I don't grow them for show, I grow them because every time one blooms I am amazed at the color and the size. I love the ones for show the most because of the depth (like vassio meggos) personally I like them big' but thier are some bbs I love just as much! The big AAs are fun they bring joy to alot of pepole who don't grow flowers at all and they are dazzled at the size. Cindy

I grow them b/c I'm an addict. ;) I started with two I picked up from a big box store 5 years ago. The next year I grew 20 or so different ones, and more the next year and the next until this year I'll probably have 50-60 plants (40 or so varieties) in my small yard. I love the blooms but prefer smaller-mid sized ones I can cut and bring in the house. I think about them all year and planning which ones I'm going to buy gets me through the cold NH winter. I've gotten quite a few friends and relatives addicted too so I have people to talk about dahlias with. I love checking on them in the garden and when they bloom it makes me so happy.

OK. I think I sound NUTS rereading this!

NHdahlialover, if you are nuts then I think there are a lot of us! I grow them as cut flowers for my business but really, it is just an excuse to grow as many as I want and enjoy then thoroughly! I love them all, and I love other peoples reactions to them. There is no other flower as trouble free, as long blooming and as proliferous and colorful! I grow about 130 different dahlias. That is, the ones I grow for cutting. I have another collection inter-planted with my roses and perennials of the ones that did not do well as cuts or sell well at my flower stand but That I still love.

Last year for the first time in 20 years, I lost 2/3 of my dahlias over winter to our weird weather. While I mourn for my old friends it has given me the opportunity to try lots of newer ones this year, and their selection has brightened many a gray spring day. All my dahlias, survivors and new ones are growing in my greenhouse in gallon pots where I can obsess while I wait for them to be big and husky enough for setting out.

I grow a few of the really big ones for people who want them for special events, but my favorites and the ones that work best at our flower stands are the waterlily and ball ones.

And yes, this year we WILL get the mulch on them!

I grow them because I love them. I love to see them in my garden and in my bouquets. They come in such a variety of colors, size, and types that I can't get enough of them. The other day someone asked me what my favorite flower was, and after a short pause I said a rose. My husband said "I thought you were going to say dahlia". I looked at him and said, "you are right, dahlia is my favorite flower"!

I am new to gardening and I planted some dahlias here in east texas because they are my favorite flower...I had no idea there were so many varieties!! When I first got them I asked everyone I knew that knew something about plants and nobody knew anything about dahlias!! Everyone said they had no luck growing them...they dont do good in our zone...etc...however, mine are AMAZING!! They are growing wonderfully and I went and got a few other varieties because the first ones are doing so well...I have one that is only about 6 inches wide and about 6 inches tall that has 8 flowers on it!! (I checked this morning I couldn't believe it!) I just think they are so pretty and I love that nobody in my area or on my block has any...makes me feel accomplished, especially because i am so new to the gardening world...so any tips?? I am very open to suggestions!!

I am only starting my second year of dahlias; but I'm already hooked. I started with a few "box store" varieties last year; and this year I ordered up a bunch from online dahlia sellers. I've really only got room to squeeze in about 12 in my small yard unless I dig out more flowers; or grass (I might have to do that next year).
I got hooked because there isn't anything that matches the big bright blooms they have. They glow!! Although, I'm only planting 2 of the AA size this year. I love the waterlilies, the ball shaped ones etc. etc.
They are also quite photogenic!
I'm already thinking of joining the local dahlia society; and maybe just maybe entering some competitions. That may be over ambitious since I've only got a dozen plants....

Well I grow dahlias for the same reason nhdalia does. In the winter which is nasty and cold I go through all the sites and pick dahlias for next year. Mine own are starting to pull through the winter in storage so I don't have to buy so many each year. People actually come up to me on the street and say "you're the dahlia lady, your yard is so beautiful". I have no idea why there anren
't more growers for the love of the flower in this area. I don't see them in garden either. I am mad at myself for not knowing about them earlier as I have spent many a month, late August-Nov, with the same old thing and a past look to my garden. Now aat that time, it is full of color.

I think i finally figured out the real answer. Truth is, I'm a collector, more than I am a gardener. Dahlias are the ultimate flower for this type of gardener because there are so many interesting varieties. I think its the same reason I could see myself getting crazy about daylilies or irises. When I was young, it was baseball cards. Now, it's dahlias...

