30 April 2025
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These glossy gaudy heroes will bring colour until the autumn
Dahlias and canna lilies give us some of the most spectacular and long - lasting colour that brightens our gardens from recent summer right through until well into the autumn . If , like me , you brought yours undercover for the winter and restarted them into growth a few week ago , they should be produce well with plenty of new shoots .
In warmer , more sheltered areas of the UK you may take up thinking about moving them outdoors now , but in more northerly or exposed gardens it is safer to wait until the menace of late frosts has return . Canna lilies and dahlias both do good in a sunny , sheltered fleck with enriched , free - drain soil . curb whether you have large or midget varieties and position them towards the back or front of borders consequently .
Both will also grow well in terrace container , but make certain you feed them regularly – canna in finicky are less likely to flower if they go hungry . Dahlias also need protection from pest including sometimes earwigs , which although useful as vulture elsewhere in the garden , seem to like hiding in leaves and petals .
I wish to take thinning from Dahlia pinnata shoots , bring down a few from each parent works and pot them up in seed compost that has been mixed with vermiculite or grit .
Seal the heap in a bag and keep the compost moist , not mucky , and new plants will soon grow .
raw ways to protect plant
Beer traps will protect against slugs and snails
1 . kick upstairs the basket on a raft so it ’s easy to run with and cautiously cut through the lining for trailing flowers .
2 . lend some compost , then wrap the roots of drop back plants in a dish or cohere flick and slip them through the cut gob .
3 . Remove the cling film / bag and spread over the roots with compost before adding your cardinal plant – I used a fuchsia .
Beer traps will protect against slugs and snails
4 . Add the residue of the top plant around the boundary . Do n’t worry about col , they will fill as the works grow .
5 . Add a lilliputian more compost between the industrial plant if needed and gently firm it down to throw the plants in place .
6 . Water well and hang your handbasket in a sunny sheltered spotlight . Feed and water system regularly as house eaves may block rainfall .
