I just got one from the library -
The Plant Lover's Guide to Dahlias by Andy Vernon
I haven't cracked the cover until now, I got it yesterday with a bunch of other holiday craft books, but it has pretty pictures! It says "In Association with Kew Royal Botanical Gardens" on the front, so it must be good, right? :-)
There are lots of named varieties in it. New book smell, I think I'm the first person to get it, so crisp and clean and wonderful! I love books just as much as plants! :-)

Thanks for the prompt response Queen! I just got that book in the mail. The book starts out with a section on designing with flamboyant flowers. It lists a bunch of buddy plants before it gets to the dahlias themselves.

Aside from that I did stumble upon the page with the Dahlia named after Taylor Swift. She is everywhere! LOL

Are you looking for an encyclopedia, garden growing information, or show growing information?

With dahlias, there are so many ways of doing the same thing that buying a book about one author's technique would be akin to learning how to fry chicken, but not about baking, broiling, BBQing, etc etc. I don't know one that attempts to approach growing dahlias like a recipe book, which would be more appropriate in my mind. Most gardening books just dedicate a paragraph or two to dahlias, and focus on the pretty pictures.

There are quarterly bulletins from the American Dahlia Society that has cultivation articles and lists of 'Cream of the Crop' varieties that do very well in the dahlia shows. There is Dahlias of Today, annually published by Puget Sound Dahlia Association that discusses the new introductions of the coming year, and more in-depth articles about growing for show and summaries of dahlia events.

I did visit the ADS and viewed some of the links. Thanks for the suggestion of Dahlias of Today. I will look into that!

There's also the Encyclopedia of Dahlias by Bill McClaren of Alpen Dahlias, but I have not seen the book.

I will look for that. Thanks!

The best one is the Encyclopedia of Dahlias by Bill McClaren. It may be fairly old but it is the most complete and well written. He is still alive and breeding dahlias and is well into his 80s.

Hi there
I got the mc Laren book as a parting gift when changing jobs some years ago, so good it even made it across to Europe....

It is written very no-nonsens and acurat,
covers some history, the classes, basics on growing, storing, pests diseases

And has a large section of Dahlia portraits.

Now, after abot 8 years opening it every now and then, the only draw back is that those Dahlia cultivars tend to be out dated or are hard to get after some years.

And the Dahlia pics are all the same sized small square, regardless whether dinnerplates or mini dekorative.
But then it is very wise to take a peek at actual Dahlias in showgardens.

The author draws from decades of Dahlia growing, and even if it is not the cheapest thing to buy, it is such a beautiful book

Well, have a nice time researching,

Bye, Lin

Here is a link that might be useful: McLaren Dahlia book