The Dahlia you brought to our isle
Your praises forever shall speak
'Mid gardens as sweet as your smile
And color as bright as your cheek.
–Lord Holland (1773–1840)
Marini Farm’s greenhouses are illuminated with vibrant dahlia flowers every spring. These plants are a great addition to your gardens and enable you to add an artistic display of cheery vibrant hues. They are a work of art with their spiked tips and perfectly shaped multi-pedaled blooms. They add so much to your shopping experience, as each one is different and unique in terms of their colors, shapes and added markings. Some appear to have been dipped in white on the very edges of the pedals, while others are painted with perfectly positioned stripes along the pedals. Each year we add new varieties of shapes and colors, which we hope will be the stars of your gardens. One question you hear often is “Are they real?” They attract you to touch them just to be sure. Their history goes back to the 1500s, and today there are 42 varieties of dahlias in five color palettes.
Some Dahlia facts:
- They bloom from midsummer to the first frost
- Their size ranges from 2 to 10 inches and most varieties grow to 4-5 feet tall
- The ideal planting time is when the ground it at least 60 degrees
- They love full sunlight all day long
- They don’t do well when covered with mulch or bark
- Pest control against slugs and snails protects them from nasty creatures
- Their colors are limited to the warm ranges of red, orange, yellow, pink and white, but new color variations have been created through hybridizing with other flowers
- The dahlia's allure has a far reach: it is San Francisco's official flower, an official emblem of Mexico, and is considered in Japan to be a sign of good taste.
- The dahlia flower first arrived in Europe in the 1500s, following the defeat of the Aztec Indians by Spanish conquistadors.
- Before the Spanish arrived in Mexico, the Aztecs named the dahlia "Acocotli", which means "water cane".
- Dahlia flowers belong to the Asteraceae family, a group that includes sunflowers, asters and daisies. "Asteraceae" means "star", referring to the star shape of the dahlia blossom.
- There are 42 dahlia species
- They are susceptible to bacterial infections such as bacterial wilt and crown gall as well as many fungal diseases including flower blight, leaf spot, southern blight, smut, powdery mildew, stem and tube rot, cottony stem rot, and vascular wilt.
- They are popular flowers for weddings and engagements symbolizing hope for an everlasting union between two people, and are often featured in competitions.
written by Lightning Consulting
