Dahlia: Plant, Grow and Care For Dahlias

Summer wouldn’t be summer without dahlias. Their beautiful flowers come in almost every colour imaginable, from pale pastels to hot, vibrant shades. They come in a range of flower shapes, from small tight balls to lily-like blooms the size of dinner plates. They’re perfect for adding late summer colour to borders from July to October and look good in any style of garden, from a cottage-style border to a jungle or exotic scheme. They look especially good with cosmos, grasses, Verbena bonariensis or cannas.

Dahlias come in a range of different sizes. The dwarf varieties can be grown as bedding, while more compact varieties grow very well in pots, while. Tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis), from which all modern dahlias were bred, can reach 5m tall.

Dahlias make brilliant and prolific cut flowers – the more you cut them, the more flowers they produce. Because of their complex flowers, most dahlias are not attractive to pollinators. So be sure to include some single-flowered varieties if you can – these are popular with bees and butterflies.

Dahlias hail from central America – they were brought to Europe by the Spanish, along with potatoes and tomatoes, initially for eating. They like plenty of sunshine to thrive and are tender – they need protection in winter.

You can buy dahlia plants at the garden centre in summer, but many gardeners grow them from tubers. These are potted up and brought into growth indoors in late March or early April, then planted out in the garden in May once no more frost is forecast. Dahlias can also be grown from rooted cuttings and from seed.

Gardeners in colder areas tend to dig up their dahlia tubers once the first frosts arrive in autumn, then bring them indoors over winter.

Dah