We had a bit of a rocky start with the dahlias this year but, in the end, most of them performed beautifully even if their stems weren’t always as long as I would liked. The biggest problem was that the insects seemed to enjoy eating the petals as much as we enjoyed looking at them!
Dahlias are most often planted as tubers. However, the tubers cannot overwinter in most climates as they cannot handle too cold of temperature (or too soggy conditions!). We’ve had very hit or miss success with storing tubers and are determined that this will be our successful year! Lifting the tubers at the end of the season and storing them is the best way to grow your quantity of dahlias as they multiply underground all season. Therefore, if you start with just one tuber in the spring you can end up with five or six or even more!
Dahlias come in all shapes, sizes and colors. In fact, sometimes they look like a different flower altogether. I find that the pom pom varieties last the longest in the vase and don’t get eaten by insects as quickly as the multi petalled dinner plate varieties. But, of course, they all have their place in the garden and vase!
Dahlias play very well with other flowers and greens in the vase. They are more than happy to take center stage but also work well as background players!
