Have you been picking your dahlias this year? We hope so! Here are the three reasons we think you should be cutting your dahlia blooms.
Cutting Your Dahlias is Good for the Plants
Did you know that it’s good for your dahlia when you pick the blooms? Harvesting the flowers keeps your plants growing and flourishing, resulting in even more blooms throughout the season. How you cut your dahlias is important too. For the best results, make deep cuts when harvesting. Consistently deadheading or picking your dahlias with deep cuts promotes stronger, more usable stems. If you cut too short, or don’t cut at all, dahlias will become leggy, and stems will become weak & floppy. Cutting deeply also prevents “bloom-bunching” where dahlias start blooming on shorter and shorter stems. If you’re not sure if you’re cutting your dahlias properly, check out our blog post all about this timely topic.
Cutting Your Dahlias Keeps Them from Going to Seed
Every dahlia plant is growing with the “goal” of reproducing. To accomplish this, dahlias have two options: making seeds, and making tubers. If they are allowed to make seeds too early, then they think they’ve finished their job and begin to shut down for the season–slowing plant growth, tuber growth, and bloom production. The phrase “go to seed” literally means to finish up a life cycle and decline in productivity. We don’t want your dahlias to slow down yet!
If you pick your flowers and dead-head spent blooms, your dahlias have a reason to keep growing and blooming before they try to set seed and meet their “goal.” An added perk is that dahlias that aren’t allowed to set seed too early have better tuber production as they pour their energy into that option.
We recommend waiting until the end of the growing season (about 6-7 weeks before your estimated first frost) to let your dahlias go to seed. This way you get to enjoy the flowers all season long and the tubers will be well developed. It’s a win-win situation! Afraid of waiting too late to let some blooms go to seed? Check out Farmer Steve’s trick for harvesting semi-ripened seed pods and letting them mature indoors!
Cutting Your Dahlias Allows You to Enjoy Them Indoors
You’ve put in an incredible amount of effort this past year with your dahlias—sourcing, preparing, planting, watering, feeding, and observing. Now, it’s time to delight in the fruits of your labor: your stunning dahlia blooms! Crafting bouquets from your dahlias is both a beautiful and rewarding experience. Place a bouquet somewhere you can admire it daily, and share the beauty with friends by giving them a few blooms of their own. Enjoy the flowers you’ve cultivated!
