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Dahlias are both annual and perennial. When choosing a type of flower for your site, you should remember that growing an annual plant is much easier: you don’t need to wait for the tubers to form, dig them up for the winter, or protect them from diseases and rot. It is enough just to sow the seeds and after a couple of months you will enjoy the riotous flowering of dahlias in your own flowerbed.
This article is about the rules for growing annual dahlias, as well as the best varieties of these bright flowers.
What is special about annual flowers?
There is a beautiful legend about the appearance of a flower on the site of an extinguished hearth - a colorful dahlia replaced fire for people and resembled tongues of flame. Indeed, these flowers are very bright, large, there are many varieties and varieties of annuals, among which it is easy to choose a decoration for a garden or flower bed.
Dahlias annuals have many advantages over perennial species and other garden flowers:
- Long flowering period - from mid-summer to the first frost.
- Large and colorful inflorescences, which come in the shape of a ball, can have a terry or glossy surface, pointed or rounded petals.
- Simple sowing and easy plant care.
- There is no need to dig up the tubers and transfer them to winter storage - this procedure usually ends with the loss of most of the rhizomes due to their infection with fungal infections.
- Dahlias can grow throughout the country; even in the northern regions, these flowers can be grown in seedlings.
The main advantage of annual dahlias is their unpretentiousness - these flowers grow equally well in different climates, on any soil, and do not require complex care or frequent watering.
Varieties of dahlias
In order for annuals to delight the owner with exuberant flowering, you need to know how to care for the plants, as well as choose the appropriate varieties of dahlias for your site. These flowers differ in several ways:
- According to the height of the bush - tall, medium and dwarf. The gardener must take into account that tall flowers need to be tied up, strengthened with supports, and at least 70 cm left between the bushes. At the same time, for dwarf dahlias, a 30-centimeter distance between the holes is quite enough, because the bushes are not only low, but also compact.
- By type of bud (size, shape, color, features of the petals) and leaf color.
- In terms of flowering time, dahlias are distinguished depending on their height; as a rule, tall varieties bloom several weeks later than short and dwarf varieties.
"Bambino"
A variety of dwarf dahlias, the height of these flowers cannot be more than 25 cm. Annuals bloom in mid-July and continue flowering until the onset of frost.
These low-growing flowers are convenient for decorating garden paths, the first tier of flower beds, and planting them in pots and cache-pots. The inflorescences are large - up to 8 cm in diameter, can be painted in various bright shades, and have a terry surface.
"Funny boys"
One of the most common and famous annual varieties in Russia. The flowers reach a height of 30-60 cm, have compact bushes - they are simply intended to decorate the garden.
The inflorescences of plants of this variety are colored in various shades, since the flower seeds are sold as a mixture. The flowers have a common center of a bright yellow hue and a simple inflorescence structure.
The dahlia blooms from the beginning of July until the very first frost. It is convenient to decorate discounts and flower beds can be combined with other types of flowers.
"Collared Dahlia"
This is also a mixture of several multi-colored varieties of annuals. The plants are united by the height of the bush - about 60 cm, and the structure of the inflorescence.
Small short petals – a collar – are collected around the bright yellow center of the flower. These narrow petals lie on large pointed leaves at the outer edge of the flower - a lush, two-layer inflorescence is obtained.
The variety blooms from mid-July to October. In general, “Collared Dahlia” is intended for cutting and decorating flowerpots, but the flower looks great in flower beds and blends organically with other garden plants.
"Decorative dahlia"
This mixture of multi-colored annual flowers is intended for arranging bouquets - the height of the stems can reach 120 cm.
The inflorescences are large, round, with double petals. The variety also looks great in flower beds and blooms until the first frost.
"Dahlia cactus"
The height of the stems of plants of this variety reaches a meter. The inflorescences consist of thin petals rolled into tubes. These petals resemble needles, which gives the variety its name.
The inflorescences are very voluminous, bright, decorative - they decorate bouquets and flower beds of gardens. After sowing seeds into the soil, cactus varieties of dahlias bloom no earlier than the 16th week, but continue flowering until late autumn.
"Dahlia pompom"
The inflorescences of this variety are similar to the cactus dahlia, only the flowers are denser and rounded. The terry heads of annual flowers look like fur pompoms, only bright and variegated.
The height of the bushes of this flower is about 90 cm. Plants are often used in group plantings, combining dahlias with other flowers and shrubs.
"Opera"
These annual flowers grow only up to 30 cm, so they are most often used to decorate balconies and window sills - planted in pots or boxes. Flowers also look good in flower beds, as a frame or border.
The flower is double, voluminous, with a barely noticeable yellow center. It blooms 16-18 weeks after sowing the seeds and continues flowering until the first frost.
"Minion"
Simple, sophisticated and bright flowers of this variety are considered very decorative - they are planted in flowerpots, pots, flower beds and garden beds.
The height of the bushes does not exceed 40 cm, flowering begins in mid-July and ends with the onset of autumn frosts.The beauty of this variety is difficult to overestimate - the flowers are shown in the photo below.
"Figaro"
Low-growing varieties of dahlias represents another variety - “Figaro”. The height of the stems of this flower is no more than 35 cm. But its inflorescences are large - up to 10 cm in diameter, and voluminous.
Dahlia can decorate the foreground of a flower bed, be combined into a composition or grown individually in pots and boxes. Blooms from July to October.
How to grow dahlias
Even a novice gardener can decorate a garden with annual dahlias - these flowers do not require special care.
Still, to make the flower bed beautiful and bright, you need to follow some rules:
- Annual varieties of dahlias are planted either by seeds or seedlings. The first option is suitable for regions with a mild climate - the seeds are sown in the holes in late April-early May, when the threat of night frosts has passed. For those areas of the country in which a warm climate sets in with the onset of summer, the seedling method of growing annuals is more suitable; moreover, they will bloom a couple of weeks earlier than those sown with seeds.
- Growing dahlia seedlings is very similar to cultivating tomatoes or bell peppers. The seeds are pre-soaked for a day, then planted in boxes or pots and covered with film. After emergence, the seedlings are grown for 7-12 days, and then planted in individual containers. Before planting in open ground, dahlia seedlings need to be hardened off - taken outside or onto the balcony.
- If the soil on the site is nutritious, there is no need to additionally fertilize the plants.Poor soils are fed with organic or complex fertilizers in the fall. During planting, you can add a handful of wood ash to each hole.
- Annual dahlias do not need to be watered often - these flowers are afraid of waterlogging, as they are susceptible to fungal infections. It is necessary to water as the soil dries out, and with the onset of autumn, stop irrigating the bushes altogether.
- For more abundant flowering, you can feed the bushes with complex fertilizers, applying them before the buds appear and after the first ones bloom.
- To have more flowers on the bushes, it is recommended to pinch the central shoot. Then side stems with additional inflorescences will begin to grow.
- Faded flowers should be cut off in a timely manner. If they are needed to collect seeds, the inflorescences are left for a couple of weeks. After this, the seeds are collected, dried and placed in paper bags.
- When autumn frosts begin, dahlia bushes can be covered with agrofibre at night - this will prolong the flowering of the crop.
A correctly selected variety and compliance with recommendations for growing annual dahlias are guaranteed to provide your flowerbed and garden with beautiful flowers, bright and unpretentious.