Definitely addicted! Started with 1 in 1965 & now have over 6,500! There's nothing that can compare to the size, variety, number of types or sheer pleasure that they bring. What else can you grow that will bloom all summer long & just keep giving you blooms until frost! Annuals?-- pfui-- you can't take them in or share with the old folks home- Perennials?- one bloom and they're done- or as good as done - for the year. Shrubs?- Bloom in spring & they're finished for the year-- Dahlias-- blooms from June to Nov!!!!!
With our seedlings it's like Christmas every day in the summer when a new baby opens up.
If you grow the big ones you only need one for a whole bouquet-- & that one will knock the sox off of most people- go to a dahlia show & see what the general public is most overwhelmed with-- is it the 2" mini or the giant standing up there proudly saying, "look at what I can do!"
The old ones are OK- flat as pancakes so you can float them, but don't knock the new ones-- so round, so full, so firmly held up on their strong stems- not hanging their heads & looking at the ground like a lot of the old ones do....and color-- OMG- have you actually seen some of the new brilliant colors that are coming out?? How about ones like Kenora WOW?? or the deep rich colors of some of our new ones?? Black?? Ever seen the new black ones- talk about rich in color!!
We NW hybridizers are looking for all-round good dahlias for both garden growers & show people. It is just as easy to grow a really good dahlias as it is to grow a bad one!
The new ones are only improving upon the old ones & adding to the rich diversity of the dahlia!

Ya, plantlady way to go, thats what I wanted to express! Whats the name for your web site? Cindy

i grow them for the novelty of the 14 inch flowers. people are very impressed with them. i've got a couple enormous vases just for them! i grow over 850 daylilies and more than 150 iris' so blooms are just about spent here by mid august, which is just in time for the dahlias to bloom. plus i think i have a bit of an addiction. there are hardly any plants i won't try at least once

Plantlady is not allowed to say on this forum what her wonderful website is -- but that's not to say that the rest of us can't tell you!! Enjoy- I know that they spend every waking minute tending to their gardens & it shows. I have had soooo many relaxing afternoons in their gardens- tea, cookies, view of Mt Baker-- oh-- & over 6,5000 dahlias thrown in, too. It's a wonderful place-- & not just the dahlia gardens but the rest of the gardens, too!!

Here is a link that might be useful: wonderful Wynne's dahlias

Oh, My--I guess I'm hopeless! I had Dahlias a few years ago--and lost all but one. But, that one hooked me. It is the most beautiful I've ever seen--but thats just my opinion. Thanks to the folks on here, I got it identified-Hulins Carnival. And I'm go glad I took pictures, because I lost it this past winter.
Now, I ordered 2 more from Swan Island--along with 2 others I just HAD to have--and 27 from another spot. This may be my husbands last year, do I'm not putting in a garden--just going nuts over Dahlias.
Expect me here a lot, even if just lurking.

I'm an artist and graphic designer, and for me Dahlia's have a superb, perfect form: the glowing colors, the way each petal curves "just so", the way the leaves join to the stem, and the different colors of foliage. They are truly a joy to behold~ I've only been growing them for about 5 years, and just started overwintering *wasn't sure how!* 3 years ago. I am also sort of a "Rose Nut" and have 35 bushes in my small yard. If only Dahlia's were fragrant - then I'd REALLY be in trouble :O)

Why wouldn't one say what one thought about one's dahlias?

My dahlias are my collectables, and I enjoy every one. I have any number of varieties that my garden "has to have" and I look forward to seeing that same dependable lovely flower variety every year. Many of the varieties that I've come to love came from my parent's garden: Islander, Kidd's Climax, Show N Tell, Kenora Wildfire, and Just Peachy. Some new varieties I've come to "have to have" too. And there is wonderful variety in the dahlia choices. Let me know which dahlia looks like a sunflower. It might be a fun one to try because I've not yet met a dahlia that I haven't liked at least a little.

I have never shown my beauties in a dahlia show, but a neighbor of mine attests to how much fun it is. I've been thinking about it.

It brings some sanity to life to have quiet time in a garden, growing something that I love to grow.

Old, new, it doesn't matter. I grow dahlias because I like to.

Personally, I do not understand what one is supposed to do with a 14 inch flower and purposely grow my flowers to be smaller than that. Yet some people really seem to enjoy this and even assume that it the purpose of dahlia growing.

Reply: Here in the Northwest, dinner plate dahlias are not grown nearly as much as in other areas of the USA. Even the people who show flowers do not grow that many dinner plate sized dahlias here. I have seen shows with over 1000 blooms and only 20 or so dinner plate varieties. At the flower markets in the Northwest(like Pike Street Market in Seattle) you will see 20 or more vendors who sell dahlia cut flowers. Many are the show varieties that you disparage as too hard to grow.

There also seems to be a vast cultural distance between the Dutch hybridizers who produce lines like Karma, Melody and Allegro, and the dahlia culture in the Northwest, which seems to be centered around producing flowers for show. I really like the Dutch approach, and also think it may leave American growers who are focused on the comparatively small market for show dahlias out of a much bigger market for dahlias as garden plants. Just see what a good job White Flower Farm has done in sorting through all the available cultivars and choosing ones that will look good in a garden.

Reply: You mention White Flower Farm but not Swan Island Dahlias which is the largest grower of dahlias in the USA. They grow 45 acres of dahlias. They do not specialize in show dahlias but in dahlias for all purposes. They sell cut flowers to wholesalers and many times that means as many as 1000 bunches in a day. They ship cut flowers all over the USA. Unlike the Dutch growers, they do not patent their new varieties and anyone can sell them after they get some from them. They sell varieties suitable for any garden from 1 foot tall to 6 feet tall and many have dark foliage too.

