How to care for a dwarf dahlia?

One of the plants that brightens any corner of a home, without a doubt, is the dwarf dahlia. It doesn't take up much space and it blooms for quite a long season, so you can enjoy its flowers for a long time.

But How should you take care of it so that it is always healthy? What do you have to pay attention to? We leave you here a dwarf dahlia care guide so you don't have any problems with it. Keep reading and you will see.

dwarf dahlia care

Whether you received a dwarf dahlia as a gift, you bought it yourself, or you saw it and are thinking of buying it, here you will find a guide with everything this plant needs to satisfy its needs.

Lighting design

Usually, the best location for a dwarf dahlia is none other than a place where it has enough light. It does not tolerate the sun very well, but if it hits it in the morning or in the afternoon it is not bad, quite the opposite.

If you are going to put it outside, we recommend that it be in semi-shade so that the hours of intense sun do not affect it.

In case you want it indoors, it is better to place it near a window so that it has a lot of light. If the sun gets too much, you can place a curtain to act as a filter and not burn the leaves or damage the plant itself.

Temperature

The ideal temperature for a dwarf dahlia is between 18 degrees minimum and 24ºC maximum.

The cold does not tolerate it well at all, even less frost. Therefore, it should be protected if you have it in the garden. As for the heat, it is best that it does not exceed that temperature, but it is able to tolerate it much better than the cold.

Substratum

The soil of the dwarf dahlia must be very loose. You need to have one Very nutrient-rich soil mixture, such as peat, mixed with drainage, such as perlite.

In this way, you will be creating a rich soil but without it caking. The roots of the plant will thank you.

And you should also take it into account because it is recommended that, As the plant grows, you will have to add substrate. You need to leave only 2 centimeters between the edge of the pot and the substrate always.

If you see that the roots start to stick out of the drainage holes, you will have to transplant it. It is better to give it enough space in the pot, so we do not recommend that you place it in one where it is very tight.

Sometime you will need to include a stake to support the stem of the plant and that it does not break or bend under the weight of the leaves and flowers.

Irrigation

Dahlias must be watered very often, because they need water. In general, you will need to water them two to three times a week in summer. While in winter you can water it once or twice a week (or every two weeks if there is a lot of humidity).

Of course, when watering it is important that do not splash on flowers or leaves because, if it does, you could cause diseases.

Nor is it good to go overboard with watering, or for it to remain stagnant, because you will only get the roots to rot (and in a short time it could die).

Along with irrigation, another important dwarf dahlia care is humidity. In its natural habitat it has an environmental humidity of at least 75%. Therefore, wherever you have it, try to make it very wet. Not being able to add water to the leaves and flowers, this limits you a lot when it comes to spraying it, so the only way to give it more humidity could be through a humidifier that keeps this value high.

Fertilizer

The dwarf dahlia needs almost constant fertilizer. Apply it every 15 days, always with irrigation water. Why so much? Because the flowering of this plant spends a lot of energy from the plant, and since it also maintains it for a long time, this means that you need to replenish nutrients more often than with other plants.

During the winter you do not need to fertilize it, because it can go into hibernation, although if the temperature is warm or warm, once a month or every two months would not be a bad idea, as maintenance.

Pruning

Despite being dwarf, the dahlia is going to need a good pruning from time to time. In general, you will always have to focus on the parts that have withered to remove them as soon as possible from the plant.

In addition to making it look ugly, it can be a source of diseases or attract pests that you don't want to have on your plant.

Plagues and diseases

Most dwarf dahlias, like dahlias, have problems when subjected to high temperatures, high or low humidity, and watering (under or over watering). One of the main diseases that can kill the plant is rot from the root, especially in summer.

Other problems The ones you will face are:

• powdery mildew, u powdery mildew, which appears with high temperatures and high humidity.
• Gray fungus, or brotitis, which will appear on the flowers, rotting them.
• Mosaic disease.
• wilting…

As for pests, red spider mites and spider mites are the most likely to attack dwarf dahlias. In severe cases, it could cause its growth to slow down and drop its leaves and flowers.

Reproduction

Finally, we are going to talk to you about the multiplication of the dwarf dahlia. This can be done in two different ways:

• On one hand, through seeds that can be collected from flowers and plant them the following spring. Of course, they will take a while to grow and flourish.
• By division of tubers. The best thing is that you do it when you have to transplant it, which will be when you remove almost all the soil it has to fill it with new substrate. If at that time you see new tubers, you can divide them and plant them separately. At first they will stop but after a while they will activate and grow just like their mother plant.

Note that dahlias grow from bulbs, and the plant withers in late autumn. There are some that leave the bulb inside the pot and protect the soil from frost or cold temperatures so that it can reappear in spring. However, others believe that it is better to remove it and store it in a dry and dark space to plant it again in spring.

Both options are good, but you should know that this can only be done for a few years (it doesn't last forever).

Do you have any questions about how to care for a dwarf dahlia?