Winter dahlia work
The garden room gets messy and a bit of a work out at last.
I have been hard at work on a new plan for the dahlias.
As you might know, I grow my dahlias in these buckets. Holes drilled in the bottom. And after two years they grow so huge, the pots split; I divide the tubers, replant and repeat.
For a few years now I have been cramming the buckets into the garden beds and watching them grow too leggy, and then flop over into a jungle of glorious colour.
It’s fine if the pots are small.
This was two years ago.
But this season I have decided to try something new.
The back of the potager has a narrow not very exciting border. Perfect for annoying weeds. Three grape vines, a clematis, two still-not fruiting and flowering kiwi fruit. And a fig.
So this might not work but here goes.
I have sunk the dahlias – well 21 of them – into the soil with a distance that hopefully relates to the drip feed irrigation hoses I need to install along the back here.
And to try and get ahead of the staking disaster, I have hammered in three chestnut stakes per bucket.
It looks a bit odd right now. But it’s such a relief that I’m ahead of the spring weeds and the potential mess.
If I can get the watering right, and mulch mightily, and tie the stakes with lots and lots and lots of twine, I might have a splendid cut flower border that will amaze and delight.
Winter ruminations.
17th February 2021 @ 9:24 am
The view from your garden room!
Cunning plan with the dahlias, I cross my fingers for you. Have you tried pinching them in May/June? I’ve never had the time to do it for mine. When you see the enormous growth of some of the tubers in one year you understand why the dahlia was initially cultivated for its edible roots. Some companies now even offer varieties of ‘dahlias comestibles’. That would be a way of reducing your repotting work: eat half, replant half 🙂
17th February 2021 @ 8:20 pm
I would hate to eat a really beautiful one! Well, maybe one of the yellow ones that easily reaches 1.5m every single year!