Kari's Favorite Dahlia Varieties

Every garden needs dahlias

I honestly believe that everyone needs a flower garden. It's a place where you can go and get lost in the beauty. Your fears and worries seem to magically disappear. Even when it's not in bloom, it's wonderful to get your hands in the dirt. If you have a garden, it needs dahlias! You can even grow them in pots.... but who cares where you grow them... as long as you grow them.

These dahlias are different than what you will find at the garden center. Most dahlias available commercially are shorter varieties that are bred for bedding plants. Those are fine and great, but if you want the real stunners you need to get tubers from a cut flower grower. Of course you can buy them in a bag at a box store, but they are pot tubers grown in Holland and shipped here. In my experience, it's best to get single tubers that have been grown in the USA.

They can sound kinda fussy, but once you get them planted and learn how to store them, you will have loads of blooms every year from August until the first frost (typically mid October here in Northern Indiana).

It can be a difficult task to choose dahlia varieties, because as a floral designer, I look for dahlias that are popular colors for weddings and events. They need to last well once they are cut and have sturdy stems. After growing hundreds of varieties of dahlias over the past 14 years, I have my tried and true favorites. If you are new to growing dahlias, these are ones you will want to give a try!