It’s tuber time in the garden
Spring is no more than a date on the calendar, but already it’s
time to think about summer. The summer bulbs such as dahlias,
gladioluses, cannas and callas should be planted now for bloom
through summer and fall.
It’s tuber time in the garden
Spring is no more than a date on the calendar, but already it’s time to think about summer. The summer bulbs such as dahlias, gladioluses, cannas and callas should be planted now for bloom through summer and fall.
Chief among these for star-quality flowers are dahlias. These trendy tubers splash tropical color across the garden from mid-summer through the first frost of fall. Once a favorite of Victorian gardeners, these drama queens from south of the border are back in favor with a vengeance.
How can you miss? The tubers are easy to plant either in the ground or in containers. They come into flower in July and serve as color anchor in the garden in late summer and fall when other flowers fail during the hottest part of the year. Dahlias can not only take the heat but they thrive in fall. And, in our region, dahlia tubers left in the ground will come back next year and beyond.
What makes dahlias so special is their amazing range of size and flower forms. The flower types range from mini to maxi, in shapes that recall daisies, cactus, pompons, water lilies, buttons, zinnias and more. Dahlias offer a diversity of shapes, sizes and colors second only to tulips. Official registries list thousands of named varieties in all colors under the sun except true blue and black.
What to do: Plant dahlia tubers as you would tulips. They require full sun, but will bloom in partial shade as well. Dig a hole 6 inches deep. Place the tuber horizontally in the hole. Often the tuber appears as a cluster, with obvious roots, so there is no guesswork as to what is up and what is down to the tuber. Cover the tuber with soil, water lightly to settle it in. You can plant one tuber or a dozen – a grouping of three to five tubers makes a terrific show.
Large plants need to be staked, particularly the dinner-plate varieties because the flowers make the plant top heavy.
After tulips, dahlias are the top bulb/tuber produced in the Netherlands. Based on acreage under cultivation in Holland, the most popular dahlia color is red, followed by pink/salmon, yellow, white, orange/apricot, lilac/purple and purple/violet.
You will find dahlia tubers widely available at garden centers, pre-packaged and priced from $3.99 and up, depending on the variety, shape and color of the tuber. Hardest to find are the big blooming dinner-plate dahlias. Check www.dahlias.com, which is the Web site of Swan Island Dahlias, the largest dahlia grower in the United States. More than 350 different dahlias are offered through their website.
A Reader Wants to Know: I have an old packet of sweet pea seeds dated from 2003. Are they any good now?
Joan Says: As each year passes, old seeds lose more of their germination power. The general rule is that seeds remain viable – meaning they will sprout and grow – for one to three years. Big seeds such as beans and melons tend to remain viable longer than tiny seeds.
Seed packets are plainly marked with the date. The most current seeds state: Packed for 2007. Why waste time and energy on old seeds when you can buy fresh, new seeds for a couple of dollars?
In the case of your sweet pea seeds, go ahead and sow them, but don’t expect much if anything to result. Buy a new packet of sweet pea seeds and sow with the oldies. Regardless of what you eventually get, let some sweet pea flowers set seed as the flowering season winds down. Harvest those and save them for next year’s garden.
