New to dahlia's. Suggestions?

11 years ago

Hi,
I've chosen dahlia's as my new thing to grow this year. I'd like a few suggestions of most disease resistant, most prolific, best success with winter storage and good for a beginner(if there is such a category for dahlia's). Anything tried and true and it doesn't need to be the newest "best thing".

Cafe au Lait is at the top of my list and probably wouldn't want another dinnerplate sized one this year. Although who knows, I may like the large size.

I would really like to have a pompom style in addition to that one. And I also like the water lily style.

Pinks to lavender, white, yellow and I would consider a true red red, not burgundy or rust. Nothing in the orange family, this year.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! And I always like to see personal plant pics (vs.catalog pics) if you have any to share.

Thank You!

Featured Answer

teddahlia

11 years ago

There are about 3-4000 varieties to choose from. If there is dahlia club near you, attend one of their meetings and get some advice there. Many clubs have tuber sales to finance the club activities. The American Dahlia Society has a web site and it can be helpful. http://www.dahlia.org Or, just go to the local Costco or other store and try some of the varieties they sell.
Swan Island Dahlias is the largest dahlia farm in the USA and they have a great website: http://www.dahlias.com/
If you want to buy from a smaller company how about
Old House Dahlias:
http://www.oldhousedahlias.com/

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Comments (8)

poppy_pa_6b
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you very much for this information.
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cicivacation
11 years ago
Welcome, Ann!

"And I always like to see personal plant pics (vs.catalog pics) if you have any to share."

I posted lots of images from my garden in Sept under the thread title 'Eye Candy.' The new host of this forum has maintained all old posts so far, it seems.
poppy_pa_6b
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for referring me to your other posts. Beautiful flowers and your dahlia garden is amazing! The information you provided within will be helpful also. So much to learn! I'm just going to start with no more than 3 varieties this year. I noticed you mentioned one of your pics was good for a beginner. Any other variety suggestions for a beginner? I'd like to try and store them over winter, if there are varieties that tolerate that better than others, that would be part of my consideration as well.
cicivacation
11 years ago
If you're just going for three, I would just see what the big box stores have in stock, and give them a whirl. There is time enough, if you choose to grow more in 2016, to get really specific with which varieties to buy. Go for pretty to learn on, THEN get choosy! :-)
poppy_pa_6b
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm glad you said that because I did in fact get two from a big box store, but then came home and researched the varieties and thought maybe they weren't the best choices for my first go. Which is why I came to this forum. However I think I will just keep those and maybe order the café au lait.

In regards to the 2 I have now, they were inside the store, but should I put them in a cooler location, ie the fridge? I was thinking about potting them up but I read that shouldn't be done until a month- six wks prior to wanting to plant them outside. Sorry to ask you so many questions but I really appreciate your experience and I'd like to have some success with these.
cicivacation
11 years ago
Questions are fine. My ulterior motive is to get you hooked on dahlias for life, so it's all good.

No fridge, leave them room temp in the packaging they are in. The bag should have perforations to keep humidity from being trapped inside, and there should be peat moss or another packing medium inside to protect the roots. Leave them be until you're ready to pot them up.

Word of warning... Watch them for signs of fungus gnats, which I have seen settling into big box pot root dahlias too many times. They indicate that there is some rotting going on, and you'll want to play doctor if that happens. This early in the spring sale season, you shouldn't have that problem, though.
poppy_pa_6b
Original Author
11 years ago
haha....well it wouldn't be difficult to get me hooked. I love flowers. I'm still working on roses as my biggest learning curve, so I don't want to take on too much and lose the fun of it all. I did order the café au lait last night, so I have 3 varieties. (Garden Wonder and Onesta are the other two). I wanted a pompom type dahlia, but that can wait another year. I love the symmetry of those.

The 2 I have are packaged in clear plastic with I think peat moss(brown saw dusty type stuff) and no perforations, no bugs, and dry. The packaging says they're a product of the Netherlands and they have a 1 yr guarantee. I think that's that pretty good considering where I purchased them from.

Thanks again for your advice!