How to Plant Your Dahlia Cutting Garden
If you’re new to growing dahlias and are unsure how to plan out your bed, we’re here to help! The video above talks you through how to plant your dahlia tuber. Be sure to click Subscribe to our Dahlia Playlist on Youtube so you’ll be the first to know when we post the next video in the dahlia series. But before you plant your Dahlia Cutting Garden, let’s talk thru how to plan out where you will plant the tubers, what you can do to prep the soil and what to have on hand to give them the best support. If you’re hoping to add more dahlias to your cutting garden we have our favorite varieties available in our Shop. Click Here to see all the beauty.
How Much Space do Dahlias Need to Grow?
Dahlia plants range in size and height but almost every variety needs at least a 2 foot growing circle to bush out. We like to plant our tubers 18-20 inches a part. This allows them to fill in our garden nicely and allows space for good airflow between the plants.
How many Dahlias can I fit in my Garden Bed?
A standard 3 foot x 6 foot garden bed can hold 8 Dahlia Tubers. Below is a map on how we would space them out. If you love this map we created even more detailed garden maps and included them in our Garden Planning EBook! Click here to check out all of the goodness to help you design the garden you’re dreaming of.
Where should I plant my Dahlia tubers?
Dahlias will bloom and grow the happiest in full sun. If they do not get at least 6+ hours of sun they will grow spindly and lanky and produce less flowers. If you’re growing in a hot climate like Texas or Arizona, it’s okay if your dahlias get a bit of shade in the afternoon. Your sun is so much more intense than our Pacific Northwest Sunshine. Here in our area, our dahlias get sun from the minute it rises until it goes behind our tree line around 6pm and they need every ounce of that sunshine to grow happy. I LOVE encouraging gardeners to talk with locals who grow dahlias. Not only will you find a new friend, but you’ll learn valuable tips for your growing area. There are some basic tips that apply to everyone, everywhere, and then there are local secrets that only the folks growing in your community know! What better friends to make than garden loving, dahlia growing friends!
How Should I Prepare my Garden for Planting?
Every year we add a fresh layer of compost rich garden soil to our Dahlia Bed. Between watering and heavy rains through the winter the garden needs a boost of nutrients to replenish the soil. We like to get a truckload of soil to spread over our entire garden. If you’re working with just a few garden beds go your local greenhouse or garden supply store and purchase a few bags of Organic Raised Garden Soil or Organic Garden Soil. Plan on adding 4 inches to your entire bed.
If you’ve grown dahlias in your garden in the past and noticed that some of them had trouble with rot, we encourage you to mix in bit of sand to your garden bed to help with drainage. We have a lot of clay in our in ground garden beds and have found this to be helpful.
How do you Plant a Dahlia Tuber?
Click here for a full video tutorial on how to plant - be sure to snag a bag of BoneMeal so you have it on hand when you plant your tubers.
Dahlia tubers are really smart. Don’t stress about whether or not you have the eyes pointing up. Just be sure to plant the tuber like a hot dog in a hot dog bun and the tuber will take care of the rest!
How should I support my Dahlias?
If you’re planting dahlia tubers interspersed into your garden beds. We suggest using these Tomato Cages as the support. Put the tomato cage directly over the area as soon as you plant your dahlia tuber. Does the tuber need support yet? Nope, you won’t see any growth above the ground for several weeks. And that’s exactly why we suggest putting the cage where you planted it! It’s so easy to forget where you put the dahlia. The cage will ensure you don’t accidentally plant over it. PLUS it will help you keep an eye on it so you can protect the baby shoots with Sluggo as soon as they begin to show!
If you’re planting a full bed with dahlias. We suggest using the Flower Netting from our Dahlia Supplies list and stakes to support the plants. Click here for a video on how we use this netting.
We’ll be adding new Dahlia content to both Instagram and YouTube all throughout the growing season. We’re so glad to be gardening together. If you’re not sure if you have all the essential Dahlia Growing tools, fertilizer and more Click Here for the link to our full dahlia essentials shopping list
Click here for all of our Dahlia Tutorial Videos to help you all throughout the growing season. We’ll be diving into all of the questions from how to get dahlias to bloom more and do you actually need to dig it up at the end of the summer? There is so much fun to be had. Be sure to join our email list to get all of this fun sent straight to your inbox. We love living life seasonally and share all the goodness of each season with our email penpals. What a gift to live life alongside you.
