Content
- Dahlia onions or tubers?
- The difference between tubers and onions
- Dahlia tubers can be shared
- Dahlias are late bloomers
- Dahlias need an initial fertilization
- Overwinter dahlia onions
- Tips & Tricks
Dahlias are not pulled from onions but from tubers
Dahlia onions or tubers?
The tubers of dahlias are often referred to as dahlia onions. Factually, that's not quite true. The storage organs of the Georgines, as the Dahlia is also called, are thickened roots, which are called in the jargon tubers.
The difference between tubers and onions
Tubers, unlike onions, do not consist of several layers. Dahlia shoots grow from the neck of the root tubers, in different places, while onions have only one shoot in the middle.
Dahlia tubers form during the summer many new small root thickening, so tubers.
Dahlia tubers can be shared
You can not divide an onion plant. It multiplies by seeds or especially by small daughter bulbs that grow next to the mother plant. On the bulbs, unlike the tubers, no vegetation points are visible.
Dahlias multiply by simply cutting through the tuber. As long as at least one eye remains on the section, a new plant grows out of it. The vegetation points are easy to see on the tubers.
Dahlias are late bloomers
Most bulbous plants bloom early in the year. This is the case, for example, with tulips or daffodils, but also with gladioli.
Tuber plants such as the Georgines begin to flower later. By driving in the house, the flowering time can be preferred.
Dahlias need an initial fertilization
Onion plants multiply, even if the soil is less nutritious. The formation of new onions can not be stimulated by fertilizer. Onion plants are therefore fertilized later.
The development of dahlia tubers can help you if you put the Georgines into nutritious, fertilized soil right from the start.
Overwinter dahlia onions
Dahlias are generally not hardy, unlike onion plants. After the first frost, you should dig up the tubers and overwinter in the house. There are various possiblities for that:
It is best to overwinter the tubers at a maximum of ten degrees in a dry place.
Tips & Tricks
Voleurs love dahlia onions or better-tubers a lot. If you have many of these pests in the garden, better plant the dahlias in a wire mesh. That must be however quite large, since the tubers increase in the summer strongly at circumference.