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Dahlias - Location and Soil Requirements: Although Dahlias may be grown in almost any garden soil, to produce the best blooms, these factors should be considered: a good vigorous stock, varieties which produce high quality blooms, location of the growing area, proper planting, cultivation, spraying, fertilization, and disbudding. Dahlias require an abundance of light and sun, and should never planted under thick shade trees, since they will become leggy and produce inferior flowers. They will also be competing with the tree roots for available water and nutrients. The Ideal Soil: Dahlias prefer a fibrous clay loam, but they can be grown in sandy or poorer quality soil. The preparation of the soil is very important. It should be well-drained and porous. The soil can be improved by adding well-rotted manure or composted material. The beds should be dug-over in the autumn and left in heavy clumps so that the winter frost will give a fine-textured soil. Before planting in the spring, a well-balanced fertilizer, such as 10-10-10 can be incorporated into the beds, volume close to 4oz to the sq. yard. The garden is a good place to use all your leaves and other suitable garden plant material. For best assimilation by the soil, this material should be shredded. The lawn mower or garden tractor does a fine job on leaves, using multiple passes to reduce the volume. |
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Send mail to
mg.thompson@sympatico.ca with
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