Growing Dahlias
Fern Forest Flowers currently grows 75 varieties of dahlias. Every year the variety we grow changes slightly as we discover new treasures and stop growing varieties that underwhelm.
Purchasing Dahlia Tubers
There are numerous ways to add dahlias to your garden, from purchasing potted plants to planting a dahlia seed, all of which will give you beautiful blooms.
The most common method to grow these flowers is by purchasing dahlia tubers. Tubers are usually purchased in late winter or early spring and shipped in April when the weather has warmed. Tubers come in all shapes and sizes; round, short, long, skinny, you name it. Size and shape mostly depends on the variety but is also somewhat influenced by growing conditions. Regardless of size most tubers will grow you a nice plant as long as the tuber has a growth point(eye) and is given proper growing conditions.
One of the biggest pros to buying dahlia tubers is the variety available. There are hundreds of varieties in a wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes. Another pro is that there are many different places to buy tubers. You can purchase tubers from big box stores, large distributors, and from small farms. Our favorite method of purchase is from other small farms.
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Erika’s Favorite Varieties
Coralie
The Castle Drive doppelganger Coralie is simply amazing. One of the first dahlias to bloom in the garden, Coralie, is a real treat. Very productive plants will give you buckets of blooms all summer and a decent clump of tubers in the fall. Blooms range in color from creamy blush to pink-yellow with hints of lavender. Highly recommend for any cut flower garden.
Miss Amara
Miss Amara is one of the tallest varieties I grow. It’s a nice medium yellow with peach streakes towards the center. Produces flowers all summer long on very strong stems. This variety is one I recommend everyone grows at least once.
Crichton Honey
Crichton Honey was one of the original three dahlias that I ever grew. While not the most productive in tuber growth, it blooms endlessly in an irresistible range of honey, cantaloupe, and apricot colors.
Peaches n’ Cream
Peaches n’ Cream is one of those dahlias that everyone wants and after growing it I can see why. The plants are very productive, giving you buckets of flowers all summer. The flowers themselves are amazing. Petals are elegantly pointed and fold back slightly. The color is a beautiful blush and peach combo that’s just stunning. Worth putting on your wishlist.
Hollyhill Black Beauty
Hollyhill Black beauty is a wonderful addition for both home gardeners and flower farmers. Plants produce many cuttable stems of deep wine color blooms. The flower shape is particularly nice for adding texture to bouquets and arrangements.
Linda’s Baby
Linda’s Baby is always one of the first dahlias to bloom for me. It has luminous peachy pink blooms that are just brilliant. Plants are a little short but blooms are held on nice long stems.
Planting your Tubers
Before planting your tubers make sure that your planting location receives full sun. We recommend at least 8 hours, however, 6 hours with some afternoon shade is best for growers in southern states. Prepare soil with compost or well aged cow manure. Dahlias also do well with added bone meal.
Once your soil has warmed and all danger of frost has gone you can plant your tubers. Dig a hole 4-6” deep and place in your tuber horizontally on it’s side. If you have a visible eye be sure to face that side up. Space tubers 12-24” apart and cover with soil. DO NOT WATER*. On average tubers can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to come up.
Once your tuber sprouts appear above the ground you can water until then hold off on watering as it can cause your tubers to rot.
*If you are growing in hot climates or containers the soil should be slightly damp at time of planting.
Growing and Harvesting Dahlias
Watering
Once plants are established they require a deep watering 2-3 times per week. Soil composition will influence how often you need to water. Heavy clay soil will need less watering then soils high in sand.
Fertilizing
Low nitrogen fertilizers are best for Dahlias as high nitrogen causes dahlias to grow leggy. Something like 5-10-10 is highly recommended but any fertilizer close will work. At Fern Forest Flowers we add fresh compost to our planting beds in the spring and then fertilize throughout summer with a foliar spray. Our favorites fertilizer for dahlias is OMRI certified Morbloom which is 0-10-10 liquid fertilizer.
Staking
It’s highly recommended that dahlias be provided support if the plants grow over 3.5'ft. If you only have a few in your garden any staking product will work. We have found that it’s best to place stakes at time of planting to avoid damaging the tubers when placing the stake in the ground. If you have a large number of dahlias and individual staking will be to difficult then you can try the corralling method. Which places posts/stakes around the outer parameter of your bed and then twin is wrapped around the stakes to keep the plants in their bed. This is the method used at Fern Forest Flowers.
Pinching/topping
When plants are around 12-18” tall we recommend pinching or topping. This is the process of cutting off the top of the plant just after the third set of leaves. It may seem counter productive but this process encourages the plant to branch near the base which makes for a bushier plant that will produce more flowers.
Cutting the Flowers
The best time to cut dahlia flowers in during the cool parts of the morning. When selecting blooms to cut choose flowers that are 2/3 to fully open but not overly ripe. Over ripe blooms will have slightly dehydrated looking petals at the back of the flower head. These flowers will not last long in a vase and are prone to dropping their petals. Dahlias are not a long lasting cut flower in general so picking them at the perfect stage is crucial to the longest vase life. Once cut place your fresh flowers into 2-3 inches of hot water (about 160-180°F) and allow to cool to room temperature before arranging. Following these steps will on average give you 5-6 days to enjoy your cut dahlias.
