Dahlia Mix Color Bulbs
Updated: May 1
Dahlia plants are true summertime standouts in the landscape. The sheer array of color, size and form make these wonderful tubers a garden favorite, both easy to grow and multiplying over time. Dahlia plants are most commonly started from tubers, but you can collect seed and increase your favorite flowers over time. You will need a little patience though, as dahlia seeds take several seasons to produce blooms, but the effort is fun and can yield some surprising results from these naturally hybridizing Dahlia plants.
Difference between Dahlia Seeds and Bulbs
Dahlia tubers are common in nurseries and seed catalogs. They are the fastest and most reliable way to grow big, boisterous blooming dahlia flowers. Growing the dahlia flowers using dahlia seeds and bulbs may take a little more time but is a great way to extend your crop of the dazzlers. Knowing how to plant dahlia seeds isn’t hard, but there are a few tips for guaranteed success and riots of colorful blooms of Dahlia Flowers. Save your Dahlia seed for inexpensive consistent dahlia season after season.
Dahlia plants most accurately grow from tubers which, like bulbs, are underground storage organs containing the DNA or blueprint of the plant. Vegetative methods of propagation result in true copies of the parent Dahlia plant while seeded propagation is prey to the capriciousness of nature and may result in slightly different versions of the dahlia parent. For this reason, starting dahlia seeds is not a method favored by collectors and champion breeders.
Dahlia seeds are produced in prolific amounts on the plants, but most gardeners simply protect the tubers and replant them the next year as a surefire way to keep a favored species. However, the adventurous gardener may want to save some of that dahlia seed and see what the next season brings. It might be a bloom that surpasses its parent in beauty and form.
Dahlias Are Unusually Responsive to Growing Conditions
In addition to their inherent genetic variability, dahlias also have a high degree of what scientists call “plasticity.” This means that more than most other types of plants, dahlias are acutely responsive to environmental conditions.
Weather extremes can have a rapid and significant effect on their rate of growth as well as on when they start blooming, the size of the flowers and total flower production. Interestingly, cultivars can respond very differently to the same set of growing conditions. No wonder dahlia forums are so active!
Flower color can be surprisingly variable, depending on where the plants are growing. Tubers from the same grower can yield different results. The dahlia ‘Diva’, for example, might lean toward red in Michigan and purple in Massachusetts. Penhill Watermelon may look peachier in Oregon than it does in Ohio.
Dahlias can also change color. While we count on most annuals and perennials to produce the same color flowers throughout the growing season, this is not always true with dahlias. As the season progresses, colors may intensify or take on a cooler or warmer cast. You may even see several color variations on the same plant — at the same time.
Planting
Dahlias thrive in 6 to 8 hours of direct sun, especially morning sunlight, and they benefit from protection from wind. Consider their size at maturity when planting. They grow best in rich, well-draining soil with a pH level of 6.0 to 7.5. Amend heavy clay soil with aged manure or compost to lighten and loosen the soil texture for better drainage.
When to Plant Dahlias
Dahlias will not tolerate cold soil. Plant when the soil reaches 60ºF (15°C) and any danger of frost has passed.
Planting dahlias a few days after tomatoes are planted in the ground is a good rule of thumb.
Some gardeners start tubers indoors in containers a month ahead to get a jump on the season. Medium to dwarf-size dahlias will do well in containers.
Growing Dahlias in Containers
Medium- to dwarf-size dahlias do well in containers that have drainage and are big enough to support the plant at maturity. Generally, a 12x12 inch container will suffice.
Use a soilless mix and co-polymer moisture-retaining crystals, per the package’s guidance.
Follow the depth requirements.
Cover the tuber with a few inches of soil-crystal mix.
Spray water on the tuber, if necessary, until growth starts.
Do not water if the soil is damp 1 inch below the surface.
Fertilize through summer as directed.
Add soil if the roots become exposed.
Check out our video to learn more about growing dahlias in your garden:
Growing
When dahlias are established, water 2 or 3 times a week and more in hot, dry climates. Be prepared to tend to plants before or after rain, when open blooms (especially large ones) tend to fill up with water or take a beating from the wind.
After sprouting, dahlias benefit from a low-nitrogen, liquid fertilizer, such as 5-10-10 or 10-20-20. Fertilize every 3 to 4 weeks from sprouting in midsummer until early autumn. Do not over fertilize, especially with nitrogen, or you risk small or no blooms, weak tubers, or rot.
When plants are about 1 foot tall, pinch out 3 to 4 inches of the center branch to encourage bushier plants and increase stem count and stem length.
For large flowers, try disbudding: Remove the two smaller buds next to the central one in a flower cluster. The plant will put all of its energy into fewer but considerably larger flowers.
Bedding dahlias need no staking or disbudding. Simply pinch out the center shoot just above the third set of leaves to encourage bushiness.
For more blooms, deadhead as flowers fade; deadheading keeps the flowers blooming for months!
Types of Dahlia Mix Color Bulbs
There are about 60,000 named varieties and 18 official flower forms, including cactus, peony, anemone, stellar, collarette, and waterlily. Here are some popular choices:
‘Bishop of Llandaff’: small, scarlet, intense flowers; handsome, dark-burgundy foliage; 3 feet tall
‘Miss Rose Fletcher’: an elegant, spiky, pink cactus plant with 6-inch globes of long, quilled, shell-pink petals; 4 feet tall
‘Bonne Esperance’, aka ‘Good Hope’: dwarf variety that bears 1-1/2-inch, rosy-pink flowers all summer that are reminiscent of Victorian bedding dahlias; 1-foot tall
‘Kidd’s Climax’: the ultimate in irrational beauty with 10-inch “dinnerplate” flowers with hundreds of pink petals suffused with gold; 3-1/2 feet tall
‘Jersey’s Beauty’: 4- to 6-inch handsize pink flowers in fall; 4 to 6 feet tall
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