Take care
Mildly toxic to pets
Dahlia
Dahlia pinnata
Plant out around your last spring frost. Space plants 12 in (30 cm) apart.
Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
When to plant
Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.
Optimal Spring Planting (Tubers)
RootRecommended root- Plant outaround your last spring frost
- First harvestsummer to fall, once established
Optimal Indoor Start
From seedRecommended from seed- Start indoors5 weeks before your last spring frost
- Begin hardening offaround your last spring frost
- Plant out1 week after your last spring frost
- First harvestsummer to fall, once established
Optimal Transplant
From seed- Plant out1 week after your last spring frost
- First harvestsummer to fall, once established
Growing dahlia
- Spacing in the row
- 12 in (30 cm)
- Between rows
- 24 in (61 cm)
- Planting depth
- 4-6 inches for tubers, 1/4 inch for seeds
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Soil
- Well-drained loam
- Germination
- 5-10 days at 65-75°F
- Harvest season
- Summer to Fall
- Mature height
- 12-60 inches
- Support
- Stake
- Hardy to
- USDA zone 8
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Plant tubers after last frost; start seeds or tubers indoors for earlier blooms.
Watering. Consistent, moderate moisture during growth; reduce watering when dormant.
Neighbours
The companion chart →Grows well beside
Cosmos- Marigold · all kinds
- Salvia
- Verbena
Feeding
- Seedlings
- Light liquid feed at half strength
- Growing
- Balanced slow-release or liquid feed monthly
- Flowering and fruiting
- High-potassium fertilizer once buds appear
- How often
- Every 2-4 weeks during active growth
- Note
- Avoid excessive nitrogen after initial growth to promote flowers over foliage.
Your dahlia, planned to the day.
Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.