Growing Dahlias
How to Grow Dahlias in Your Flower Garden and Get Continuous Color and Bloom from Summer through Fall
There is a dahlia bred for every taste, from simple to exotic. Every flower garden should include dahlias for color and excitement from July until the first fall frost.
Dahlias (Dahlia pinnata) rule in the late summer flower garden and continue blooming until the first frost of fall. Dahlias are popular in the garden and in the vase for good reason -- fancy good looks and excellent garden performance, plus they are easy to grow if you understand and provide their basic needs.
Dahlias for the Collector, Dahlias for the Garden
Dahlias have been bred and shown for so long that there are seemingly countless special permutations for the collector. But don't let that intimidate you. Dahlias are great garden flowers, too.
Dahlias begin blooming in mid to late summer just when the garden needs a punch of color, and continue through fall until frost. With good care, you can keep your dahlias from year to year and expand your collection over time if you wish.
Different Kinds of Dahlias
Dahlia flowers range from tiny pompons to dinner plate wannabes, with petals running the gamut from a simple daisy look through doubles and cactus types, some with fimbriated or lacinated petals (split ends or feathered) and even the aptly named orchid flowering and waterlily types. Dahlia colors include solids and bicolors along with everything in between in every color - except, sadly, blue. Truly there is a dahlia for every taste!
Find the Right Size Plant
Early in the season, dahlias are not much to look at. There is some foliage, and probably a stake installed at planting time if your dahlia is a taller variety. But they are definitely worth the wait and deserve space in your garden -- even a tiny garden should include one or two. Flower size is not determined by mature plant size, so find a variety with the flower type you like and mature plant size you need. Heights run from about a foot to over six feet tall, but the plants use a relatively narrow footprint.
Planting Dahlias
Dahlias require full sun and an evenly moist, rich soil. For best results, supplement rain as needed with generous, slow, deep watering. Mulching between plants helps keep the soil evenly moist; the mulch helps keep down weeds and will add organic matter to the soil as it breaks down, too.
More on How to Grow Dahlias (continued)
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Above composite photo of dinnerplate dahlias courtesy of W. Atlee Burpee & Company.
Copyright 2006 Barbara Martin
