Joey's Blog

Dahlia Delights

Posted on 2 Aug, 2007 6 comments

I know that a lot of people donâ€™t really like dahlias but I think they are fantastic. On a visit to RHS Garden Wisley today I really enjoyed not only looking at the amazing array on the trials field but also those planted in amongst the borders.

There are about 30 species of dahlia and about 20,000 cultivars! Originally these eye-catching perennials were from the mountainous areas of Mexico and Central America and started off life as a fairly uninteresting bloom.

They flower from mid-summer to mid-autumn and come in an amazing variety of shapes from tiny pompons to giant decorative blooms that will blow you away.

Apparently dahlia flowers come in every colour except blue and are related to sunflowers, dandelions, asters and chrysanthemums.

I have four dahlias in my garden and they really add shape and colour when they appear. Mine started to come out about 2 weeks ago but the trial at Wisley is just getting started.

Comments

Peter

3 Aug, 2007

They're all so different!

Weemamabell

4 Aug, 2007

Joey , I love Dahlia's , sadly I didnt put any in my garden this year , but ....I was tidying up the borders yesterday and to my surprise there are Dahlias appearing ! must be bits of tubers left over from last year ! thats the great thing about gardening there is always a surprise along the line at some point , lol . Thanks for the lovely photo's , keep it up ! Happy Gardening .

Spritzhenry

4 Aug, 2007

If I leave my one and only dahlia in the ground over the winter, is it lik I do have to didely to survive? We are in the SW in a relatively mild area. That's why I have never grown dahlias before, even this one was a freeby when I joined the RHS! If you think I should dig it up, where should it be kept and how, please.

Wyeboy

4 Aug, 2007

Much maligned plant but they are very good value and as my American friends say' you get plenty of blooms for your bucks'!!.There is a certain snobbishness about gardeners, another plant, again good value ,which is looked upon as common is Buddleja.

Spritzhenry

4 Aug, 2007

I am so sorry about my last comment - see above - the mouse went mad... The odd sentence in the middle should read 'is it likely to survive and what do I have to do'

Joey

6 Aug, 2007

Spritz - I leave mine in their tubs but move the tubs under cover - I am not sure but if weemamabell has found them appearing it might be safe to leave them in the ground....
Wyeboy - I completely agree about snobbishness, perhaps it is time to start a campaign against plant snobbery! My Buddleja is looking really lovely at the moment and the butterflies are happy!

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