Dahlia 'Sarah'

Dahlias, as grown in the garden, are hybrids of plants originating from Central America. They tend to prefer free draining soils in full sun that are watered regularly.  Dahlias are late flowering, often into mid-November, providing a splash of colour when other plants are past their best. Their splash of colour does require work: not only do the taller varieties require staking, all require regular feeding and deadheading, and their tubers need to be lifted in the late autumn and stored.

Dahlia are classified into sixteen groups:

Group	Group name	Flower description	Example
1	Single Dahlias	Flowers have a single ring of florets, overlapping at the centre	Dahlia 'Twynings After Eight'
2	Anemone Dahlias	Flowers have a centre of tubular florets surrounded by one or more outer rings of petals	Dahlia 'Blue Bayou'
3	Collerette Dahlias	An outer ring of petals surrounds an inner ring of smaller petals	Dahlia 'Flamenco'
4	Peony Dahlias	Multiple rings of flat petals	Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'
5	Formal Decorative Dahlias	Double blooms with no centre disc, with pointed curved petals	Dahlia 'Break Out'
6	Ball Dahlias	Double blooms with no centre disc, petals form a ball and are curved at tip	Dahlia 'Gazani'
7	Pompon Dahlias	Small, double round shaped blooms	Dahlia 'First Lady'
8	Cactus Dahlias	Ball shaped flowers with petals that are point and tubular for half or more of their length	Dahlia 'Gryson's Yellow Spider'
9	Collerette Dahlias	An outer ring of petals surrounds an inner ring of smaller petals	Dahlia 'Flamenco'
10	Miscellaneous Dahlias	Any that do not fit into other groups	Dahlia 'Honka'
11	Fimbriated Dahlias	Petals are fringed
12	Star or Single Orchid Dahlias	Single outer ring of rounded tube-like petals. Centre disc
13	Double Orchid Dahlias	Double tube-like petals, no centre disc
14	Waterlily Dahlias	Double bloom with fewer petals the length of which is less htanb half the diameter of the flower	Dahlia 'Clarence'