Dahlia Growing 101 : A Guide For Beginners

I have loved gardening all of my life, mostly flowers. I have vivid memories of working outside in my moms beautiful garden beds growing up. As a child growing up, I don’t think I loved the constant jobs it presented for my siblings and I. But as an adult and mom, I understand why we worked outside so much. My business at Gray Girl Farms has been an exciting combination of my lifelong involvement in agriculture and from gardening being a long time hobby for me. I am so grateful.

I always tell my kids, I don’t pick favorites. Until I started growing dahlias, that is. There is no denying that this flower is “it” for me. I think what has drawn me to dahlias is two things. Endless shapes, colors and sizes. Secondly the fact that when the majority of summer blooms are losing their energy, Dahlias just are starting to enter the sweet spot for the growing season and really take off.

To get us started, I need you to know one main thing about dahlias. They are not as hard to grow as what you’ve heard from friends or read on the internet. 

Dahlias need three things to thrive. Sunlight, Drainage, and Water. When getting started you will want to pick a spot that will give your plants access to full sun, soil that the water won’t puddle up, and a way to irrigate often.

You will start the growing process with a “tuber”, to be viable this tuber needs to have a viable eye on it.

Think like the little growths that appear on potatoes that have been in your pantry too long? That is

similar to an eye. This will be the growth point for your plant this season. If there is no eye, your tuber

won’t produce a plant. 

Tubers need to be planted out after your last frost date. They will need to be placed at least 6” in the ground, and at least 12-18” apart. I live in an area with high summer winds so I plant my tubers around 10” to help them establish a sturdier base in the soil. This has worked well for me! Once planted tubers don’t appreciate a lot of water so I recommend avoiding watering them until you see them sprouting above ground. Again, I live in a desert climate so I will water 1-2 times before seeing sprouts above ground. A great option is “pre-watering” your soil before planting where it will make a ball form in your hand and this can be enough moisture to get those tubers through the first few weeks while they are working on getting sprouts to the surface. Once sprouts are above ground and the temperatures outside have started to rise, you are safe to start watering your plants more often.

My #1 piece of advice I will give you, is this. Once your plants are established about 12-18” tall you will want to “pinch” them”. You will count three leaf rings up from the base of the plant and just pinch the center of the plant off. This will send the plant energy back into the root base and encourage outward bushier growth. Instead of upward growth only that will leave you with very leggy plants. You only have to do this task once, and it will prolong blooms by about 7-10 days. I promise, you won’t regret doing this step!

Once your dahlias are in full bloom, remember that they are cut and come again flowers. This means the more stems you cut, the more it will encourage your plants to grow more flowers. Cut deep into your plant to encourage your plant to grow longer stems for beautiful cut flowers for you to enjoy in your home or gift to friends and family. These flowers will continue to grow until your first frost date in the fall. Depending on your garden zone you will be able to leave them in the soil over winter, and in some zones you will be required to dig up and store.

If you need the encouragement to give these flowers a try in your garden, I’d love to hear from you. They are an extremely hardy plant and can handle a lot of trial and error which I believe we as gardeners sometimes forget is a huge part of the journey of this fulfilling hobby.

My tuber sale will go live on my website www.graygirlfarms.com on Feb 11, 2023 at 7AM PST. All tubers have been grown on my farm here in Royal City, Washington with the help from FFA students, myself, my husband and our five children. I would love to earn the honor of being a part of your journey. We also offer quality peony roots, and ranunculus corms. The best way to stay updated is by subscribing to our email list.

If you need any help, I’d love to hear from you. Don’t be shy!

-Kylie Gray-Eilers, Owner of Gray Girl Farms, @graygirlfarms