Pompon dahlias: description of the species, planting and care features

Dahlias are bright and beautiful flowers, they can often be found both in private houses and in summer cottages. Plants are often used to decorate flower beds on city streets. Pompom dahlias look very impressive, have a spherical shape and are presented in a wide variety of colors.

There are a lot of types of pompom dahlias. They are easy to distinguish from other flowers, because each petal is rolled into a thin tube along its entire length. The colors can be varied, however, all flowers do not have a blue tint. Gardeners can grow white, yellow, red, burgundy, pink and crimson flowers.

The height of the bush depends on the variety and can be different. The stem is surrounded by oval leaves that react sharply to cold. When the temperature drops to +3 degrees, the greens begin to turn black, which means it's time to dig up the bush and send it for storage.

There are no particular difficulties in growing pompom dahlias, even a beginner can handle this business. Flowers are planted in the spring, and in the fall, humus is poured into the chosen place. Before planting, you need to dig up the ground and level it with a rake.

The seeds ripen mainly in the fall, when the rains begin to fall, so they must be thoroughly dried. For this, the material is laid out on paper and left in a warm room for a couple of weeks. The best storage capacity will be paper bags, polyethylene will not work.

The easiest option is to buy ready-made soil in a store for summer residents. The soil is suitable for ficuses and decorative deciduous plants. You can make the composition yourself, this will require sand, compost and sod land. All components are mixed in equal proportions and must be disinfected.

To disinfect the soil, you can use 2 options. The first involves placing in a freezer for 24 hours. The second is calcining for 2 hours in an oven at a high temperature. The prepared soil is placed in a container with drainage holes, and then watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Further, small grooves are made in it, where the seeds are placed.

To be sure of the quality of the planting material, it is recommended to purchase it at special retail outlets. The seeds laid out in grooves are lightly (maximum 1 centimeter) sprinkled with soil. Next, you need to moisten the soil, a fine spray can be used to avoid damaging the fit. The water should be warm enough. After that, the container is covered with glass, it helps to create a humid climate inside, which is necessary for the germination of seeds.

Indoor temperature should be around 25 degrees... It is also necessary to provide the seeds with daily ventilation.

As soon as shoots appear, the glass is removed, and the container itself is installed in a bright place, however, not in direct sunlight. The lack of light can provoke the stretching of seedlings, therefore, it will be necessary to install lamps for backlighting.

A pick is carried out during the period when 2 leaves appear on the seedlings. For a day, the soil must be moistened. The sprouts are placed in separate containers with drainage holes, usually plastic cups are used for this. Further, the seedlings will need to be watered in time and turned to the sun in different directions. Before planting in a permanent place sprouts are hardened, for this, during the week they are taken out into the street in a shaded place, at first from 2 hours, gradually leaving more and more, at the end for the whole night.

The pompom dahlia does not tolerate excessive moisture well, therefore it is better not to get carried away with watering. At first, the procedure is carried out weekly, but as the flowers grow older, they can be watered exclusively as needed. It will be useful to mulch the soil.

Top dressing with nitrogen content should be done at the beginning of the growing season.... This will help the bush develop and grow greenery. You cannot use such fertilizers when forming buds, they will not benefit the flowers. At this time, it is better to add phosphorus-potassium feeding... Pruning of the main shoot is carried out to increase the amount of greenery and splendor of the bushes. It also provides abundant flowering.

As for harmful insects, dahlias can infect aphids, whiteflies, scoops, chrysanthemum nematodes. To combat them, it is recommended to use special drugs, such as "Confidor", "Aktara" or "Aktellik".

There are many varieties of dahlias, but there are those that summer residents prefer to purchase for their plots. The marking on the seed bag "Color Mix" indicates that the resulting flowers will have a wide variety of colors.... Let's consider the most popular types in more detail.

This species is a tall bushes up to 115 centimeters, with large (up to 7 centimeters in diameter) flowers. "Terry ball" has strong stems that allows you to use cut flowers.

Despite the name, this variety is represented by dahlias with yellow flowers. Plants are great for creating bouquets... Flowers tolerate drought well and do not require special maintenance.

The bush itself is small and grows only up to 50 centimeters in height. Large yellow flowers are up to 5.5 centimeters in size. This type is often used by gardeners to decorate flower beds and paths.

Large bushes up to 100 centimeters in height. They grow rather slowly, but at the same time they are very sprawling. Globular flowers are very double and can reach 6 centimeters. At the same time, one bush can please with a significant number of flowers, up to 15 pieces.

This species is represented by white flowers up to 6 centimeters in diameter. The average height of the bush is 115 centimeters. The number of buds on one plant is up to 10 pieces.

Tall bushes (about 120 centimeters) are decorated with deep pink large flowers. The flowering period begins in July and ends with the first frost.

Refers to the type of undersized pompom dahlias. Bright white flowers shower the bush in large quantities and do not fade for a very long time. It is often used as an element of site decoration.

These double dahlias can have huge flowers up to 10 centimeters in diameter. The colors are very bright and multicolored. The plant has strong stems and is great for cutting.

For information on how to store dahlias in winter, see below.