Go to the Georgia Dahlia Society website and follow the link to "Dahlias that grow well in the south" or "Heat tolerant dahlias." It has an expansive pdf list which includes some very nice ones for cutting in all sizes and colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dahlias that grow well in the south

Thank you, I went there and printed off the list. Are some better than others for cutting? Should I go by size or type?

Some that I have had good success with in the Atlanta area and will give you a lot of blooms are the smaller ones which include Peaches n Cream, Rebecca Lynn, L.A.T.E.,Hissy Fitz, Tyler,Ferncliff Copper, Pink Pet, Taratahi Lilac, Jessica, Hy Sockeye, B Sized--Yuukyu, Kenora Sunset, Kenora Firefighter, Kenora Lisa, Sterling Silver, Jess, A Sized--Ben Houston, Zorro, Cherkoee Beauty, Elma Elizabeth (very late), Elsie Houston, Kidd's Climax, Spartacus, Camano Messenger. That should get you started as all of these are great flowers.

Shelly,

Discovered the following information this week, and thought I would pass it along to you and other dahlia growers in hot, humid regions of the country. I have also noted it in our Planting Guide on the website.

There is a big difference in climate between Georgia and lower Alabama as well as those folks in Louisiana. Atlanta is much further inland; therefore, they are not subjected to the flooding rains, and the heat and humidity as much.

It is recommended that you use 40 to 50 percent shade cloth and raised beds for your dahlias.

Also, the dahlia grower should focus on smaller sized cultivars and avoid getting blooms during the hottest part of summer. With higher soil temperatures, the dahlias will need extra nitrogen. Fungus will be a big problem as well.

Information gleaned from Alan A. Fisher, American Dahlia Society

Oh how quickly I forgot about those flooding rains. We had a really dry summer last year (compared to the others filled with hurricanes and tropical storms). This is going to be a challenge I'm sure, but hopefully well worth the effort. Thanks for the tips.

I have been growing dahlias in the South for 31 years starting in San Antonio. If you would like a challenge growing dahlias then try South Texas. The heat & humidity in Atlanta (90's day & 70's at night)in the summer is almost as bad so there is not much difference between here and South Alabama. The trick is to mulch your dahlias and keep them watered during the hot months so they keep growing & don't die and when the cool weather comes the nice blooms do too. This is why the list of heat tolerant dahlias is SO IMPORTANT as they will grow in the heat where others won't. I grow Pink Jupiter but it grows about 18" and just sits there until September and then starts growing again and I get a couple of stunning blooms in late October. You can grow AA & A sized dahlias in the South but for show you grow them one or two up in order to get any size. I would be very careful about using shadecloth and recommend you use umbrellas to protect the bloom if needed. I know Alan Fisher and respect his ability to grow dahlias but I don't know if he has tried growing them South of the DC area. The growing instructions on the DS of GA website cover what you need to do Moonbooms.

If you're looking for Ben "Houston" & Elsie "Houston" you won't find them- Earl's name was Huston & he just hated it when people gave it the "Housten, Texas" spelling esp. since he was Canadian!

Dear Flower Farmer,
Your dahlias are beautiful. Your website is gorgeous. I am in awe of all the photos. I am a market farmer as well. And, I wanted to just say thank you for all the help and information you have given me and others over on the Cutting Garden. Whenever I am feeling particularly down I plan to visit your website to lift my spirits. Thank you again for being so generous. It is my dream to one day be able to visit your beautiful flower farm.

Erin

PS PlantLady, my sister lives in Houston, Texas. Will she be offended you misspelled her city's name? My guess is she won't because we are all human. We all make mistakes. We all need to laugh more and not be so uptight. We need to enjoy life.

Frizzy-Lizzy Steve in Baltimore County.

Hi Plantlady, the mis-spelled Hustons, Ben, Sam and Elsie, have been requested to be corrected by our web master. Sorry to trouble the memory of Mr. Huston

My name, too, has been mis-pelled and mis-pronounced all of my life. But no big deal.

hey all,

I am just starting to look at dahlias, and I can't find pictures of some that are on the tolerant list. If anybody has pics they can post it would be great. Or if these are typo'd or known by other names. Thanks!

CG Arctic
Kenora Firefighter
Pink Pet
Pompons
SB'S Sunny
Stephnie
Bo Bay

Hi Mairenn, CG Nordic (the correct name) can be seen at Corralitos Gardens catalog at Dahlias.net Bobay can be seen on the originations page at the DS of GA site. The only way to get a tuber of it is to come to the DS of GA tuber sales in April & May. It is a wonderful flower and very easy to grow.

Pompon is a form of dahlias but a couple that do well in the South are Willo Borealis P, Lav and Lismore Moonlight P, Yel Yellow Baby does OK but not for show and Little Snowdrop P, W. You can see these except for Little Snowdrop at Accent Dahlias on the Big List at dahlias.net Valda P, PR does fine also but is very hard to find. Clacks Dahlias offered it this year and you can see a not so good picture of it on their site.
I will try and post some pictures if I can figure out how to do it. I have pictures of the others except maybe for Stephnie, which is a wonderful ball dahlia. Kenora Firefighter is a bright red with lots of blooms and really grew well in my garden last year as did SB's Sunny and Pink Pet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Colorado Dahlia Society

Hello! I, too have fallen under the spell of Dahlias and live in Austin Texas. The closest to austin in comments below was San Antonio- but it's 90 minutes away and believe me, it does matter.. any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.