fall flowers

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dahlia profile

What flower gardener doesn’t want to boast a blossom bigger than his head? Dinner plate dahlias are the anomalies everyone wants to talk about, but this genus has so much more to offer.

Latin Name:

Genus Dahlia, Family Asteraceae

Common Name:

Dahlia

Zone:

Annual, except in zones 10 and 11

Size:

12 inches to 4 feet

Exposure:

Full sun

Bloom Period:

Mid summer to first frost

The American Dahlia Society describes 20 classifications of dahlias, but you don’t need to familiarize yourself with all of them unless you plan to start showing flowers. Some of the more common varieties you’ll see at your garden store include cactus, pompon, and water lily. Many flower gardeners want the fully double flowers of cactus and dinner plate types, or the charming pompon spheres. You can also choose from single varieties that resemble the shape of a daisy and don’t need staking.

There’s no magic soil formula for growing good dahlias. They thrive in similar conditions to a healthy vegetable garden plot. In fact, a row of dahlias makes a nice disguise for a front yard vegetable garden.

Provide your dahlias with: Soil that drains wellPlenty of humusA pH of 6.5

Plant dahlias when all danger of frost is past. Dig a 12-inch hole, and add about ? cup of bone meal to the planting hole. If your dahlia variety needs staking, you can insert the stake at planting time to avoid injuring the tuber.

Keep your dahlias blooming from June until frost : Fertilize every two weeks with a high phosphorus, 10-30-20 fertilizer.Control pests and diseases like slugs and mildew.Keep soil evenly moist.Stake new growth as needed.

Don’t expect to plant one dinner plate dahlia variety and cultivate a plant smothered in 10 inch blossoms. Most jumbo flowers are the result of pinching off all but one flower, resulting in a show-quality blossom.

At the end of the growing season, you can dig and store your dahlia tubers, or let them perish if you wish to buy new tubers the following season.

With tens of thousands of varieties to choose from, how can we mere mortals choose the perfect specimen for our gardens? The American Dahlia Society eases our burden by publishing a list of the “Fabulous Fifty,” a selection of varieties that have won at least 50 blue awards that year.

Here’s a sampler to get you started:

April Dawn: Large lavender and white flowers Bodacious: A dinner plate type with sunset colors Jessie G: Purple ball variety Mary Jo: Coral, semi-cactus type Shea’s Rainbow: Variegated pink and yellow cactus

Autumn Wedding Cake Flowers – Sunflowers and Roses

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American Begonia Society

Herbert P. Dyckman of Long Beach, California started the California Begonia Society with a group of enthusiasts. By 1934, the organization had garnered national interest and changed its name to the American Begonia Society. Today, the ABS has 54 regional membership branches in the United States and hundreds of at-large members worldwide.

Although there are large pockets of members on the east and west coasts of the United States, the American Begonia Society counts half of its members as not affiliated with any branch. The organization keeps members apprised of new cultivars, and shares growing tips through The Begonian, regional meetings, and horticultural correspondents.

Conservation is an important aspect of begonia appreciation, and the society furthers this effort through its support of species banks, seed swaps, adopt-a-species projects, and collecting trips. Members can choose between annual, sustaining, benefactor, and life membership levels.

Begonia ‘Torch Pink’

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