• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Diseases
    • Plant Profiles
    • Raised Bed Gardening
    • Seed Starting
    • Tools & Equipment
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Growing Dahlias

September 7, 2017 by Jeanne

Do you see this dahlia? It’s my first attempt at growing beautiful dahlias and I’m thrilled it survived. Here’s why my little dahlia is so special, and how you can grow beautiful dahlias in your garden, too.

g

Growing Dahlias

I’d never tried to grow dahlias before because I had heard, somewhere through the horticultural grapevine, that they were ‘fussy.’ A fussy plant doesn’t last long in my garden. Between periods of drought, clay soil, and hot summer weather, if you’re a plant, you’ve got to be tough to survive here.

I knew that my grandfather had been fascinated with dahlias and had grown them in his Bellerose, Queens, garden. I don’t remember this because my grandfather died before I was born. The beautiful garden I remember was lush with tomato plants, apple trees, and green grass paths, but no dahlias.

When a friend called me and asked if I wanted some dahlia tubers, I said sure. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Her father had them in a bag in the basement of his home and she had no idea how long they had been stored. We thought perhaps six months, maybe a year…but who knows?

The dahlia tubers arrived, and I planted the last fall. Then I promptly forgot about them – did I mark the spaces where I’d planted them? Of course not. When it came time to dig up the soil and pull out all the crabgrass and wiregrass growing in the flower beds, I forgot all about my poor dahlias. I probably discard them along with the weeds. Ugh! I hate it when that happens!

This summer, a mysterious plant appeared near the boxwood hedge surrounding our water pump. I thought it was a daisy. Then it bloomed. Glowing white flower on top of a tall, thin stalk…and a beautiful cactus-like flower.

dahlia

Here she is, the lone dahlia survivor in my garden. It doesn’t look like much from a distance. But close up…wow!

Growing dahlias isn’t rocket science. They aren’t as fussy as I thought they were, and in fact, they are actually quite tolerant of poor soils. They need abundant bright, full sunlight and good water to get established, but once they have all of that? They’re good to go!

Growing dahlias:

  • Plant dahlia tubers (root parts) in spring after the soil is warm.
  • They cannot tolerate frost, so plant after the frost-free date for your zone. In Virginia, that is generally after Mother’s Day or May 1-15.
  • Plant in any kind of soil.
  • Plant tubers about 6 inches deep.
  • Don’t bother to water them until they start growing. Then, water only if there’s no rain for a week or more.
  • No fertilizer necessary.
  • Mulch the tubers with 1- 2 layers of bark mulch or dig up and store the tubers inside to keep them from freezing in the fall.

And that’s it!

There are so many beautiful dahlias…big ones, small ones, all sizes and colors. I’m smitten. I can’t wait to try more in my garden.

I’m glad that my misconceptions around growing dahlias were changed. They’re a beautiful flower and one that deserves a permanent place in my garden.

Happy gardening. Keep growing!

 

Filed Under: Growing Flowers

Previous Post: « Fall Vegetable Garden: How to Grow Broccoli
Next Post: Identifying Wildflowers »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Substack
  • YouTube

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Three Easy Steps to Improve Garden Soil
  • Beginner’s Tips to Starting a Vegetable Garden
  • What to Plant in Early Spring: Vegetable Garden

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

lettuce growing in a raised bed

What to Plant in Early Spring: Vegetable Garden

What to plant in early spring depends on your gardening zone, but there are many great choices for vegetable gardening that can make your backyard garden productive early in the season. Spring Vegetable Gardening With careful planning, the average backyard gardener in most gardening zones in the United States can grow fresh, organic vegetables throughout…

Read More

green beans on the plant

How to Grow Green Beans Organically

Beans – whether green beans, snap beans, heirloom beans, or any other kind of beans – are easy to grow organically. They need warm temperatures, full sunshine, and fertile soil to grow at their best. While there are insect pests that will eat the leaves of bean plants, they generally don’t harm the beans themselves,…

Read More

a red wheelbarrow filled with mulch with a shovel leaning against it

How to Adjust Soil pH for Vegetable Gardens

How to Test Soil pH If you slept through high school chemistry class, never fear. You can still learn the basics of soil pH for vegetables to ensure a great garden this year. pH refers to the scale of acid to alkaline, a scale developed in the early 20th century by chemists trying to describe…

Read More

polyphemus moth caterpillar

Meet a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar

We were on our evening walk last night when this beauty crossed our path: a polyphemus moth caterpillar. What Is the Polymphemus Moth? The Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is a large and visually striking moth native to North America. It belongs to the Saturniidae family, which includes many of the giant silk moths. Its name…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme