Celebrating Dahlias!

#1: Single Dahlia (Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff')

@pirl says, "At the end of the season I made the mistake of not dividing the plant. The tubers had grown into several plants and should have been divided. It grew itself to death (sounds silly, I know) the following year. Unless dahlias are divided, regardless of the growing zone, the ball of tubers can't get sufficient nutrients to survive. People will notice fewer and fewer blooms and attribute it to something other than the true cause - they do need to divide dahlias."

• Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'
• Uploaded by okus

• Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'
• Uploaded by Cantillon

#2: Dahlia (Dahlia 'Unwins Mix')

@Hemophobic says, "Frankly, I love these smaller dahlias. I planted some several years ago from seeds labeled as Unwin's Dwarf
and they bloomed beautifully and returned, so I'm planting more."

• Dahlia 'Unwins Mix'
• Uploaded by JonnaSudenius

• Dahlia 'Unwins Mix'
• Uploaded by JonnaSudenius

#3: Dinnerplate Dahlia (Dahlia 'Akita')

@SongofJoy says, "This dahlia has performed wonderfully well in zone 7a in Tennessee. Spectacular dinnerplate size blooms offer an ever-changing coloration from darker to lighter tones and shades. The plant has been pest and disease free. A heavy bloomer, it begins blooming in late summer and continues until frost."

• Dinnerplate Dahlia (Dahlia 'Akita')
• Uploaded by SongofJoy

• Dinnerplate Dahlia (Dahlia 'Akita')
• Uploaded by SongofJoy

#4: Decorative Dahlia (Dahlia 'Peaches 'n Cream')

@SongofJoy says, "Highly attractive to bees and butterflies.

'Peaches & Cream' is tall growing, free blooming, and colorful. Very full 7-inch blossoms are composed of yellow petals, flamed with bright orange, and tipped in white. The tall plant has lush dark foliage. Excellent for cutting. Grows 46-54" tall."

@pirl added, "Despite the data on the label (either HD or Lowe's) saying this Peaches 'n Cream grows to 18 inches, mine is at 6'."

• Dahlia 'Peaches and Cream'
• Uploaded by 4susiesjoy

• Dahlia 'Peaches and Cream'
• Uploaded by frankrichards16

#5: Tree Dahlia (Dahlia imperialis)

@JRsbugs says, "I've had this plant for around 6 years, it does well by my south wall but living over 53 degrees latitude north it doesn't get the day length requirements soon enough for the flower buds to open before the plant gets frozen. It has often got through frost to -5C, the leaves have had some frost on them and survived it, but an extra degree to -6C or different frost conditions usually kill it.

In the UK it grows to around 11 feet tall by my wall, I have grown more plants from it and put in other places in the garden but they never thrive, although some have lived. Buds in the last three years have looked so promising, this year some plants further south in England made flowers in mid November but mine were about to be frozen by mid December so I cut the stem to put in water, there's only one promising bud which I am not holding my hopes for. Getting to mid December is a miracle in itself, unless we happen to have very mild weather it would struggle to flower in very low winter temperatures here. I keep trying and hoping though!

Wind can be a problem when the new stems are still soft, I have had some blow over but with age they go woody. My plant survived in the ground after the very hard winter 2010/11 in the UK, with 7 weeks continually below freezing and with temperatures down to -17C.

New plants can easily be grown from young shoots taken with a little of the woody base. I have also grown them from the stem near the base after winter, which was still 'green' inside although the stems are hollow. If you have a live stem, cut a length either side of two nodes with a length of stem between them, place just under the surface of compost laid on the side in a large pot. They will root and make new plants from the nodes, so with two nodes you will get two plants which can be cut apart once the roots are sufficiently formed and repotted individually. I did this in a cold greenhouse where the pot got plenty of sun. If grown in the ground in a greenhouse I might get more chance of flowers, I now have a greenhouse with broken glass in the roof so next year maybe I will grow another plant to put in that greenhouse even though it gets some shade, worth a try!"

• Tree Dahlia (Dahlia imperialis)
• Uploaded by zuzu

• Tree Dahlia (Dahlia imperialis)
• Uploaded by Calif_Sue

#6: Dahlia (Dahlia Mystic Illusion)

@Tree_climber says, "This is a fantastic plant in my zone 5 garden. The contrast of the yellow blooms and the dark (purple) foliage is amazing. Easy to grow."

• Dahlia Mystic Illusion
• Uploaded by Cantillon

• Dahlia Mystic Illusion
• Uploaded by eclayne

#7: Formal Decorative Dahlia (Dahlia 'Sonic Bloom')

@jmorth says, "Full and fluffy 5.5" blooms. Introduced in 2006."

• Dahlia 'Sonic Bloom'
• Uploaded by jmorth

• Dahlia 'Sonic Bloom'
• Uploaded by jmorth

#8: Dahlia (Dahlia 'Bishop's Children')

@Calif_Sue says, "A descendant of the classic Dahlia, Bishop of Llandaff

Flowers come in a wide variety of warm-toned shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple, in solid and sometimes bicolor blooms. The bloom forms include single and semi-double, as well as Peony-formed. The black foliage is very striking!"

• Dahlia (Dahlia pinnata 'Bishop's Children')
• Uploaded by Joy

• Dahlia (Dahlia pinnata 'Bishop's Children')
• Uploaded by Calif_Sue

#9: Decorative Dahlia (Dahlia 'Gay Princess')

@4susiesjoy says, "This is one of my earliest blooming dahlias' every year. Its blooms are about 5 inches and it grows to about 4 and 1/2 feet tall. It is a prolific bloomer and holds up well in arrangements."

• Dahlia 'Gay Princess'
• Uploaded by 4susiesjoy

• Dahlia 'Gay Princess'
• Uploaded by 4susiesjoy

#10: Dahlia (Dahlia 'Zoey Rey')

@4susiesjoy says, "This dahlia can get quite tall. It can be from 48 to 60 inches or taller if it is fed and watered regularly. Its flowers are large, but the stems are quite strong and they hold up pretty well in a bouquet or arrangement. The dark pink on the edge of the petals combined with the cream/yellow centers make this a real standout in the garden."

• Dahlia 'Zoey Rey'
• Uploaded by 4susiesjoy

• Dahlia 'Zoey Rey'
• Uploaded by pirl