What to Do
Episode: # 9 02/06/07
Presenter: Kim Syrus
Venture into the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, just near the Museum of Botany, and you will find a small but amazingly vibrant garden that will draw you to it like a moth to a flame.
It is the Dahlia Garden, filled with some of the most brilliant bright blooms you are ever likely to see and a place guaranteed to excite your senses.
Originating in Mexico, dahlia’s were first exported to Europe as root vegetables however their beautiful blooms soon created a different appetite. Selective breeding over the years has produced plants of all shapes and sizes.
Some of the most popular flowers include the Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Cactus Group). These blooms resemble the blooms of a cactus plant and are both large and fascinating. Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Decorative group) types have petals that are generally flat, broad, and smooth in even circular rows. Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Pompom Group) varieties are well named with rounded blooms that have uniform tubular petals all over.
Large dahlia’s need all the support they can get. A garden stake placed in the ground at planting time is all they need. Tying the plant to this stake as it grows helps keep the foliage and, importantly, the blooms from lying on the ground and spoiling.
Flowering summer to late autumn, Dahlias grow from a fleshy tuber that produces a mass of fine feeder roots along with a clump of healthy top growth. These tubers are best planted in mid to late spring.
Dahlias need well drained soil and plenty of sunshine - at least half a day, along with a regular dose of balanced fertilizer and consistent deep watering.
Slugs and snails just love Dahlias, so remember to keep the area well baited to stop them ruining the display.
If your ground gets wet and boggy in winter, it is best to lift the tuber to stop it rotting. Once the plants have died down dig it up and let the tuber dry out before storing it in a cool dry place.
If you are not sure about growing dahlias, one visit to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens is sure to change your mind. Enjoy the last remaining flowers on these sensational plants before winter sets in, take a seat under the Flame Tree and soak up their last brilliant colour burst.
Adelaide Botanical Garden
North Terrace
Adelaide, SA 5000
Australia
Phone: (61 8) 8222 9311
Fax: (61 8) 8222 9399
Presenter: Kim Syrus
Venture into the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, just near the Museum of Botany, and you will find a small but amazingly vibrant garden that will draw you to it like a moth to a flame.
It is the Dahlia Garden, filled with some of the most brilliant bright blooms you are ever likely to see and a place guaranteed to excite your senses.
Originating in Mexico, dahlia’s were first exported to Europe as root vegetables however their beautiful blooms soon created a different appetite. Selective breeding over the years has produced plants of all shapes and sizes.
Some of the most popular flowers include the Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Cactus Group). These blooms resemble the blooms of a cactus plant and are both large and fascinating. Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Decorative group) types have petals that are generally flat, broad, and smooth in even circular rows. Dahlia (Dahlia, Hybrid Cultivar, Pompom Group) varieties are well named with rounded blooms that have uniform tubular petals all over.
Large dahlia’s need all the support they can get. A garden stake placed in the ground at planting time is all they need. Tying the plant to this stake as it grows helps keep the foliage and, importantly, the blooms from lying on the ground and spoiling.
Flowering summer to late autumn, Dahlias grow from a fleshy tuber that produces a mass of fine feeder roots along with a clump of healthy top growth. These tubers are best planted in mid to late spring.
Dahlias need well drained soil and plenty of sunshine - at least half a day, along with a regular dose of balanced fertilizer and consistent deep watering.
Slugs and snails just love Dahlias, so remember to keep the area well baited to stop them ruining the display.
If your ground gets wet and boggy in winter, it is best to lift the tuber to stop it rotting. Once the plants have died down dig it up and let the tuber dry out before storing it in a cool dry place.
If you are not sure about growing dahlias, one visit to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens is sure to change your mind. Enjoy the last remaining flowers on these sensational plants before winter sets in, take a seat under the Flame Tree and soak up their last brilliant colour burst.
Adelaide Botanical Garden
North Terrace
Adelaide, SA 5000
Australia
Phone: (61 8) 8222 9311
Fax: (61 8) 8222 9399
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