Picking and supporting dahlias

Picking and Supporting Dahlias

I always grow a mix of single and double dahlias in the cutting patch. The single dahlias are great for pollinators, while the doubles look beautiful in a vase and tend to have a longer vase life because of their more complex structure.

When you're picking your dahlias, or indeed any cut flower, remember to pick above a pair of leaves so that you remove apical dominance and the axillary buds below will get the chance to grow and form new flowers.

One thing it's important to do, especially in a wet summer, is remove any fallen petals from the foliage below. Otherwise, these fallen petals will attract rot and damage your dahlia plants.

The Hazel Nest Supporting the Dahlia

The hazel nest we built is still supporting the dahlia and helping to keep it straight, even though the plant has doubled in size. If you don't have any hazel locally, you can also buy metal hoops to support your plants, which can then be used year after year.

These need to sit at around 50% of the fully grown plant, so a little higher than your hazel nest would be.

As long as you support your dahlias somehow, you should be able to go on picking them until the end of November and potentially until Christmas time in the south of England.

Picking Dahlias

As you pick your dahlias, remove any foliage that will be below the water level of the vase and put your stems straight into a bucket of water in a shady spot.

Once you have taken your dahlias indoors, sear them in hot water and then put them straight back into cold water.

Ideally, you then want to leave your dahlias to rest overnight before arranging them.

Another thing to consider when picking your dahlias is whether you need a long stem or not. If you don't, then leave some of the stem on the plant, otherwise you will be wasting the axillary buds that this stem could form.