It’s showtime for dahlias, dah-ling
Get these beauties off to a f lying start now and they will dazzle till the autumn (and it doesn’t matter how you pronounce the name!)
ON A recent summer-flowering bulb expedition to a nearby garden centre, I overheard a couple on the same mission pondering the correct way to say the plant name dahlia. One was adamant this floral beauty was pronounced darl-ee-uh, while the other argued the proper pronunciation was day-lee-uh.
My instinct was to butt in and tell them I’ve always used the latter.
However, I decided to bite my tongue and research the issue later.
After browsing some online forums, I discovered there’s a North-South split on the The couple at the garden centre were split – was it darl-ee-uh or day-lee-uh? pronunciation, and even a class divide, with some suggesting posh folk are more likely to say darl-ee-uh.
Probably the best case for the name being pronounced darl-ee-uh comes from the fact that these plants were named in honour of Andreas Dahl, an 18th Century Swedish botanist. If one assumes that his surname is enunciated in exactly the same way as the author Roald Dahl, then it’s case closed.
No matter how you pronounce their name, dahlias are essential for bringing the growing season to an end with a colourful crescendo.
Rising above robust clumps of attractive foliage, fleshy stems carry a succession of achingly beautiful, daisy-like flowers from midsummer until the first frosts of autumn.
Now is the time to snap up dormant tubers ( swollen, sausageshaped structures attached to a piece of old stem) for a dazzling display this summer.
Once planted, t hese bizarrel ooking s t r uctures wil l grow quickly above ground, while tubers will multiply, ensuring plants return with a bigger, better display each year.
Those preferring to take a short cut might like to order plug plants or rooted cuttings from mail-order suppliers, or wait until ready-grown specimens are available in garden centres and nurseries.
Despite the options, I stick with tubers as they are easy, cheaper and provide gardeners with a greater choice of varieties.
Native to Mexico and parts of Central America, dahlias were cultivated by the Aztecs for their sweet, starchy tubers that were prepared, cooked and eaten like potatoes.
We’ve been growing them as garden plants in Europe since 1788, when seeds of three wild species were shipped to the Royal Botanic Garden, Madrid.
Plant breeding took off in the 19th Century, leading to the introduction of many showy varieties, including the first double- flowered types. British gardeners became obsessed with the plants, leading to their appearance at The Great Exhibition of 1851, and the founding of the National Dahlia Society in 1881.
Today, there are thought to be 57,000 different dahlias in the world, with around 2,000 available in the UK. These are split into ten groups based upon their flower: single, waterlily, decorative, coll arette, ball, pompom, cactus, semi-cactus and anemone, along with a miscellaneous group for any oddities.
Dahlias vary enormously in height, from 12 in varieties suitable for containers to towering tree dahlias that can easily reach 10ft or more in a single season. The bulk of varieties grow between 3ft- 5ft, making them perfect for the middle or back of beds and borders.
Whatever group they belong to, every dahlia is started the same way. Set individual tubers in 5 in pots and cover with a 1 in layer of compost. Place on a windowsill or inside a frost-free greenhouse, and then plant in a sunny spot when
there’s no danger of frost – usually mid to late May.
Get them off to a flying start by spreading general-purpose fertiliser granules over the soil. Water regularly throughout the growing season, especially during dry and hot weather, and, from July until September, feed every couple of weeks with a fertiliser high in potash, such as liquid tomato feed.
Dwarf dahlias are self-supporting but anything over 2ft will need shoring up to prevent stems collapsing under the weight of their flowers. A few carefully arranged pea sticks are perfect for those up to 3ft, while circular steel supports are good for taller ones. Some people use a single wooden stake for really tall varieties.
Once frost blackens foliage in autumn, cut back to 6in, lift tubers and rinse off any soil. Allow to dry, pack inside seed trays filled with dry compost and store in a frostfree place. Those with well-drained soil in mild areas can leave tubers in place, covered with a thick mulch of compost or composted bark.
Stockists include Bakker (bakker.com), Farmer Gracy (farmergracy.co.uk) and Harts Nursery (hartsnursery.co.uk).