Types of 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 just getting started. They turn on the flower power in an all out effort to dazzle and amaze, with a show that continues all the way to the first frost.
There are hundreds of dahlia varieties to choose from, and part of the fun of growing these summer-blooming bulbs, is discovering new colors and flower styles. Learning to recognize the various types of dahlias makes it easier to identify 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 most common types of dahlias.
Decorative Dahlias
This is the largest category of dahlias and offers the widest range of colors and styles. You’ll find many wonderful heirloom varieties (such as David Howard, shown above) as well as a steady stream of new introductions.
Decorative dahlias are excellent cut flowers and essential for any cutting garden. Most have a stocky growth habit, which also makes them suitable for perennial gardens and large containers.
Dinnerplate Dahlia Bodacious
Dinnerplate Dahlias
If you like BIG blooms, these are your dahlias! Dinnerplate dahlias grow 4 to 5 feet tall and produce flowers that can measure as much as 10″ across. These are large plants and they need plenty of room to reach their full potential.
Plant dinnerplate dahlias at the back of a flower bed, against a fence or outbuilding, or even in your vegetable garden. To help support the large flower heads, be sure to stake the plants at planting time and tie in the stems in as they grow.
Ball and Pom Pon Dahlias
These perky, perfectly round flowers feature a honeycomb of tightly rolled petals. This structure makes the blossoms more durable and longer-lasting than any other type of dahlia. The plants are also incredibly productive. You can expect them to crank out armloads of flowers all season long.
Ball dahlias are the larger of the two. Their flowers measure 3 to 4″ across and are perfect for casual mixed arrangements. Pom Pon dahlias are cute little buttons, just 1 to 2″ across. They are fun for small, hand-tied bouquets and add pops of color and texture to larger arrangements.
Anemone-Flowered and Collarette Dahlias
These blossoms offer lots of interesting texture and the flowers usually display more than one color. Anemone-flowered types have a pincushion of tubular florets at the center, surrounded by several rows of more traditional petals. Collarette dahlias have two different petal lengths: an outer row of standard petals and an inner row of short, frilly petals.
These dahlias are popular for bouquets because the blossoms mix so well with other types of flowers. The plants are prolific bloomers and attract lots of bees and butterflies. They are typically a bit shorter than other types of dahlias, reaching just 2 to 3 feet tall. This makes them a good choice for containers and smaller gardens as well.
Border Dahlias
These dahlias are the ideal size for lining a walkway or adding late summer color to pots and planters. Border dahlias have a bushy, compact growth habit and stand just 12-18” tall so they never need staking.
Though border dahlias are small in stature, they produce an abundance of full size flowers that measure 3 to 4″ across. You’ll see far more flowers than foliage with these showy little plants. They simply cover themselves with blooms all season long. Though the stems are shorter than other types, the flowers are perfect for table-side or windowsill bouquets.
Single and Peony-Flowered Dahlias. Single dahlias have daisy-like flowers with one row of petals around a contrasting center. Peony-flowered dahlias have two and sometimes more rows of petals around the center.
These plants are typically 2 to 3 feet tall and may have regular or dark-colored foliage. Single dahlias are highly attractive to bees and butterflies. They are a good choice for containers or flower gardens, where their airy flowers perfectly complement late summer perennials including sedums, asters, and rudbeckia.
Cactus and Semi-Cactus Dahlias
Tightly curled, ray-like petals give cactus dahlias a distinctive look. When mixed with other decorative and dinnerplate types, they add sophistication and excitement to any floral arrangement.
Cactus dahlias have slender stems, so you’ll want to stake the plants to help support the fluffy flower heads. In the garden, they are great companions for lilies, glads, garden phlox other late summer flowers.
Waterlily Dahlias
These blossoms have rounded petals and a broad, flattened profile. Each flower is identical, with perfect form and a classic simplicity that’s always appealing. This makes waterlily dahlias popular cut flowers, and they’re in high demand by floral designers, especially for wedding work.
Waterlily dahlias typically grow just 2’ to 3’ tall, yet the flowers are 4″ or even 5″ across. They are sturdy and reliable plants for flower gardens and also suitable for containers.
To see our complete selection of dahlias (available for spring shipping), click HERE. We also offer dahlia collections, which are a good way to sample a number of popular varieties.
To learn more, you may be interested in reading: 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.
Thank you for this very helpful break down of the varieties.
I am curious what the specific type of Mignon dahlia is that you have pictured. The merlot colour with white striped inner petals.