I grow my dahlias for:
- color in the perennial garden from late June to early November
- cut flowers

I like most dahlias but tend to shy away from ones that have been overly bred for show, and think that some of these flowers look like overgrown sunflowers on corn stalks.

Reply: The dinner plate dahlias look as you describe. However, as I previously mentioned very few of the dahlias in the Northwest shows are dinner plate varieties. Most show varieties are excellent all around flowers.

I think that I am in a minority in this group. I also think that some of the older dahlias have more deeply saturated color and look more elegant in bouquets due to the color and their thinner stems.

Reply: Many of the show dahlias are older varieties too. Kidd's Climax dates to before 1940. Newer dahlias are being bred with much more saturated colors than old timers. Kenora Wow is brighter than any old time dahlia. Sorbet is too. Both are easy to grow. There are many other examples.

Comments? It would be really interesting if people said what they really thought . . . without upsetting anyone.

ceh2101, I grow them for the same reasons you do. I love the late show and for cut flowers. I tend to gravitate to the dahlias that don't get taller than 3 or 4 feet. Dinner Plate dahlias don't wow me only because they tend to topple over. I try different varieties each year and am more attracted to color and shape than the size of the flower. That being said, I don't like the tiny poms either. Something the size of a rose seems to be a nice compromise. I wish I had color in June. In my zone, I don't get flowers until late July. Good question!

Years ago I bought dozens of dahlias to add form and color in different parts of my cottage borders. I had a work assignment that took me out of town and I had this very small condominium and a postage stamp garden. I got to growing dahlias in containers - they were magnificent just covered in blooms and I love the way they get better and better up to frost when other things are finished. And I love to cut them to bouquets in the house as well.

I am back home now and this year I bought two batches of dahlias - grand total of 5 varieties and 25 plants. I have them in containers and dotted down my front borders. I like to combine the dark foliage in something like Bishop of Llandaff with a deep orange and a purple for example.

I don't like the especially big ones either - of course i never really pamper them to get that big anyway. But I am totally hooked - it's amazing how much impact you can get from one nice tuber. They are always part of my garden. :)

But I am pretty much a garden addict and I have been out of control before. I'm trying to be older and wiser... ;)

Couple pics of my postage stamp condo garden - mid summer, but the dahlias are just kicking in. I was traveling all the time, but I really enjoyed that little space. :)

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Lovely use of a small space!

Ditto- Beautiful! And what jumps out in the first photo? The glowing purple and yellow dahlias strutting their stuff. (The draping petunias come in a close second.) Enjoy your space, no matter the size; it looks very peaceful and inviting.

Thank you and I agree - dahlias are marvelous stars just strutting over their costars. I posted these because I think they really sum up for me why I grow them. They just make the garden so pretty.

I agree with all the above and it's kind of surprising more people dont grow them. It may be that you have to dig them in the fall or order new every year, which could get expensive. I ordered my first only 3 years ago and am hooked. I've grown daylilies and iris in the past and still do, but for length of bloom, color and variety, there is no flower like dahlias. If I bring a bouquet into my wife's office everyone is amazed at the dahlias, (and the gladiolus too). All of my Dahlias have come from Swan Island Dahlias, who I would highly recommend. I think I'll have to switch to inground pots, though, because the voles do eat them here, but several planted near the house have gone undiscovered and come back every year. I never grow anything over BB size. I like the waterlily, cactus and collarettes in that order. The pom form kinda leaves me cold, just a "ball". I always order a few colors that I think I wont like and am amazed at how, in the flesh, the novelty of color really pleases me, I am partial to pink, lavender and pastels, but have really enjoyed the rust, orange, cream ones equally. I've gardened for over 40 years and am so glad that I have finally discovered this great flower.

I love the single, open-faced dahlias because the hummingbirds are nuts about them around here. Since these are not often available in the horticultural trade, I have several that I selected from seed that are tall, bloom like crazy all summer, and in hummingbird favored shades of pink, red, and orange. The plants are totally covered in blooms all summer until frost.

I do have a few doubles as well, but I ditch those if they are too floppy and shy bloomers. I like "Seduction," a double two-toned purple that stands quite rigidly and flowers a great deal.

Phytomaniac, better to find dahlias later than never at all. They do pack a punch in a vase.

I want to stand up for the little pompons! No body likes the little fellows much, but to me they are a stunning pack of petals rolled into one petite package. I think they have value used in contrast to the larger blooms, in mixed bouquets, or standing alone in a little vase. There are some good ones out there in a variety of colors.

Uroboros, I bet your garden is zooming with hummingbirds. I don't care for the singles much because they don't hold up well when cut, but for a garden plant, yes, they have value too.