Dahlias are a Process

You’ve heard the saying “Do it for the process” - that definitely applies to dahlias. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of email communication with many of you from growing zones all over the country. This experience has opened my eyes to so many different growing methods. But the one thing I have noticed that shows up every time I read a success story- Growers who focus on the process are always successful.

There are multiple processes involved in growing a dahlia and you have to attend to them to be successful: watering, feeding, soil preparation, pest control, support, etc. But where I see the most success is with those who honor the intrinsic nature of their growing environment.

So what does this mean exactly? The intrinsic nature of an object or a person is the essential nature- what is there naturally, comes from within, makes the object/person what it is.

When it comes to dahlias, what does that mean exactly? I see it as several things. I think it means that observation is one of our main skills we should be honing. Observing that a small change in environment from one garden to the next is going to make a big change in how your plant grows. Noticing that your soil may be freer draining in one area- thus creating a spot where you can grow great tubers while the heavier spots produce tubers with lenticles because the soil holds too much water there.
Or noticing the way the sun moves around your yard. If you place your plant in one area, it gets full day sun or another area it might be shaded in the hot afternoon areas. — then realizing that this could be good or bad depending on where you live.

Acceptance is another one. It took me a while to accept that my dahlias were never going to look like those grown in the Pacific Northwest but the alternate is true! I can do things they can’t! High heat climates can grow dahlias earlier and in a longer season. Adjusting your expectations to what is intrinsically possible in your climate is important. We too often set our bar for success based off what we see others doing rather than what is truly capable within our climate.

I recently saw a post on in a Facebook Dahlia forum asking about how do you know the accurate color of a bloom? They spoke of looking online on various sites and seeing multiple colors for the same variety. This is a prime example of accepting the limitation of your climate. Temperature and light are going to play a role. And I’ll admit it’s really fun to play around with altering your climate but when it comes down to it (especially if you grow on a large scale), you’re going to have to accept the limitations.

Acceptance of what you have the time/ability to care for. I see growers taking on too much sometimes or too early in their dahlia growing experience. It’s so easy to get starry eyed when it comes to dahlias! I get it- I did it for a long time. But finally realized I can’t spend all my waking hours in the dahlias (I know, I know- we wish we could!) But reality finally sets in and you have to acceptance that success means acknowledging what you realistically have time/ability to care for.

Curiosity plays a big role in successful dahlia growers. Those who ask “What happens if…..” are the ones who find out what the limits of their plants/climate are capable of. They learn new tricks and ways of doing things. One of the reasons that I love dahlias is that I’m still learning new tricks after so many years! No other flower has held my attention this long and so raptly.

Curiosity leads to taking risks. Some people just want things to work like clockwork each year- and I get it. You want your dahlias to perform so you get the payoff of bountiful blooms that we all desire. However, taking a risk can lead to even better harvests. I see people scared to try something. I feel like they have some of their personal worth tied up in whether that plant lives or dies. And I’m hear to say that if you want bountiful harvests- you’re going to have to kill some plants!!

It doesn’t make you a bad dahlia grower to kill plants- the best growers out there can all tell you stories of killing loads of plants. I think it’s time we acknowledge that following the “rules” verbatim doesn’t bring success. Dahlias and individual climates are just too varied for that approach.

I hope you are still with me and you may be wondering - where did this come from? Well, January is the time of year where I hear two things: I’m so excited to start planning my dahlia garden or my garden didn’t do so well last year, I’m thinking of giving up.

So this post is to remind you that growing dahlias is more than just planting “correctly” (whatever that means- there are multiple ways), watering enough (what is enough?), feeding at the right times and right fertilizer (I could write pages on this), and controlling every pest that visits your garden (as if that was even possible).

Look inside your gut and begin to observe all the intrinsic factors that affect you growing environment. Chances are- the answers you need are already beginning to form there. Observe, Accept, Be Curious, Take Some Risks.