Get the best from dahlias

These stunners are always welcome in Ruth’s garden

- Ruth Hayes

I GO very gooey over dahlias because they have few equals when it comes to style and colour through summer and autumn. I love their endless variety, whether they have close-petalled pom-pom flower heads or carry more expansive blooms that open out like water lilies over foliage that is either lush green or eye-catching bronze.

For all their beauty they are pretty robust, and will flower from midsummer until well into the autumn, only giving up for the year when the first frosts have blackened their leaves.

However, although they are fairly self-sufficient, they can’t be left entirely to their own devices as pests and other problems do seem to flock their way.

Snails, earwigs, capsid bugs and aphids will make a meal of petals and leaves, leaving plants looking dog-eared and shredded.

Powdery mildew is a problem when conditions are still and dry, so make sure plants are well watered.