Know Your Dahlias: Flower Styles and Sizes

Dahlias make it easy to keep your garden colorful from late summer through fall. As other annuals and perennials are starting to fade, dahlias are turning on the flower power in an all out effort to dazzle and amaze — all the way to the first frost.

With thousands of dahlia varieties to choose from, part of the fun of growing these summer-blooming bulbs, is discovering new colors and flower styles. Learning to identify them by type makes it easier to recognize the different varieties and figure out which ones you find most appealing.

To appreciate the full range of possibilities, you can visit the American Dahlia Society website, where you’ll find hundreds of varieties indexed by color, flower form and flower size. For a quick overview, here’s a look at the eight most common flower styles:

Anemone-Flowered. These blossoms feature a pincushion of tubular florets surrounded by several rows of petals. They are prolific bloomers and come in lots of vivid colors. Heights vary from 2 to 4 feet. Anemone-flowered dahlias are popular for bouquets because the blossoms mix so well with other types of flowers.

Ball and Pom Pon. These perky, perfectly round flowers have a honeycomb of tightly rolled petals. The blossoms are about 2” across — a nice size for mixed arrangements. Ball dahlias and Pom Pon dahlias, are well suited to flower beds and are great for cutting gardens, where they’ll crank out armloads of flowers from mid-summer through fall.

Border. Border dahlias are the ideal size for lining a walkway or adding late summer color to pots and planters. The bushy, compact plants stand just 12-18” tall and never need staking. They usually start blooming earlier in the summer than most other dahlias and literally cover themselves with flowers.

Cactus and Semi-Cactus. Tightly curled, ray-like petals give cactus dahlias a distinctive appearance. Planted with other decorative and dinnerplate types, they add an exciting variation in texture and form. Cactus dahlias are a favorite with flower arrangers and make ideal companions for gladiolus, lilies and other late summer flowers.

Decorative. This is the largest category of dahlias and offers the widest range of colors and styles. You’ll find many excellent heirloom varieties as well as a steady stream of new introductions. Decorative dahlias can be grown in perennial gardens, display beds, cutting gardens, large containers and vegetable gardens.

Dinnerplate. If you like BIG blooms, these are your dahlias! Dinnerplate dahlias can reach 5 feet tall and produce flowers that measure as much as 12″ across. The plants need room to reach their full potential, so give them plenty of space at the back of a flower bed or in a cutting garden. To help support the large flower heads, stake the plants at planting time and tie them in as they grow.

Mignon. Mignon dahlias have daisy-like flowers with a single row of petals around a contrasting center. The compact plants, often with dark-colored foliage, are a good choice for perennial gardens and containers. Their foliage adds interest during early summer, and once they begin blooming, the airy flowers perfectly complement sedums, asters, rudbeckia and other late season bloomers.

Waterlily. These blossoms have rounded petals that spiral around tight, slightly flattened centers. Their flawless form makes them popular cut flowers. The plants are typically just 2’ to 3’ tall, yet they produce large blossoms that measure up to 5” across. Waterlily dahlias perform well in large containers and are also good for perennial gardens.

To see our complete selection of dahlias (available for spring shipping), click HERE. We also offer collections, which are a good way to sample a number of popular varieties.

To learn more, you may be interested in: All About Dahlias, How to Plant Dahlias, How to Deadhead Dahlias (video), How to Grow Border Dahlias in Containers, How to Lift and Store Dahlia Bulbs and How to Pinch and Stake Dahlias.