Is that why some get so huge! Last year, I had a row of plants that every one was really tall. And did they ever bloom on that row! It makes sense, but I never thought of that!

Yep.....

It seems that a lack of sun will make many plants grow tall...

However, my tomatoes also grew tall due to lack of sun, but their stems were pencil thin, and wanted to fall over, but my dahlias were thick, strong and healthy, and need very little support.

They also bloomed VERY well even though they didnt get the 8+ hours of sun they allegedly desperately needed.

But Highlander . . I've had it go the other way too. I've also had plants in shadier spots be short, late, and sickly. So . . . less sun is okay, but next to no sun doesn't work perhaps?

I think it has to do with fungal diseases like white powder mildew. Plant in shade the plant stays wet longer.

I got some yellow dahlias for mother's day 2017. They were in a pot but appeared to get too much sun or rain. The tag said partial sun so that is where I planted them in partial sun. They still have buds on them but we are getting a lot of rain so they may be water logged. I see I have to cover with much during the winter (NJ) so we will see what happens.

I had six new plants that started as tubers. Planted them along a fence and they get 5 hours of sun per day, plus the heat off the wood fence is a plus. . This is their second year with slow start due to the bad NW Spring, too much rain and little sun, but last year they all performed beautifully. I had blooms into October. We'll see this year. One plant didn't come up, but the rest are growing. My old gardens got about 7 hours and I had 20 plants. All did beautiful. Key is to deadhead old blooms and water regularly. Don't stress dahlia or they will not due well, like overwatering or competing with weeds, and not desdhesding. Happy growing!

I have 7 dahlias in pots on my back lanai - all get NO DIRECT SUN - all are blooming well but I'm in fla -

I live between the Mississippi River and a wooded state park. We have 9 large old oak trees and many other trees. You can imagine that sun is hard to come by in our yard. My best sun is 4 hours and our dahlias bloomed great last year. I use lots of Cowsmo compost and vegetative compost and water whenever needed. I think even those of us with less sun can enjoy the beauty of dahlias if we give them good soil and care.

Hello from London! I'm very tempted to start growing Dahlias, but worried that I am in a North facing garden and my flowerbeds don't get *any* direct sunshine at all - the only spot I have free gets light, but no sun. Is it worth it? I'm loving the idea of tall leggy blossoms - but worried that my garden is slightly impossible...

Mariel, there are a lot of dahlia growers in England, with many in small city gardens between tightly spaced cottages. One thing I've found about English cultivars is that they tend to grow shorter than ones hybridized in the United States. So, if they don't get enough sun and stretch a bit to optimize the available light to their leaves, you shouldn't be overwhelmed by a monster bush.

Treat dahlias like annuals for the first couple years, don't worry about overwintering, and PLAY! There are so many different forms to try, and at their small price-point, it is worth trying.

Cheers!
-CiCi