Dahlia
The origin of Dahlia is Mexico. It came in India around the year of 1860.
At first, farming of Dahlia was rare, due to the problem of keeping the
plant alive for next year. From the middle of twentieth century, farming
of Dahlia advanced rapidly. As that time people discovered, by doing late cutting,
it is possible to keep the plant alive throughout the year. Now
they are one of the major attraction in our
annual garden, though they
belongs to a separate group (Bulb). There are many varieties are available
now, consists of the following major groups, namely; pompon dahlia, small
and medium cactus dahlia, small and medium decorative dahlia and large
decorative dahlia. Dahlia flower comes in different color and shapes.
The size of the flowers varies from 2 inches to 10 inches in diameter.
The petals also vary from single to honeycomb type. Their sunlight
requirement is very high. So plant it, where you can get sunlight
throughout the day, or at least six hours in a day.
Dahlia Care
Dahlia |
Dahlias like well drained porous soil, which is rich in organic matter. Prepare the soil by mixing two parts of sandy loam with two parts of farm yard manure and one part of leaf mould. Add 100 grams bone dust, 10 grams super phosphate, 5 grams sulfate of potash |
and a spoonful of dolomite lime per square feet of
flowerbed. two weeks after planting the
sapling give a side feed of 50 grams per plant. Prepare this side feed by
mixing 3 parts of mustard extract with 2 parts
of sterameal. Again after 2 weeks give a top dressing of 50 grams per plant,
consist of, 10 parts sterameal, 3 parts super phosphate and 2 parts
sulfate of potash. After the budding starts, give light liquid feed once
in every week. Dahlias like water very much, so water them deeply and
thoroughly, once in every two days. But make sure, the plants should not
be water logged.
| It is a common rule to get fewer flowers in a potted plant than a plant in flowerbed, as it is difficult to get more blooms from a potted plant. Particularly for giant decorative dahlias, to get bigger flowers, it is required to have a |
single flower in the main stem and may be two more from the lowermost
branches. So, disbudding is an essential for them. Discarding all the
excess buds iscalled disbudding. In case of pompon and
medium dahlia, it will be good to have more blooms. For that, you required
stopping. After the plants grow up to 6-8 inches, pinch the center of the
sprout by your nail, encouraging the plants to grow more shoot. And every
extra shoot means more flowers.
Dahlia Propagation
Dahlia comes under the bulb category. Propagation of dahlia can be done by late
cuttings or tubers. After flowering, the majority of the plant dies back.
Then dig the plant carefully so that the tubers do not get injured. Wash
them thoroughly in a fungicidal solution, and let them dry for a few days.
After that store them in a cool dry place, it is better to keep the tubers
in hanging position in a netted bag. Periodically check the tubers for
rot, and discard the rotted ones. Planting of tubers starts here normally
in end of July. After 10-15 days new sprout comes up.
