Dahlia pinnata Seeds | Dahlia
LATIN NAME: Dahlia pinnata
COMMON NAME: Dahlia
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Dahlia, Dahlia pinnata is a noteworthy species. Dahlia is grand, showy flower of late summer, and it has been bred into a dazzling range of forms, colours and sizes since it was brought from highlands of Mexico. Heads range from small, neat pompons to huge, dinner-plate flowers, and colours run through every shade but true blue. Plants grow from tuberous roots into bold, leafy clumps that flower from middle of summer to the first hard frost. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. In combination, these characteristics make a persuasive case for growing it.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the Dahlia group regularly include Dahlia pinnata in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Dahlia has a rich story in plant science. Little about its garden performance is mysterious; it has been grown and observed for a very long time.
Uses & Benefits
Dahlia brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Dahlia is a serious cut flower, and a row of it in garden keeps vases full through the autumn. Single-flowered forms are a fine food source for bees and butterflies, and tall, colourful heads make it a mainstay of show garden and the bedding. Tubers have a long traditional use as a food in their homeland, and modern varieties are grown all around temperate world. After the first season it asks for very little beyond a place that suits it.
Dahlias once supplied inulin-type fructans from their tubers, studied in early diabetes research before insulin; today they reign as show and cutting flowers.
Growing from Seed
Dahlia grows readily from seed. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray bright light. Grow the youngsters on steadily in pots until well rooted, then move them to their final positions.
Our Take
Dahlia repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
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