When I decided I wanted my own cut flower garden I knew that the centrepiece would be dahlias, as they really are super easy to grow, and exceptionally beautiful. Plus, they come in all the colours of the rainbow and in a variety of shapes and sizes, from adorable pompoms to spectacular dinner plate blooms. Seriously, what’s not to love. I don’t understand how somewhere down the line that dahlias got the label as being old-fashioned and fiddly, for me they are a must-have in a summer garden. Who doesn’t want blooms from July until at least October? I love that one dahlia tuber will produce masses of flowers, just remember the more you cut them, the more flowers they produce.
There is something about the varieties and colours on offer when it comes to dahlias that appeal to me, as well as the fact that they do their own thing – all you need to do is give them sun. Dahlias really do come in every colour imaginable, from bight, saturated shades to muted tones, mixed variegated colours, romantic hues and timeless white. There will be a host of dahlias for you, no matter your colour preferences.
My first year growing dahlias
For the first year of my cutting garden last year, I had 12 dahlias, mainly focused around pinks and purple, with the odd white one for balance. There were a few bumps like you have to be brave with pinching, they need support, and you need to protect them when they are starting out. Rabbits feasted on my favourite Café au Lait very early on, and the beauty never fully recovered. I’m hoping for great things this year.
For the most part, my dahlias performed well. Out of the initial 12, only one didn’t do anything, which I think is great odds. I loved that they just did their thing, all I needed to do was cut the flowers off for my displays to get more, and I was cutting dahlias for the house until mid-November, which was such a joy.
What you will find is that some dahlias perform better than others. I adore the beauty and longevity of ‘Daisy Duke’ and ‘Molly Raven’ and ‘Wizard of Oz,’ while the ‘Perch Hill’ was a feast for the eyes with its varying colour tones from crimson-pink-orange to a lovely sepia pink and then there was the glamour and romance of the ‘Penhill Watermelon’ that seemed to last for weeks in a vase.
I don’t think any of the dahlias I grew last year didn’t make me smile and brighten up the house. I loved the joy of not only seeing them grow, but also the simple pleasure of choosing my favourite stems to bring into the house, and then rearranging them in vases. I find those moments in my cut flower garden one of the most tranquil spells of the day.
What I’m growing this year
I loved the house being filled with flowers so much that this year I’m adding more, 16 to be precise, which I’ve snagged in the Sarah Raven sale. Dahlias aren’t that expensive if you invest in tubers instead of plants. I got most of my tubers this year for less than £3 a dahlia, and when they produce so many flowers per tuber, they are definitely good value for money.
As I had so many pinks, purple and orange hues last year, this year I’ve added in some lighter, softer hues ranging from peachy tones to yellow and white to act as contrasting blooms, as well as more variegated pink ones, bright oranges and dark, radiant deep pink/red tones. I’m basically creating my very own floral rainbow.
As well as adding extra colours, I’ve added some decorative dahlias that kind of look like peonies, like the ‘Evanah,’ alongside ‘Happy Single Kiss’ and ‘Bishop of York’ that produce single-flat, daisy-like flowers, and interesting dahlias with contrasting leaves and stems, like the hot and vibrant ‘Orange Pekoe’ with slaty-blue grey foliage.
I’m seeing this year as a little experiment into what works for me, what I love, and what I want more of. I’ve also not planted them in colours or type, as I want it to be a little wild and wonderful. I just can’t wait for them all to bloom.
Simple tips for growing dahlias
- Choose a good sunny and sheltered spot – your dahlias are going to want at least 6 hours of sunshine a day
- Plant your tubers in the spring once the last frost has passed. For new tubers, I start them off undercover in my greenhouse in a 2 or 3-litre pot filled with peat-free multi-purpose compost. They like the warmth and it means that when I transplant them to the ground they are well on their way to flowering.
- Pinch out the tips – once three pairs of leaves have grown it is best to pinch out the tips of the main shoot to encourage branching, which means more flowers.
- Enrich the soil – I like to add rotted manure to my cut flower beds to give them nutrients while they are growing.
- Stake them/use netting – You can stake, but I have netting with 10cm squares which works perfectly and gives my dahlias support, and I think encourages longer stems.
- Don’t overwater – I generally don’t overly water my dahlias. I like to conserve water where possible, but if we’ve gone a week without rain I do use the water from my water butt.
- Don’t forget to feed – to get the best flowers I give my dahlias a feed fortnightly with seaweed fertiliser.
- Deadhead/cut flowers regularly – the key to getting the most out of your dahlias is to regularly cut/deadhead. I generally pick all for the house, but if I’ve missed a few I deadhead by cutting back to a leaf joint lower down the stem to promote flowering.
- Protect your tubers over winter. Dahlias aren’t hardy, so for most areas in the UK, you might have to lift and store your tubers inside over winter. Where I am in Kent I overwintered them in the ground by mulching deeply and placing a fleece over the bed. I also think that tubers are reasonably cheap that if I lose a few, I can easily replace them, and not everyone has the room to store or the time and energy.
