This week... Dahlias

For showy blooms from mid-summer until autumn, choose dahlias

DAHLIAS are one of our most flamboyant summer flowers. Dahlia flowers vary in size from small single flowers shaped like daisies to dinner-plate dahlias with fully double flowers 12in (30cm) across.

Strong growing, fleshy shoots grow from dahlia bulbs (technically tubers) shaped like a collection of very fat fingers connected at one end, where the shoots develop. Hollow stems carry bold divided foliage that is usually dark green but can be heavily bronzed. From early summer the fat buds burst into bloom and the flowers can keep coming until the first frost of autumn.

Outstanding in a sunny border, superb – and very fashionable – for cutting, dwarf types are ideal for patio containers.

Abundance of wonderful flowers

The experts at one flower bulb company tell us: “Dahlias provide us with more pleasure than almost any other summer bulb. They produce an abundance of wonderful flowers perfect for gift-giving flower arrangements throughout early summer, and again in late summer until the first frosts. If they are picked for arrangements, these cut-and-come-again plants require almost no care and come in myriad colours.”

Many kinds of dahlias

DAHLIAS are classified into 17 different groups – yes, 17! – based mainly on the shape of their flowers. Most groups are then divided again by flower size.

At one end of the scale are the Single dahlias, with each flower made up of a ring of petals around a bold golden eye. Usually less than 4in (10cm) across, Single dahlias come in a good range of rich and pastel colours, have a natural simplicity and are popular with pollinators.