Rusty Dahlias
“And something in a rust tone….” This is a request I’ve heard so many times over the past 2 years from my florist customers! Rust has become one of the popular accent colors for fall palettes.
I thought I’d share some dahlia varieties that I use to fulfill this color request. Rust, like peach, is kinda up to interpretation. Do you want rusty red, rusty brown, rusty tan? So I consider it a color family and not really a single color. Thankfully dahlias have a lot of tonality to them so it makes it easy to get the range a florist needs.
All That Jazz
All That Jazz- This one fits under the ‘Rusty Red’ category. Prolific bloomer, began blooming mid September from a mid May planting. Tallish at around 4’+. The color fades into golden tan tips which complement the rust color nicely. Photographs a bit red but really is a rusty color. Great tuber maker too- makes nice fat tubers with an easy to divide habit. Definitely growing more of this one next year!
Cornel Bronze
Cornel Bronze— ‘Rusty Bronze’ You know I had to include this one. It’s in the ‘Rusty Bronze’ category. It’s an easy dahlia to grow, blooms prolifically and has a neat plant habit so it doesn’t turn into a rangy mess. Good tuber maker (although can be a pain to divide).
Brown Sugar
Brown Sugar- ‘Rusty Red Brown’- Dark stemmed so it adds a bit of drama. I like this dahlia although I’ve heard some others in warm climates who don’t think it’s all that. It has always grown well for me. It is a flusher type of dahlia (meaning it’s going to throw most of it’s blooms in a short period). That can be a downside because the color is definitely unique to the fall season. So you’ll want to time it well. Good tuber maker- nice fat ones that store well.
Copper Boy
Copper Boy- ‘Rusty Copper Red’ - This one is a good alternative if you don’t like Brown Sugar. It’s a bit more copper toned red, blooms early— so make sure to plant accordingly. If you have a market for this color early in the season, you can probably get two flushes out of it. Has a plant habit similar to Linda’s Baby- which means you need to cut deep to force long stems. This is my second year growing it and so far I’m a fan.
Valley Rust Bucket
Valley Rust Bucket- ‘Rusty Orange’ This is a two tone dahlia- I love two tones because they always work well with so many palettes. They have an instant ‘blendability.” I wish the blooms were a bit bigger - this is a 2-3”. But it definitely makes up for it the number of blooms. Pretty good tuber maker as well!
Totally Tangerine
Totally Tangerine- ‘Rusty Copper Tan’ I wouldn’t have considered this to be in the rust palette when I first saw it. Early in the season, it’s a warm peach. But as the weather cools, it goes more copper with some tan as it fades. I offered it to a florist who was looking for some really unique blooms for a styled shoot in the rust palette and she loved it. It doesn’t have a great vase life so I’d relegate it more to the garden but if you do design work and you grow your own blooms, it’ll hold for a day or two.
Sierra Glow
Sierra Glow- ‘Rusty Tan- This is a great dahlia if you need a large bloom in the rusty palette. Sierra Glow has always been a good one for my hot climate. Holds well in the vase- it’s hard to find large dahlias that have great vase life in a hot climate but this one works!
Ice Tea
Ice Tea- ‘Rusty Terracotta Brown’ This was my original rust dahlia- the first variety I had in this color palette. I first clued in to this color trend when I couldn’t keep this color in stock a few years back. It’s a good consistent bloomer. Makes good tubers but you need to be very careful when digging them. It creates a tuber with a round bulbous body but a very skinny neck. It’s very easy to break the necks when digging so lift carefully.
Honorable Mention: These 3 dahlias above blend very well into the rust palette so I’m including them. From left to right- Rose Toscano, KA Mocha Katie, and NTAC Mai Li
There you have it- my favorite rust dahlias that work well in a hot climate! If you aren’t growing rust tones- it’s time! Color trends move and change but most of them stay around for a few years so you’ve got time to grow this beautiful tone!