Dahlia

Dahlias are spectacular flowering plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. They are members of the Asteraceae family and are prized for their vibrant, ornate flowers and sturdy stems.

• Size: Dahlias typically have a bushy, tuberous growth habit. They exhibit an impressive array of sizes, from diminutive 1-foot (30 cm) varieties to towering 6-foot ones (180 cm).
• Flowers: Their flowers can range from 2 inches (5 cm) to over 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, depending on the variety. They offer an impressive range of colors, such as pink, purple, red, scarlet, orange, yellow, and white, and can be stripped or tipped with another color. They can be single or double and appear in almost every form – from daisy-like singles to more elaborate decorative pompon, cactus, and dinner-plate dahlias.
• Blooming Season: Blooming from midsummer until the first frost, dahlias are renowned for their extended flowering period.
• Hardiness: They thrive in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 11 and must be overwintered indoors in colder climates.
• Uses: In addition to being visually stunning, dahlias have various uses. They’re perfect for late summer borders and containers and are great as cut flowers due to their long vase life.

Dahlia Types

The rich variety of flower colors, shapes, and sizes, added to their extensive blooming season, have turned dahlias into a popular addition to our landscapes. There are thousands of varieties of dahlias (!!!), all classified by the shape, size, and color of their flowers.

Cactus and Semi Cactus Dahlias

Both types have double flowers with long pointed ray petals that revolute or roll back along half their length, giving the flowers a spiky look. Most cultivars reach a height of more than 40 inches.

Cactus Dahlias

Semi Cactus Dahlias

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Decorative Dahlias

These are double dahlias with broad, flat-tipped petals that are sometimes wavy. The flowers are normally large, and the plants easily top 40 inches tall, though there are even taller varieties. They can be formal with flat petals evenly and regularly placed throughout the flowers, or informal with generally flat petals, sometimes slightly rolled at the tips, but with irregular formation arrangement.

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Pompon and Ball Dahlias

Pompon and Ball Dahlias feature relatively small, fully double, globe-shaped flowers with blunt or slightly rounded petals at their tips. How not to marvel at the perfect petal arrangement of these dahlias? They display an infinite swirl of florets with fold upon fold of incredibly flawless petals.

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Anemone-Flowered and Collarette Dahlias

Anemone Dahlias feature an outer ring of flat ray petals arranged in a wreath and surrounding masses of tiny, elongated disk florets, which form an intriguing floral pincushion. Collarette Dahlias are small to medium flowers with large flat ray petals surrounding an open center. Within the ray and surrounding the center is a wreath of shorter petals, often of a different color, forming the “collar.”

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Mignon and Single Dahlias

Single Dahlias feature blooms with a single row of flat or slightly cupped ray florets arranged in a flat plane, uniformly overlapping, preferably in the same direction with no gaps. The disc flowers may have up to three rows of bright yellow or orange pollen, and the blooms are over two inches in diameter (5 cm). Pollinators love these Single-Flowered Dahlias! If you want to provide something special for bees, butterflies, or other pollinating insects still active in late summer of fall, choose a Single Dahlia!

Mignon Dahlias possess the same formation as Single Dahlias, except they have round ray floret tips, their disc flowers have no more than two rows of pollen, and their blooms are under two inches in diameter. Perfect for small gardens or container display, Single Dahlias include the highly prized Dark-Leaved Dahlias with their masses of stunning flower colors, which contrast strikingly with their deep mahogany-to-black foliage. Effect in the garden guaranteed!

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Peony-Flowered and Orchid Dahlias

Peony Dahlias are open-centered flowers with two or more rows of petals surrounding a disc. For many years the most popular Peony-flowered dahlia was a cultivar called D. ‘Bishop Llandaff’, an heirloom variety that dates back to 1927. It has open deep-red flowers with nearly black mahogany foliage.
Orchid Dahlias are also open-centered flowers with one ray of florets surrounding a disc (Single Orchid) or a fully double bloom showing no disc (Double Orchid). The florets involute for two-thirds or more of their length.

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Miscellaneous Dahlias

This diverse group includes all varieties that do not fall into one of the above groups.

• Laciniated or fimbriated Dahlias present petals split into two or more divisions at the end.
• Stellar Dahlias present decorative shaped flowers with petals being creased, causing them to be narrow and involute with a slight recurve to the stem.
• Waterlily Dahlias have fully double blooms characterized by broad and generally sparse ray florets, which are straight or slightly involute along their length, giving the flower a shallow appearance.
• Dinner Plate Dahlias exhibit huge and magnificent blooms. They are unbelievably large – up to 12 in. across (30 cm) – and will bloom continuously from July until the first touch of frost. This is not an official classification these robust dahlias are registered under several classifications.

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