
Planting, Growing, and Caring for Dazzling Dahlias from Spring to Fall
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Types
There are about 60,000 named varieties and 18 official flower forms, including cactus, peony, anemone, stellar, collarette, and waterlily. Here are some popular choices:
- ‘Bishop of Llandaff’: small, scarlet, intense flowers; handsome, dark-burgundy foliage; 3 feet tall
- ‘Miss Rose Fletcher’: an elegant, spiky, pink cactus plant with 6-inch globes of long, quilled, shell-pink petals; 4 feet tall. These are beautiful as cut flowers.
- ‘Bonne Esperance’, aka ‘Good Hope’: dwarf variety that bears 1-1/2-inch, rosy-pink flowers all summer that are reminiscent of Victorian bedding dahlias; 1-foot tall. These are great for containers and borders, and are prolific bloomers.
- ‘Kidd’s Climax’: the ultimate in irrational beauty with 10-inch “dinnerplate” flowers with hundreds of pink petals suffused with gold; 3-1/2 feet tall. This is one of our favorite cutting varieties!
- ‘Jersey’s Beauty’: 4- to 6-inch hand-size pink flowers in fall; 4 to 6 feet tall
We recommend checking out the National Dahlia Society for more information about specific varieties.
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I live in an apartment. I stored them in my house. I put some water on them ( not much). They are in pots and they have morning sun. It’s getting hot here. My problem is I replanted them! I only have 2 coming up and I planted them after Easter here. None of the rest have come up. Do I wait some more or get new plants! The tubers were okay: through out the wrinkled and dead ones I live in zone 5-6. 🤷♀️🤷♀️ Thank you for helping me!!
Hi Molly, it sounds to us like it’s time to get some new plants; dahlias sprout after 2 to 4 weeks and it’s been two months since Easter. Best of luck, —The Editors
My dahlia leaves are emerging from the soil. They look good except there is a brown scale on some of the leaves. What should I do?
Hi Barbara,
You could try soap or Neem oil at this stage; here is Almanac.com’s complete guide to dealing with scale.
—The Editors
My dahlia is in a container. It is loaded with buds but they don’t make flowers. What is the problem?
Hi Eva,
There could be a few reasons why your dahlia buds are not opening. The first thing would be to examine your watering practices. Waterlogged roots from excessive water can affect the buds’ ability to open. Also, if your dahlia was planted in poorly draining potting mix or a container that holds water it can lead to too much water that will hinder your buds from turning into flowers. A lack of water can also be an issue, as container planted dahlias need consistent watering because the potting mix dries out a lot faster than those planted in the ground.
If your watering schedule is consistent, it could be an underlying pest issue. If the stems and leaves appear normal but buds are not opening, check them for small holes to determine if thrips or earwigs have punctured or chewed them. Buds that have been repeatedly affected by these pests might not open properly.
Another issue could be excess fertilization in the form of too much nitrogen. If the plant is overfertilized, it will grow luscious foliage at the expense of flowers.
Hope this helps!
I bought two medium size dahlias and repotted in a medium size pot each in April. I live in Gibraltar where we have a hot climate. they were beautiful and blooming, I have always kept dahlias, I now have them on my balcony. Suddenly they have started to die down and all the foilage has dried up. I have removed all the dead stalks and foilage and now only have the tuber. Not sure what has happened here, will they survive. I am watering and feeding once a week, but its been 3 weeks now and I see no sign of life. Appreciate any feedback. thanks
Hi, Subia. We are sorry to hear about your dahlias. They can be fickle plants in hot climates, as they prefer warm days and cooler nights. Here are a few things to try to revive your plants: Add organic matter to your containers. Keep watering (do not soak), and try adding some mulch on top to cool them down. Also, if your dahlias are in full sun, move them so that they get some shade. If all else fails, we highly recommend looking into getting a heat-tolerant variety. They may perform better in your climate.
June 11, 2024 - I just bought a "potted" Dahlia that has the most beautiful blooms. I live in zone 6 and want to keep it in a container so I don't have to dig the tubers and can move it inside to winter. Can I move it to a larger pot/container? If so, can I re-pot it now or wait until it finishes blooming? Thank you.
Hi Dollie,
Dahlias certainly are beautiful. You definitely want to wait until it has finished blooming, but it is best to wait until the first frost has hit or the leaves have turned brown. At that point, you could transplant your tuber to a new container with fresh potting mix and store indoors in a cool, dark room for the winter. But it would probably make more sense to simply remove the tuber from the current container and store it as outlined above for the winter before then putting the tuber in a new container in the spring. That way you don’t have to lug the new, larger container (which will be heavier) in this fall and out again next spring.
Good luck!