From the smallest pom-poms to massive dinner plate monsters dahlias are some of the most rewarding flowers you can grow. Apart from their variety of shapes and size dahlias come in a wide range of colors to suit every situation. And they are easy to grow. What more could you ask for? This article by Lauren Dunec Hoang which I found over on the Houzz website tells you all you need to know about growing these attractive flowers.

Easy to grow and with a rainbow of colors to choose from, dahlias are some of the most widely grown garden flowers. If you?ve never grown them before, you?re in for a treat. Starting from humble, potato-like tubers stuck into the ground in spring, dahlias grow ? as if by magic ? into lush plants covered in luxurious flowers within a few months.
Check out our step-by-step planting guide below, including tips for how to get the most flowers per plant in a home garden and how to extend your flowering season up until the first frost in fall.

Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design

Botanical name: Dahlia spp.
Common name: Dahlia
Where it will grow: In USDA zones 8 to 10 (find your zone) dahlias can be grown as perennials, leaving tubers in the soil in winter; for Zone 7 and colder, lift bulbs from the ground to overwinter
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun to light shade in the hottest regions
Mature size: 1 foot to 4 feet wide and 1 foot to 7 or more feet tall, depending on variety
Bloom time: Midsummer to the first frost in fall
When to plant: After the last frost in spring (usually March or April), until early June

Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design

Originally native to Central America, dahlias are tender, warm-season perennials grown from tubers. The flowers are classified by form and range from pompom to waterlily forms. Bedding and bush dahlias are most commonly available and widely grown, and the instructions below refer to these types. Less common tree dahlias (Dahlia imperialis) can reach up to 20 feet tall and require staking.