Amateur Gardening – 10 July 2019

8 AMATEUR GARDENING 6 JULY 2019

Summer dahlia care

Take action all season for extended colour, says Ruth

The silky petals of dahlias bring long-lasting

summer and autumn colour to the garden

2

Add a lid and germinate

somewhere light and warm.

Remove the lid when seedlings

appear and prick these out into

individual pots when they are large

enough to handle. Harden off or

keep under cover through winter.

Light the garden

with some lanterns

I’M really excited

about this week’s free

seeds because they

are for one of the

most reliable and

exquisite shrubby

perennials I have

ever grown.

Chinese lanterns

(Physalis alkekengi)

produce creamy

white flowers in late

spring and early summer, followed

by glowing orange, lantern-like

seedcases in autumn. These slowly

rot away, becoming attractively

skeletal just in time for Hallowe’en,

before releasing their seed.

One word of warning: mature

plants will spread fast through your

borders via their robust root system.

Luckily, they grow well in containers,

too, which may be your best option.

Summer dahlia care

Deadhead

weekly for

prolonged

fl owering

Dahlia

special

1

For best results, sow thinly under

cover onto trays of fresh seed

compost that has been dampened

with fresh tap water. Cover with a

scattering of compost or vermiculite.

Pests: Slugs, snails and earwigs are

voracious dahlia pests. The first two can

be picked off during torchlight evening

forays, while earwigs can be caught in

paper-stuffed flowerpots upended on

stakes near the plant.

Feeding: Dahlias growing in borders

can be fed with either a granular general-

purpose fertiliser (monthly) or liquid feed

(fortnightly). Those in containers should

be fed weekly with a high-potassium

liquid tomato fertiliser.

Staking: Large dahlia flower heads
can be tied to stout posts to stop plants
flopping over. Smaller-flowered dahlias
can be contained inside four bamboo
canes with a ‘basket’ of twine. Dwarf
bedding dahlias won’t need staking.

Watering: Dahlias need generous

drinks in dry and hot weather. Direct

your can or hose to the base of the

plant. Ideally, soak the soil down to the

roots once a week rather than giving

smaller amounts more frequently.

You can also sow your physalis

seeds direct into raked and

dampened soil. Thin seedlings

once they are large enough.