It’s time to plant out dahlias
Once you’re sure there’s no more chance of frost, get your dahlias onto the plot
By the end of May, in most parts of the country you should be safe to plant your dahlias out into their flowering positions. I always plant out after the last full moon. Very often this is the last time Jack Frost is likely to pay us a visit.
Here’s a small list of things you should do before planting out:
Make sure the ground has been dug over and add any soil improver if needed.
Remember, the best plants are those that are soft in the stem and growing steadily. If your cuttings have been in a 7.5cm (3in) pot for the past two or three weeks then they’ll need to be potted up into a 12cm (5in) pot for their last few weeks before planting out. Use compost with reasonable soil content.
Move your plants outside a week before planting to acclimatise them.
Add a good base fertiliser to the planting areas two or three weeks prior to planting. I’ll
be using Fast Grow chicken manure and seaweed plant pellets this year. I feel it’s a great combination of all that plants love.
Mark out the plant spacings with a 1.2m (4ft) bamboo cane, which becomes the first support when planted. This’ll give you a chance to make sure you’ve enough plants or if you need to source more.
Apply slug pellets sparingly to and around the planting areas to get rid of those munchers, before your plants are planted.