Fun Facts About Dahlia

Every Friday in September and October, we have and will be posting on our Facebook and Instagram a series that we've dubbed, "Last Call For Nectar Ya'll". These weekly trivia questions will quiz you on some of the most well-known flowers that are famous for having a late bloom.

The one that got the most buzz this past month was the Dahlia!

Did you know that there are over 20,000 varieties of this flower that have been cultivated through selective breeding? Out of all of these varieties, not one of them is blue. No one has been able to breed a blue dahlia and there's been an ongoing contest to do so since the 19th century.

The Dahlia was originally classified as a vegetable because of its edible tuber -- which supposedly has a taste that falls somewhere between potatoes and radishes. This is what made it so popular at first. A Swedish botanist named Anders Dahl, whom the flower is named after, sent the Dahlia from Central America back to Sweden where it spread all over the country.

Dahlias are often seen at weddings. In the flower world, they have a lot of symbolism. During the Victorian era, they were seen as a symbol of commitment and everlasting union. They also represented inner strength, creativity, and elegance.

Planting Requirements For Dahlia

Light: Dahlias require full sunlight -- which means 6 or more hours of direct sun.

Soil: Dahlias grow best in fertile soil that contains lots of organic matter. They're looking for rich, well-drained slightly acidic soil with a pH level between 6.5 and 7.

Spacing: If you plant Dahlias about 1 foot apart, they make a nice flowering hedge and will support each other. The taller, dinner-plate-sized Dahlias should be spaced 3 feet apart

Planting Time: Dahlias need to be planted after the risk of frost has passed. By planting in April/May after the frost it will take 90 days for them to bloom.

Zones: 3 - 11

Time of Bloom: July is generally when Dahlias start to bloom,  but this depends on the species. Although, by August all the Dahlias should be blooming. September is usually one of the heaviest blooming periods for most growers. In October, the production starts to die down a bit as the light levels and hours of daylight start decreasing.