My Top 10 Dahlias for 2023
There’s something highly addicting about dahlias, and with over 20,000 varieties to choose from, it can feel extremely overwhelming when ordering tubers.
In this blog, I’ve narrowed down my top 10 favorite dahlia tubers we grow here on the urban farm. Our dahlias are used for both cut flowers and to sell tubers each Spring, so this list includes varieties we love in bouquets and have generous tuber production.
As our 2023 Dahlia Tuber Sale (Jan 13) and many others begin for the 2023 Season, I hope you find the list of our best-performing, disease-resistant, and jaw-dropping dahlia varieties helpful.
10) Creme de Cognac
Crème de Cognac is a breathtaking dahlia. Each 4" bloom is creamy tan/yellow with burgundy reverse petals. Crème de Cognac is a shorter variety and even when we cut it deep, it rarely produces stems that make our ‘cut’. That being said, they work well in vase arrangements where their stem length isn’t a disadvantage. What this variety lacks in height, it doubly makes up for in beauty.
9) Karma Choc
I’m an absolute sucker for burgundy dahlias. The darker and nearer black, the better for me. Not only does Karma Choc produce stunning burgundy flowers, but the entire plant is saturated with the same anthocyanin that makes the blooms dark. From dark, near-black stems, to its smokey grey-green leaves, the entire plant is a showstopper! Normally larger-flowered dahlias have a shorter vase life, but Karma Choc is the exception, persisting for 5-7 days in the vase. An absolute must-have for Fall bouquets.
8) Fairway Spur
I grew Fairway Spur for the first time in 2022 and it become a surprising favorite. Fairway Spur produces the most breathtaking muted-rosy-apricot blooms that are hard to capture in images. I would swoon during every harvest of this flower. Admittedly these flowers have a very short vase life, but they make an impact, and work well in arrangements for events or just left in the landscape.
Another bloom from Fairway Spur.
It proved challenging to capture Ferncliff Pearl’s iridescent quality. This photo from Au Beau Pre does this perfectly.
Ferncliff Pearl is the ONLY white ball dahlia we grow. Unlike most white ball dahlias that sometimes photograph with slight pale yellow centers, Ferncliff Pearl has pearlescent ivory centers that help make, what otherwise would be a plain white flower, an absolute stunner! Like most ball-shaped dahlias, Ferncliff Pearl has a good vase life. It produces abundant, easy-to-divide tubers for us.
We need to build our tuber stock of Ferncliff Pearl, so it won’t be available in our 2023 sale, but we’ve linked above to another Candian flower farm that has this variety. Enjoy.
6) Jowey Winnie
I failed to accurately capture the colour nuisance of Jowey Winnie. Photo courtesy of @zoewoodwardgardening on Instagram
Jowey Winnie draws me in with its geometrically-perfect blooms that have mauve reverse petals, giving the flowers a lavender center against its dusty-rose base. This lovely dual-toned coloring makes it a fantastic base for bouquets because the essentially creates a complete color palette for you! Although Jowey Winnie wasn’t out most prolific tuber producer, the tubers it did produce were plump and large; perfect for storing over winter.
We need to build our tuber stock of Jowey Winnie, so it won’t be available in our 2023 sale, but we’ve linked above to another Candian flower farm that has this variety. Enjoy.
5) Brown Sugar
We don’t grow much red on the urban farm, but when we do, it’s usually rusty or deep red tones. The burnt-rusty-copper blooms on Brown Sugar would stop me in my tracks during every harvest. Brown Sugar didn’t start producing heavily for us until later in the season, but that’s when this rusty-red color was most valuable. We found the ball shape is perfected on this dahlia variety; rarely blooming with open centers and the flowers were very consistently shaped.
We need to build our tuber stock of Brown Sugar, so it won’t be available in our 2023 sale, but we’ve linked above to another Candian flower farm that has this variety. Enjoy.
4) Sandia Brocade
Sandia Brocade is a darling Anemone-type dahlia that produces an abundance of puffy-apricot-centered flowers that are surrounded by a single layer of pink-peach petals. Not the best cut flower since Sandia Brocade has a very short-vase life, however, we consider it a highly useful variety for event work. I often would pluck the single layer of petals off and leave the puffy centers. They look absolutely novel in a vase and in the landscape. Very manageable, tidy plant for those wanting something for the front of the flower border.
3) Cornel Bronze
Cornel Bronze dahlia tubers produce warm, bronze orange blooms in the perfect shape and size, that pair well with everything! We used every single stem that we harvested in 2022. This variety was the 2nd most abundant flower producer for us. Cornel Bronze makes clumps where almost every tuber had multiple accompanying eyes, making it extremely easy to divide with nearly no wasted tubers.
2) Larks Ebb
Where do I even begin? The pictures speak for themselves! Larks Ebb is a dahlia that plays well with everyone. No matter what I paired this variety with through the 2022 season, his soft peachy blooms with hints of yellow/pink were a standout. I could not have enough! Produced excellent tubers and didn’t seem bothered at all by our dry, hot summer.
1) Linda’s Baby
Linda’s Baby is everything you could want in a dahlia tuber and more; an early producer, in a stunning shade of soft sherbert peach-pink, with perfect ball-shaped blooms. This variety was the MOST productive bloomer in our dahlia patch and my #1 personal favorite variety in 2022. Linda’s Baby also produced the most dahlia tubers of all our varieties in 2022. Such an all-around useful flower that works well in both summer and fall arrangements.
Most of the varieties listed here will be available at our January 13 dahlia tuber sale. The online sale will go live at Noon EST.
Did you grow dahlias in 2022? Tell us your favorite varieties or which ones your looking forward to growing in 2023.
