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Dahlia

Dahlia tubers: summer flowers for cutting, gardens and retail

The dahlia is a tuberous plant from Mexico that flowers from July until the first night frost. Dahlias come in almost every colour except blue, from low border dahlias to decorative types with flowers of more than 20 cm. Dahlia tubers are planted in spring, outdoors from mid-May, and flower 10–13 weeks later. Holland Bulb Market has more than 120 cultivars in its spring range.

Uses

Cut flowers: one of the most popular summer cut flowers, outdoors and under glass. The more you cut, the more new flowers appear.
Gardens and borders: combine tall dahlias with ornamental grasses and perennials; low border dahlias suit the front of the border and pots.
Retail: dahlia tubers in capperlines, packs and displays for spring sales.
Bees and butterflies: single and anemone-flowered dahlias are valuable for pollinators.

Professional cultivation: cut dahlias outdoors and under glass

Dahlias are long-day plants. In a heated greenhouse you can plant from January to March for an early harvest; in a cold, frost-free greenhouse in April and May; outdoors from April under cover or from mid-May. For cut-flower production allow about 10 plants per m² in beds approx. 1 m wide, with support nets. Pinching above the second or third pair of leaves gives more and stronger stems. Production is about 60–80 stems per m² outdoors and 100–160 stems per m² in the greenhouse.

Harvest when the first flower is just opening, put the flowers in water with cut-flower food straight away and store them at 5–6 °C. Read more about professional growing.

Our dahlia range

More than 120 cultivars in the groups decorative (including dinner-plate types), cactus and semi-cactus, fringed, ball, anemone-flowered, single-flowered and low border dahlias. The largest group is decorative, with more than 50 cultivars.

Flowering time by group

Group	Flowering (NL)	Height (approx.)	Examples
Decorative	July – first night frost	90–120 cm	Thomas A. Edison, Lavender Perfection
Cactus and semi-cactus	July – first night frost	90–120 cm	Purple Gem, Jessica
Fringed	July – first night frost	90–120 cm	Ice Crystal, Table Dancer
Ball	July – first night frost	90–110 cm	Kenora Fireball, Marble Ball
Anemone-flowered	July – first night frost	60–90 cm	Boogie Woogie, Lambada
Single-flowered	July – first night frost	60–90 cm	Happy Days Lemon, Twyning’s After Eight
Border dahlias (low)	July – first night frost	40–60 cm	Stars Lady, Park Record

Key facts

Planting season	outdoors from mid-May (from April under cover); greenhouse January – May
Planting depth	8–10 cm, with the eyes pointing up
Spacing	gardens 30–50 cm, depending on height; cut-flower production approx. 10 plants per m²
Flowering	July – first night frost; 10–13 weeks after planting
Position	full sun, sheltered from wind
Soil	airy, well-drained and rich in nutrients; pH 6.5–7.5
Care	needs plenty of feeding and water: rather one deep watering a week than a little every day; stake tall cultivars
Hardiness	not hardy: lift after the first night frost and store dry and frost-free
Toxicity	mildly toxic to pets if eaten

View all dahlias in the webshop. Business customers see prices after logging in. Our current catalogues are on the Downloads page. For a quotation, please contact us.