Dahlias for days

I love dahlias. They may be my favorite flowers. Have you ever grown them?

I am not sure how I fell into the world of dahlia gardening. I do remember that it was 3 summers ago. I became slightly obsessed and went looking at all the plant stores for healthy, bushy plants. Boy, were they hard to find!

I began following lots of dahlia growers on instagram and I learned A LOT. First of all, if you want the fancy dahlias, its better to grow your own than look around at garden centers. Second, they are super easy to grow but are known (at least in zone 5a) to be a bit of a PITA because they can’t overwinter in the ground. That means you have to dig them up and store them, or buy new ones every year.

The first year I successfully saved most of my dahlia roots, or tubers. I planted them the next year and they did amazing. The next winter I lost nearly all of them but I blame that on grad school. Last year I managed to overwinter about 75% of them. I will probably do a separate post about how I pull my tubers and store them for winter, though. This post is more about the flowers.

So each spring I start my tubers early in pots. This way they sprout and bloom a little earlier. I got most of mine in the ground in the end of June, and mine are really just starting to take off.

Do you know that a dahlia is technically a succulent? That means they can tolerate a little drought and also poor soil. I water mine when I water the rest of my garden but they don’t need to be watered every day, at least in zone 5a.

I fertilize every few weeks with a seaweed emulsion and that is all they need. These plants do need full sun.

Like I said before, they take a little bit to get going. But when they do, watch out! Your house will be full of big, fluffy, colorful blooms.

I love the colors and shape of these flowers. Unfortunately, they don’t have a scent and don’t really last that long in a vase. Their shimmery petals more than make up for it though.

For me, once they start blooming, they bloom profusely until first frost. I cut the blooms regularly to promote new ones, although this year I am experimenting with letting some dry out so I can save the seeds.

Once I dig up my tubers I am going to divide them. Each tuber becomes a beautiful new plant and make a great gift.

I hope you try to grow these beautiful flowers. They really are easy!