Dashing Dahlias!

Dashing Dahlias!
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dahlia is one the most popular bulbous plants grown all over the world. It is one the top five flowering plants in the world. It is considered a must in any Indian garden as well. Height in Dahlia plants varies from 30 centimetres to 2.5 metres tall with flowers up to 45 centimetres across. Flower-heads range from tiny pompom-like balls to huge spider-like flowers. Dahlias are highly suitable for the climate that exists in most parts of Uttarakhand.Grouping of Dahlias: Dahlias are now grouped into 10 or more different groups according to the characteristics of their flower-heads. They are Giant (More than 25 cm), Large (20 - 25 cm), Medium (15 - 20 cm), Small (10 - 15 cm) and Miniature (less than 10 cm). There are several classes of Dahlia-Anemone: Anemone-flowered dahlias have fully double flower heads with one or more rings of flattened ray florets surrounding a dense group of upward-pointing, tubular florets that are longer than the disc florets of single-flowered dahlias.Semi Cactus and Cactus: Semi-cactus dahlias have fully double flower heads with pointed ray florets that are broader at their base than those of the cactus dahlia. They are re-curved for about one half their length toward the petal tips and are either straight or curl towards the centre. Cactus dahlias have fully double flower heads with long, pointed, narrow ray florets that are re-curved for over half their length. They are either straight or curl toward the centre of the blossom.Decorative: (Small, Medium, Large and Giant Decorative cultivars). Decorative dahlias have fully double flower-heads without a central disc. Ray florets are generally broad, flat or slightly incurved at their margins with blunt points. Sometimes they may be slightly twisted.Pompom: Ball and Pompom dahlias are similar. Ball dahlias have fully double, ball-shaped flower-heads with spirally Arranged ray florets incurved for more than half their length, and blunt or rounded at their tips. Pompom dahlias have a more spherical flower head with florets incurved for their whole length. Flower heads do not exceed 52 centimetres across.Collarette: Collerette dahlias have flower-heads with a yellow disc in the centre, an outer, single row of usually flat ray-florets (these may or may not overlap) and surrounding the central disc is an inner ring of shorter florets (the collar).But it is the Decorative, Cactus and Pompom which are most commonly grown in the home gardens, though it is common to see Collarette Dahlia, too, in Mussoorie and Nainital Gardens as a wild flower during the summers. Dahlias are highly suitable as cut flowers, as pot flowering plants and are also used as annual border plants.GROWING DAHLIASDahlias are tuberous-rooted plants. They may be grown in garden beds or in the containers. They may be planted as dormant or just-sprouting tubers or as rooted cuttings taken from tubers or the growing tips of the stem. Plants in leaf are preferable to tubers because they are often more vigorous. Tubers are usually planted in the hills and should be planted directly into the flower bed or border in April. Tubers may also be planted in Dehradun in March. For the home gardeners, it is better to plant rooted cuttings available in September from the nurseries. Soil and Location: The site should be in full sun for best results. However, they can also be planted in places which are partly sunny. Dahlias should be grown in a fertile, humus-rich (with lots of cattle dung manure or leaf mould) and well-drained soil. For the pots, a good soil mix would be two parts of good garden soil, one part of leaf mould or coco peat, one part of coarse sand and one part of well rotted cattle dung manure. To this mix add powdered Neem cake @ 25 gm per pot and half tea spoon of soil Agromin (a mixture of Micro- nutrients) or Multiplex. Dahlias do not like dry soil, so it should never be allowed to dry out completely. Pot grown dahlias should be planted carefully. Avoid disturbing the root ball and firm gently, leaving a small depression at the base of the stem. Water thoroughly immediately after. Plants that will reach a height of 1.2 to 1.5 metres are best planted 2 to 3 ft apart, while those growing to 90 to 120 centimetres are best positioned about 2 ft apart. Feeding: Dahlias are heavy feeders, and if flowers of superior quality are desired, the plants must be given a well-balanced supply of nutrients throughout the season. Top dressing the soil with leaf-mould or well rotted cattle dung manure will be beneficial. One part of Urea, two parts of Single Super Phosphate, one and half part of Muriate of Potash and a quarter part of Soil Agromin or multiplex mixed with two parts of powdered Neem Cake and one part of Sterilised Bone Meal is good Dahlia Mixture. This mixture can be fed @ one to two table spoons per plant as per the size of the plant. Alternatively, one can feed them with compound fertiliser mix like Poly Feed (Nagarjuna Fertilisers) or Nitrophoska (BASF) @ one to two tea spoons per plant. Newly planted cuttings should not be fed with this mixture till they establish themselves. Staking and General Care: Bedding dahlias requires no staking or disbudding; however, to encourage bushiness pinch out the grown tip, and remove dead and faded flowers. Tall growing Dahlias require staking. Stakes or canes can be inserted at planting time or when needed. Remove the growing tip when about 35 to 45 centimetres tall to encourage branching. If really large blooms are wanted, all but three to six flowering stems should be kept. To achieve high-quality flower-heads, remove the two pairs of buds developing in the leaf axils below the terminal bud. Remove the flowers as they fade.Propagation: Propagation is from seeds, tubers and cuttings. The terminal cuttings are taken from the stems or basal shoots of the plant in August and September and inserted into pots having coarse sand and peat after removing the lower leaves and dipping the cut end into a rooting hormone. Once they develop roots, they can be transplanted. Cover the cuttings with moist coco-peat and place in a location that receives morning sun. When shoots have grown to about 7 centimetres in height, they can be removed with a sharp knife cutting just below the lowest pair of recognizable leaves. Insert each singly in pots containing equal parts potting mix and coarse sand. Application of a rooting hormone will aid in root development. Rooting occurs best in a warm, humid area, and if cuttings are taken early plants should flower the first year.Pests: Dahlias are susceptible to aphids, red spider mites, some caterpillars and slugs. They can be subject to attack by powdery mildew, mosaic virus, tomato spotted wilt virus and to rotting of their tubers in storage. Spray Rogor and Malathion @ 2 ml each / per litre water to get rid of most pests. For Fungal problems, spray Mancozeb (Dithane M-45) @ 3gm/litre of water.SOME POPULAR CULTIVARS: Kenya Yellow, Kenya White, Kenya, White Nobby’s Light, Swami Vivekananda, Bhikku’s Vivekanand, Kelvin, Kelvin Red (all Giant Decorative), Prime Minister, Tenzing Norgay, Mangal Pandey, Black Out, Black Out Sports, Zail Singh, Bhikku’s Mother, Bhikku (Large and Medium Decorative), Hit Parade, My Love, Sonia, Ludwig Helfert (Cactus), Blush Willow, Night Willow, Yellow Gem, Natal and Anupam (Pompom).