Growing Dahlias

I think the main reason I’ve never grown dahlias before, is because they are a tender plant. Meaning, they more than likely wouldn’t survive the low temperatures out in the border.

Once the foliage has all died down, you need to lift the tubers out of the ground, dry them out and put them somewhere frost free for the winter.

To me this is a bit of a faff. As far as the ornamental side of the garden goes I prefer hardy perennials, bulbs, and shrubs. Things that once planted, just look after themselves.

The other reason I was put off dahlias was thinking of them as a show plant. Seeing them grown in rows, tied to unsightly canes with upside-down plant pots on top to catch earwigs.

It certainly gave them the image of being a very high maintenance plant.

The first time I thought of dahlias in a different way, is because of a neighbour that has a most spectacular front border. It it approximately 30’ x 8’ and filled to the gunnels with tall, brightly coloured plants. Including dahlias!

He grows them in pots, then just plants the whole pot in the ground, for easy lifting at the end of the season.

Then I joined Twitter and discovered a vast gardening network. One thing gardeners like to do is share information and show (off) what we’ve grown.

I was suddenly exposed to every plant under the sun, including a great deal of dahlias.

I had no idea how many varieties there were, I just thought of those tennis ball flowers, with show gardeners teasing the tight petals with a cotton bud.

That was it, I was going to grow dahlias and I knew exactly where!

Choosing the Dahlias

It did help that the dolly tubs were ready to be refreshed. The tulip bulbs had been in there for a few years and really had run out of steam.

I’d been thinking for a while that these two statement pots stood flowerless for most of the year, so I’d decided to plant the next lot of tulips in a large pot that could be lifted out when they’d finished. Leaving me with a large pot to plant something colourful for the summer…. Dahlias!

Starting to look for varieties to grow was a bit overwhelming as there are just so many!

I decided on four cactus types from J. Parkers.

‘Orfeo’ – Deep purple
‘Procyon’ – Orange/Yellow
‘Purple Gem’ – Purple
‘Tahiti Sunrise’ – Pink/Yellow

I wanted a mix of bright colours and I’ve certainly got it.

Procyon, Purple Gem, Orfeo & Tahiti Sunrise

The tubers arrived and what funny looking things they are!

I planted them up and waited for the shoots to appear.

Once the plants were big enough and all danger of frost had passed, I planted them into the dolly tubs and waited…

When the first bud started to form, it was so exciting! It got bigger and bigger and felt like it was never going to open!

Then suddenly, one morning, there it was in all of it’s glory.

That first flower came on ‘Tahiti Sunrise’ and it was really quite spectacular. I genuinely hadn’t grown anything quite like it.

Despite only buying four varieties, there are a few flowers that have come out quite different to how they were suppose to. Not that I’m complaining the more variety the better!

Enjoying the Dahlias

Once all of the dahlias were flowering, I knew it had been the right thing to do. They are so tall and bright that you can see them from the house and most parts of the garden.

And of course the bees love them too. Not only do they collect pollen from them, but when the flowers fade and flop backwards on themselves, the bees shelter underneath from the sun and rain.

So this is the beginning of my dahlia growing. Worryingly I think they can become a bit addictive. You won’t be surprised to learn that there is a Dahlia growing Society

So I hope you are all enjoying this lovely weather and are managing to stay well hydrated. I am, cheers!