Dahlias are very beautiful and long-blooming flowers. The variety of shapes and shades is amazing in its quantity. This allows you to use dahlia plantings to decorate flower beds, border frames, and even in individual pots.
To better determine the types of dahlias, you need to list the main groups into which these wonderful flowers are classified:
- simple;
- anemone-shaped;
- collar;
- peony-shaped;
- decorative;
- spherical;
- pompons;
- semi-cactus;
- cactus
So many types of dahlias allow you to choose a flower to suit every taste. After all, they differ in the size and shape of the inflorescences, the height of the bush, so they will satisfy the needs of every gardener.
Today we will get acquainted with the Bohemian Spartacus variety. Dahlia Bohemian Spartacus begins to bloom in July, and the last buds survive until the first frost.
Growing a dahlia does not require enormous effort and a lot of knowledge, so we will try to briefly touch on the main points. The diameter of the flowers of this dahlia variety reaches 25 cm, and the height of the plant itself is 110-140 cm. It belongs to the type of decorative dahlias.
How to grow a luxurious dahlia in your garden
To successfully grow a beautiful flower, you will need to purchase high-quality tubers. After this, we begin preparing the dahlia planting site. When choosing a site you need to know that:
- dahlias and drafts are incompatible;
- plants grow well in a sunny and windless place;
- the ground will have to be prepared.
For the soil, the conditions of good drainage, water permeability and nutrition are observed.
It is better to purchase seed material in specialized stores to be sure of the quality of the variety. Dahlia Bohemian Spartacus grows well in soil with a slightly acidic or neutral environment.
For planting, choose a sunny place, protected from the wind, with drained and nutritious soil. To protect varietal dahlia from possible diseases, change the planting location annually. You can return the dahlia to its original site after three years. Undesirable predecessors for the variety are asters.
Preparing dahlia tubers for planting involves removing damaged areas and dry roots.
Plant the nodules in a planting container with nutrient soil mixture for two weeks at an ambient temperature of 18°C. In this case, you need to ensure that they protrude 2.5-3 cm above the ground surface. After the buds appear, the tuber is planted as soon as the ground warms up. This usually occurs in late May or early June, depending on the climate of the region. The planting pit should be 3 times the size of the tubers. Humus or compost is placed at the bottom, then a layer of soil and the tuber is laid. For the Bohemian Spartacus variety, immediately attach a support for the future stem, water the dahlia with cold water and mulch with tree bark or sawdust in a 5 cm layer. The sawdust is pre-mixed with compost or peat.
How to care for a beautiful dahlia
The list of works includes names familiar to gardeners:
- Mulching. Protects dahlia from slugs and rapid drying of the soil. For the gardener it will reduce labor intensity - weeding and loosening will be needed much less often.
- Feeding. Conducted every 14 days, be sure to maintain alternation of organic matter with mineral compounds. For organic fertilizers, infusions of mullein (1:10) or bird droppings (1:20) are used.
- Trimming. To ensure that dahlia inflorescences delight the whole season, do not leave more than three shoots on the bush. Otherwise, the decorative effect of the flower will be lost. No more than 2 buds are left on one peduncle. As soon as a Bohemian Spartacus bud fades, it must be removed immediately, otherwise it will retard the growth of the new one. The lower side shoots of the dahlia are also removed during the season. Many gardeners use them as cuttings to propagate their favorite dahlia variety.
- Design of the support. The stems of the dahlia Bohemian Spartacus are hollow, and in heavy rain and wind it can break. If this happens, apply a splint to the damaged stem and secure it to a support.
When growing Dahlia Bohemian Spartacus, you should be on the lookout for slugs and earwigs that damage the plants. To do this, inspect the flowers regularly. If pests appear, treat dahlia with appropriate compounds.
In preparation for winter, the stems of the dahlia Bohemian Spartacus are cut off and the plant is immediately covered to protect it from rotting.
This will happen if moisture gets on the stem.
Dig up the tubers in dry weather, dry them, and remove dirt with water.
During storage, maintain the required temperature (4°C) and humidity (65%) parameters.
Simple agricultural technology requirements allow you to grow the beautiful dahlia Bohemian Spartacus in any summer cottage. It will delight you all season with its beauty.
