Support for Dahlias and Chrysanthemums

[Jitterbug]

I have decided to have a special flower bed on the lottie and will be planting dahlias and chrysanthemums.  The one thing I am not sure of is how do I go about constructing a stable enough support to keep them upright through the season.  I have bought some plastic bean support netting but have no idea how I'm going to suspend it over the flower bed??

Any ideas?? ???

Jitterbug

[Jitterbug]

[Tee Gee]

This is how I do mine;



Not the best picture to demonstrate what I mean but there are a couple of better ones here; http://tinyurl.com/3dpucl

Basically it is 3"x2" stakes driven in up the sides of the bed and the net is suspended horizontally between them.

[Jitterbug]

Hello Tee Gee

Do you tie it with something to stop if from falling down? and at what height to you put the netting.  Also - is that weed suppresant sheeting I see between the rows - they also seem to be quite close together.

I have never grown a flower bed like this before so am on a bit of a learning curve.

PS I love your website by the way and I visit it often for advice.

Thanks

Jitterbug

[Tee Gee]

Do you tie it with something to stop if from falling down? and at what height to you put the netting.

Firstly my netting is wire netting not nylon and is therefore heaver but equally, it is stiffer, so I find just tying it to the posts is enough, although on occasions I have tied it to a cane stuck in the middle to take up the slack (sag)

The height is about 12"-15" but can be adjusted to suit the type of plants being grown.

Also - they also seem to be quite close together.

These are chrysants so they are 15" each way apart hence three rows.

With Dahlias these would 24" apart so I would only get two rows.

I think nylon netting is better for Dahlias but instead of raising it as the plants grow in height I would put in a second or even third layer of netting.

The reason for this is Dahlias are softer,bushier and more leafy so it would be difficult to raise the net without doing a lot of damage.

is that weed suppresant sheeting I see between the rows

Yes! I use this because it is more difficult to weed under the net.

[Jitterbug]

Thanks for this TeeGee - I have also found your info on the website on this and have printed it off.  It is much welcome.  I cheated with my Chrysanthemums this year and bought rooted cutting (still to come in mail) but the cactus dahlias were from last year and I will need to split them before I plant them.

Kind regards

Jitterbug

[Tee Gee]

I will need to split them before I plant them.

Why not have a go at increasing your stock by taking cuttings. You have nothing to lose! You can still plant your tubers as well!

[Jitterbug]

Yeah OK - I'll be brave and try that.

Jitterbug