Sacramento Digs Gardening: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with dahlias

This red and white dahlia is perfect for Cinco de Mayo. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Mexico's national flower beloved around the world

Mexico has given gardeners many of their favorite plants, from agaves to tomatoes. What better way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than to plant Mexico’s national flower?

The dahlia doesn’t bloom until late summer, but now is prime planting time for these impressive flowers. Once they start blooming, dahlias continue flowering until frost.

Dahlia blossoms come in all sizes.

Grown from tubers, thousands of named varieties in 42 species are available, each classified by flower form and size. The most common are named for what other flowers or shapes they resemble including cactus, pompom, ball, dinner plate, anemone, peony, orchid and single.

Blooms can range from 2 inches to more than 12 inches across, and vibrant color combinations seem endless. They come in every color except true black or true blue. (“Black” dahlias are actually a very deep red.)

Dahlias can find a spot in the front of a flower border – or in the back row. Some varieties stay compact, growing under 2 feet tall, while other dahlias tower 6 feet high or more. They also can make good container plants.

A member of the aster family, dahlias originally grew wild throughout Mexico, particularly in the region around where Mexico City is today. The ancient Aztecs domesticated Dahlia pinnata (the common garden dahlia) as a food crop. The tubers are edible. But it was the flowers that caught the eye of conquistadors.

Another stunner! Plant dahlias now for late summer blooms.

Dahlias were introduced to Spain in 1798 and became a sensation with European flower lovers. A Spanish botanist named the plant after a recently deceased colleague, Swedish botanist Anders Dahl.

In Victorian times, dahlias came to represent everlasting bonds, elegance, inner strength and dignity.

Now, dahlias are treasured for their spectacular flowers, grown around the world. They rank among the most popular cut flowers and are a favorite for weddings.

And they’re easy to grow – as long as they have a sunny spot with good drainage.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

gardening Sacramento planting tubers Cinco de Mayo summer flowers dahlias flowers

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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