Dahlias will brighten up any sunny garden with a growing season that’s at least 120 days long – from mid-summer through to autumn.
Ranging from little starburst blooms, to plate-sized flowers in every colour combination imaginable.
They are beautiful in a vase or a bouquet, with the added bonus of the more you cut them, the more they will bloom!
The plants grow from tubers, which require well-drained acidic and weed free soil, plenty of sunlight and nutrients.
The tubers need to be planted 8-12in deep, spaced 12in apart for small blooms; the big dahlias need to be planted at least 3ft apart, to accommodate their large blooms.
Provide plenty of water, by watering deeply once a week, and fertilise twice a month with a low nitrogen feed during the growing season.
The big dahlias will need a support structure, to keep the heavy blooms from bending to the ground.
