Dahlia lovers can hardly wait for the first flowers of the non-hardy plants to appear. The waiting time can be shortened significantly by bringing it forward. How to properly prefer georgines.

Early dahlias are not planted out until mid/end of May

Get dahlias to flower earlier by pulling them ahead

Dahlias are not hardy. As soon as the tender shoots get frost, they die. You should therefore only plant dahlias outdoors when no more frosts are to be expected. You should not put the tubers in the ground before the end of April.

However, it then takes a few weeks for the young shoots to cross the ground and reach the surface.

By bringing them forward, you save yourself the wait for the first flowers, because the tubers can develop their first shoots in pots, tubs or the cold frame protected from frost.

Preferred as protection against snails

Not only garden fans love dahlias, snails also like to eat the colorful summer flowers. By preferring, you protect the delicate dahlia shoots from falling victim to the pests.

Older sprouts of dahlias have a bitter taste that snails don't like. Pre-grown plants leave the snails alone.

Suitable places for growing georgines

The place to grow dahlias needs to be warm, airy and bright. Suitable places are:

  • Window sill, preferably east or west
  • conservatory
  • cold frame

When pre-growing in the cold frame, make sure that the soil is no longer too cold and is nice and loose. During the day you can open the cover of the bed, at night you have to put it back on again and again.

How to Prep Dahlias

To drive on the window sill or in the conservatory you need pots or buckets that are deep enough. The larger the dahlia bulbs, the deeper the planter needs to be.

Place a shard of pottery over the drain hole and fill the pots with nutritious garden soil.

The tubers are placed so deep in the pots that they are covered by a layer of soil about three centimeters thick. Water the soil only lightly.

Care when preferring

The dahlia tubers do not need much care. You only have to water regularly when the shoots can be seen.

But make sure that no waterlogging forms. It causes the tubers to rot.

Only put outdoors after the ice saints

The georgines that have been brought forward may only be placed in a sunny spot in the garden after the ice saints in mid to late May. Before that, the danger is too great that there will be ground frost again at night, which will freeze the tender shoots.

Plant the pre-grown tubers together with the potting soil in the prepared planting hole.

tips and tricks

If you later want to care for the dahlias on the terrace or balcony, you should put them in suitable pots right away. Then you save yourself the transplanting.

Category:

Vegetable garden