Undeservedly forgotten dahlias are becoming fashionable again. Among the variety of shapes, colors and shades, it is easy to choose the appropriate variety.
Description
The variety is suitable for growing as a single plant or group plantings. Dahlias of this variety are different:
- Abundant flowering;
- Bush stability;
- Resistant to many fungal infections;
- Highly decorative;
- Universal use of colors.
The tubers are dug up for the winter and stored in a dark room with a temperature of about 7 degrees Celsius. If there is no such room, the bottom shelf of the refrigerator is suitable for storing tubers.
Characteristic
The variety "Santa Claus" belongs to the class of decorative dahlias. The rhizome is perennial, the aerial part is annual.
The flower is double, red, with a white-pink border. The size of the flower in favorable growing conditions reaches 15-18 cm.
The flower petals of this variety are flat, wide, wavy, and slightly pointed at the ends.
Bush up to 100 cm high, spreading, well leafy. The leaves are pinnate, dark green, large.
Care
For growing dahlias varieties “Santa Claus” must choose a well-lit area, protected from cold winds. Before planting tubers, you need to add a complex of fertilizers and humus, at least a liter per bush.Before planting tubers, add lime or ash to acidic soil to reduce acidity.
Tubers are planted in the spring, when the soil warms up to 15-18 degrees. It is advisable to prepare a shelter for flowers in advance in case of return frosts.
Dahlia stems are fragile and strong winds can break them, so they are often grown in a special frame made of coarse metal mesh. The mesh is fixed to supports dug into the ground, the flowers are brought out into cells at a level of 50 cm from the ground. The diameter of the frame is about 40-50 cm. The tuber is planted in the middle of the frame.
It is necessary to treat the flower cut with a disinfectant. It is advisable to carry out the procedure in the morning, in dry sunny weather.
During the growing season, complex fertilizers are applied; chelate forms are often used for spraying. During flowering, plants need increased doses of magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.
In cold, rainy summers, flowers can become sick. To reduce the risk of fungal infections, the lower leaves are removed and the flowers are sprayed with fungicides.
Flowers are watered no more than once a week; dahlias do not like high humidity. Very convenient to use drip irrigation.
Having allocated a small area in the flowerbed for these beautiful flowers, most gardeners continue to grow dahlias and then, gradually increasing the number of varieties, create their own mini-collections.
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