10:29am Saturday 31st October 2009
By Gina Parkinson
EARLIER this month I talked about our slow dahlias and the hope that a new one, Dahlia Twynings After Eight, would open at least a couple of the buds that at last began to swell.
Ten days or so ago, a flower did appear and it has been followed by a handful more. The plant is still petite, not the tall, blossom-covered mound we had expected, but the beautifully simple white flower has been worth the wait.
Snowy petals surround a warm yellow centre, the pale flower accentuated by dark foliage. Should the mild weather continue, we will see more opening from the shiny, tight buds that are belatedly beginning to form.
Dahlias are half-hardy and in mild areas can be treated as perennials by leaving them in the ground throughout the year. In colder areas, or where the soil gets wet and heavy in winter, it is best to lift them once the stems and leaves have been blackened by frost.
Our dahlias have survived in the garden for several years, but the very cold February we had this year killed a few off. This winter, I will lift those that remain, together with the new ones planted this spring.
Before lifting a dahlia, the top growth needs to be cut back to just above ground level. Then the tubers are removed from loosened soil using a garden fork. Care needs to be taken because it is easy to damage the tuber by digging too near.
Leave plenty of space, especially if the plant is large and hasn’t been lifted for a few years.
Once the tuber is lifted, all the soil needs to be removed. It can be washed off, but I prefer to keep the tuber as dry as possible and remove as much earth as I can beforehand. The tubers are then left upside down to dry out for about three weeks in a cool dry room, shed or garage. After this, any remaining soil should be brushed off and the tubers stored in trays of vermiculite for the winter.
They can be misted occasionally to stop them becoming too dry and the tubers can be dusted with fungicide if wanted before storing.
Once February arrives, the tubers can be potted up into large individual pots of compost and watered to start them off into growth. At this early stage they will need to be kept indoors, but a timely start will produce strong bushy plants ready to be planted out in a sunny, well-drained site in May or June. It will also provide plenty of cutting material by April. Dahlias strike quite easily from early spring cuttings and should produce flowering sized plants by late summer.
*Clematis HF Young is also new to our garden. This popular climber can be found in many nurseries and garden centres. The plant is the holder of the Royal Horticultural Society’s award of garden merit, which indicates it has been rigorously tested in all aspects of growth and has been found to perform consistently well around the country.
This clematis is a compact variety, making it useful in a garden where space is tight. It is free flowering, producing a large crop of wedgewood blue flowers with cream anthers in late spring and early summer, with a second crop in late summer and early autumn. Even our baby plant managed to produce several flowers in June and one precious singleton this month. One flower would be a disappointment at the height of summer, but at the end of the year it has been endlessly admired.
No pruning needs to be done on this clematis at this time of year. The stems can be left intact until early spring, when they should be cut back by to just above a strong pair of buds.
Any dead or weak wood can be removed at the same time. What remains of the stems should then be tied evenly to their support; new growth can be used to fill any gaps. A handful of slow release fertiliser sprinkled around the base of the plant and watered in should give it a good start to the season.
Gardening TV and radio
Tomorrow.
8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.
9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther with Joe Maiden.
2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Matthew Biggs, Bob Flowerdew and Pippa Greenwood are in Kent where they are guests of the Weald Horticultural Society in Sevenoaks. Bob also explores Kent’s vineyards where he discovers the best grape varieties for wine making.
Friday.
3pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chairman Eric Robson is with John Cushnie, Chris Beardshaw and Anne Swithinbank in Cornwall where they help members of Linkinhorne Horticultural Society with their gardening problems; Chris Beardshaw meets a man who is building up a collection of Cornish apples.
10pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Joe Swift returns to Birmingham for an update on the garden of Mark Amphlatt and Suzanne Raynor he helped to design.
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