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Dahlia Care 101

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Location

  • You may be planting in an existing garden or flower bed.

  • The soil needs to be well drained. The area needs to receive at least 6 hours of sun.

  • If your soil has a lot of clay and is not well drained, you will need to add compost and work that into the soil at least 6 inches deep.

  • You plant dahlias 4 to 6 inches. The dahlia is going to make tubers, so the soil needs to be loose and not compacted.

Soil Tests

  • Dahlias like a pH of 6.7 or 6.8.

  • You can take soil samples and send them to the NC Dept of Agriculture soil testing department. It is free from April through October.

  • The NC Dept of Agriculture website explains how to take a soil test. It also explains how to read a soil test report.

  • The phosphorus and potassium in fertilizers can build up in your soil to the point that the dahlias cannot absorb the necessary nutrients they need so soil tests are important.

  • It is good to take a soil test every 2 years or so.

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Tuber Identification

  • It is important to understand what is a dahlia tuber.

  • A dahlia tuber has a body, a neck, and a crown. The crown is where the eyes are going to form.

  • Do not keep any tubers with broken necks as they are not viable anymore. Food is stored in the body of the tuber. Once the neck is broken, the body cannot feed the top of the tuber where the crown is located, and eyes form to begin new dahlia growth.

Post Frost

  • Once the threat of frost has passed, you can begin planting your dahlia tubers at 4” to 6” deep.

  • You can space the plants around 18” to 24” apart.

  • A good time to plant dahlias is in May. Your soil temperature should be around 60 degrees.

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Watering & Support

  • Usually, our soil is moist from spring rains, so it is best not to water when you plant dahlia tubers. Wait until they sprout through the ground and have some growth.

  • Until the tubers form feeder roots, they can easily rot.

  • However, if your soil is very dry, you can water a little.

  • Your dahlias are growing. Remember to keep them supported.

  • You can use hortonova netting or tie them to a stake.

  • This is a picture from one of our CCDS members (Amy Coffey’s house.)

  • She uses t-posts and hortonova netting.

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Planting Dahlias

Presentation by Paula Fisher & The CCDS Group
For full presentation or to print, please download.

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