Dazzling dahlias Top picks and growing tips
These brilliant beauties can’t be beaten for high-impact late summer colour
After falling out of fashion with gardeners for a while, dahlias have staged a big comeback in recent years and their newfound popularity shows no sign of waning. That’s small wonder, as these incredibly varied plants offer something for everyone.
They’re versatile – plant in borders, grow compact cultivars in containers or treat them as a crop and harvest for beautiful cut flowers. They can also be very good value for money – a single dahlia tuber will produce blooms from the end of June right through to the first frosts.
On top of that, the choice is huge – but to help narrow it down they are grouped into categories depending on flower type. There are pom poms; cactus types with spiky petals; orchid, waterlily, peony and anemone-flowered options; collarettes, with a single row of petals surrounding an open centre, and those known simply as decoratives, with double flower heads. The longer-stem varieties also make fantastic cut flowers – and the more you cut, the more the plants produce!