I like my Dahlias I have two favourites - David Howard dark foliage with bright orange decorative flowers. Thomas Edison is my other, colour is great but its by far my best preforming dahlia I call it Mr Reliable . I've lost quite a lot of my dahlia collection last winter but I also liked growing Tartan - Rebecca World and the Bishop family.
I grow several dahlias but I'm not one for flowers in the house. My favour is Fascination. Bright pink flowers about four inches across, the leaves are very dark. It's a good grower. What I like about it is it's a waterlily variety ie the centre of the flower is open, the bees and butterflies love it. The Karma series of dahlias were bred to be good cut flowers. With any dahlia you can disbud stems to get bigger flowers on longer stems. Have a look at Halls of Heddon website they are a specialist dahlia breeder here in NE England.
I have Mexican Star and like it. Mine flowered well this year just gone, right up to the frost, but it was rather a gloomy year, low on later sunshine even for here, and I think it needs the sun to show up the flowers against the foliage, otherwise they tend to disappear into the shadows. I will try for a better position for it when I plant them out this spring.
David Howard is one of my stalwarts too, along with Downham Royal, Karma Naomi and Firepot. Coming down in size, I love Sylvia and Ellen Huston but my favourite is right at the front of the border, almost like ground cover, cheeky Scura, with tiny, orange single flowers, but lots of them.
All of these are in my 'hot' bed by the terrace, where the red is supplied by potentillas and C. Lucifer every year.
Waltzing Matilda was a first timer, but a plucky plant (it got an accidental bad start) and I loved the flowers.
gorgeous pictures... here are some of my faves. Burlesca, Wizard of Oz, Lilac time, GI Joe. Thoroughly recommend Gilberts they have a great variety and all of these were grown from rooted cuttings I got from there.
Posts
The Karma series of dahlias were bred to be good cut flowers.
With any dahlia you can disbud stems to get bigger flowers on longer stems.
Have a look at Halls of Heddon website they are a specialist dahlia breeder here in NE England.
Thank you, @SamBevington. I might go ahead with my order.
berners burgers red a cactus flowered very well