the deep south where the nights are warm, dahlias are a little trickier to grow because they don’t have time to recuperate from the heat; they may look tired and wilted. You can experiment by growing dahlias in containers in various sunny spots on your property to find the location where they thrive the best.
How to Plant Dahlias