Thank you, Caroline
Hi Caroline, That collarette dahlia is called ‘Night Butterfly”. We did not offer it this year, but have in the past. Hopefully we will again sometime soon!
The beautiful pinkish border dahlia in the cover photo and in the article, can you tell me the name of this dahlia? I would really like to put these in my flower garden.
Thanks Monique Sullivan
Hi Monique — if you mean the pink/white flower that appears in the upper right corner of the lead photo (and is also the 4th image from the bottom) that variety is Hawaii. We offered it last spring and as far as I know, it will be available again for 2018. Our dahlias are usually available for pre-order starting in early January.
I love to plant these beautiful Dahlias every year. But I would like to know how to place an order for Dahlia bulbs.
Hi Yvonne,
Dahlias are available for pre-order on our website: longfield-gardens.com
If you order now, they will be reserved and shipped to you at proper planting time in the spring.
Hi Kathleen,
I am both a gardener and a software architect. I am a teaching assistant for a class at and need to build a sample website for one of my lessons. Would you mind if I used the photographs at your site.
This is strictly a demonstration application for an academic class. The images will not be published shared or posted on line. They will be show in class and I would of course reference that you have given me permission to use them.
Kind regards,
Jessica Pratt
JPratt@post.harvard.edu
Hi Jessica,
It would be fine to use our images in an academic setting for a one-time presentation like this.
For any other use, please get back in touch with us through the “contact us” link at http://www.longfield-gardens.com
Good luck with your presentation!
Hi, I’ve just found your web site and have found it very informative, I have about 100 dahlia plants and did not the names of any?, thanks once again, Max
Hi Max — there are so many different dahlia cultivars. It’s difficult to keep track of which one is which.
is there a reference guide that has the pictures with the ADS class, color descriptors
Hi Gary – I use dahlie.net as a reference. It’s German, but will display in a number of other languages including English.
[…] To find out more about dahlia’s and the many varieties, check out Know your Dahlia’s. […]
Are any of the varieties perennial? By that, I mean – dig upon the Fall- winter over in a cool dark place, such as my basement and re-plant in the spring when weather/temperatures are appropriate?
Years ago, living in a different home, we moved in month of September and my husband wouldn’t let me dig “my dahlia’s” and bring to new home! Since then I have been unable to find the same, what I CALL perennial dahlias and I miss them! I always used them as the “back-drop” in my garden.
Do you sell such dahlias?
Hi Hope – All of the dahlias that we sell can be dug in fall, be wintered over indoors and be replanted the next spring. Here’s a link to an article about how to do that: How to Overwinter Dahlias.
[…] *** Know Your Dahlias: Flower Styles and Sizes – LongfieldGardens […]
Hello: I love dahlias, but have limited space. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. Are miniature dahlias bulbs or seeds? I would like to grow them but would like to be able to save if they’re bulbs.
Thanks you very much. Love you blog.
Sincerely Margaret H
Hi Margaret – Dahlias may be grown from seed or from tubers. Ultimate size of the plant and flower doesn’t have anything to do with whether you started from seeds or tubers. Dahlias that are started from seed will produce tubers by the end of the summer and these may be saved and be replanted the next spring.
If your space is limited, consider growing border dahlias, which grow just 18-24″ tall. Some of the singles and collarettes are also shorter. There’s a bunch of good information about dahlias on our website under LEARN > Spring Planted Bulbs > How-To and Inspiration.
Thank you for the beautiful pictures. I am an artist and I am using them as a reference guide.
Hi Barbara – the artist is Melissa McFeeters. She mostly works in cut paper, but we are fortunate that she loves flowers and does some illustrations for us as well.
Hi! Two years ago, I bought a mix of pink and purple dinnerplate dahlias called the “Lavender Blush Mix” from you. The dahlias are gorgeous! I expected to receive 3 different varieties of heirloom dahlias, but also got a dahlia that I haven’t seen before. It is clearly a dinnerplate with medium green foliage and large peony form flowers with open centers and several rows of slightly curly pink petals that give it a wild, windblown look (my favorite!) rather than a neat orderly look. The pollinators love it! Do you have any idea what it might be? Thanks so much!
Hi Gail – Wish I could tell you, but these mixes include slightly different varieties each year and we don’t always know which ones are in a given bag of tubers. Also, dahlias are genetically unstable, which means they can change color/form from one year to the next. You may have received a totally unique variation! You can read more about this phenomenon here: Can Dahlias Change Color? Pollinators love single and peony-style dahlias with pom-pon centers. A favorite of mine is Lifestyle.
Wanting to know which Dahlia is a Delilah flower?
Thank you!