Dahlia Star Wars
dahlia tuber
- Position: full sun
- Soil: fertile, humus-rich soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: July to September
- Flower colour: pinkish orange with a golden yellow centre
- Other features: excellent cut-flowers, bronze foliage
- Hardiness: half hardy (will need winter protection)
A compact dahlia with bronze-flushed foliage and dazzling, yellow-centred, pinkish-orange blooms, which not only look colourful, but are ideal for encouraging bees and other pollinating insects into the garden. They are particularly well-suited for pots and containers, where they will provide lashings of colour over a long period from midsummer. The flowers will also last well if cut and added to a vase. - Garden care: Dahlia tubers can be planted outside after frost, or started off in pots under glass in late winter to early spring. Plant them horizontally approximately 12cm deep, making sure the ‘eyes’ are uppermost. Allow enough room between each tuber so the plants can grow and spread to their full size without being over-crowded. While in growth, provide a high-nitrogen liquid feed each week in June, then a high-potash fertiliser each week from July to September. Stake with canes or brushwood if it becomes necessary. In mild areas, leave them in situ over winter, but protect the crown with a generous layer of dry mulch. In colder areas, carefully lift and clean the tubers once the first frosts have blackened the foliage and allow them to dry naturally indoors. Then place the dry tubers in a shallow tray, just covered with slightly moist potting compost, sand or vermiculite and store in a frost-free place until planting out again.
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9cm pot
within 2-3 days excludes weekends
Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea'
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Cottage garden
The traditional cottage garden was an intensive, yet carefree mixture of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers all crowded into a tiny space. Today, this informal charm can be recreated using modern varieties that largely take care of themselves around an...
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Deadheading will prevent them setting seed and so use their energy producing a further flush of blooms later on. Plants that respond well to deadheading include annuals such as Ageratum, Alyssum, Antirrhinum, Calendula, Centaurea, Cosmos, Dahlia, foxglove, Californian poppy, sweet...
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