Why Dahlias?

 

In some circles, dahlias can seem downright pretentious. In others, they can evoke a sense of home, a promise for next year, or a connection to a loved one. Some varieties provide an instant smile or a nostalgic, core memory from long ago; with heirloom quality and connection to the past.

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Dahlias might feel slightly unrefined or conversely, so very fancy that they are the one extravagance you allow yourself in your garden. Even the plainest varieties can be sought after because of their approachability and novelty; and every grower feels the same sense of accomplishment after helping a particularly finnicky or “prissy” dahlia plant to reach its full potential.

 

Dahlias can bring on a sense of accomplishment, of competitiveness, can be entered into many regional shows, can provide identity as a breeder, and can create a sense of community in areas where learning, beauty, art, and camaraderie are welcome. In many zones, some growers find that the added challenge of overwintering tubers is so satisfying in the spring that they can pat themselves on the back when they figured out their particular magical formula for storage temperature, type of medium to use, labeling system, humidity levels, and many other factors to keep their varieties thriving.

We’ve also discovered that dahlias can diversify farmland in new ways than what we were aware of until recently. Dad, a lifelong farm kid, has said for years: “Well, you can’t eat them!” And actually, in fact, both the tubers and the petals are edible. Why could this matter for some regions? The plant matter can help other native species in areas that they were previously not present. When dahlia waste is tilled into the ground, it can enrich the soil better than other crops by fortifying and amending a farm field rotation with different nutrients besides those found in common crops like soybeans, wheat, oats, corn, beets, potatoes, or hay.

Dahlias can also provide a much-needed addition to the foraging opportunities that pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, etc need at times of the growing season when other native plants might be dwindling. For example, in the Midwest, dahlia blooms peak in the late summer and fall, thereby providing pollen sources for honeybees when other crops or native flowers have already been harvested or are in decline. In our increasingly depleted ecosystems, we know that pollinators can use all of the support that they can get (more pollinators = more food.)

Dahlias are more than just flowers—they are a passion, a form of art, a message of love, a gift, and a testament to the power of giving. Dahlias are versatile in gardens, bouquets, as crops, and as arrangements. They symbolize strength, creativity, are sacred in value, and matchless in their splendor. There are thousands of unique varieties and so incredibly vibrant that colors range from moody to whimsical to subdued. As Ralph Waldo Emerson quipped: “The earth laughs in flowers,” so clearly, nature giggles hysterically in dahlias.

 Hands down, whether you grow them or give them, dahlias tell a story.