Discover the beauty of dahlias with flowers specially selected from the National Dahlia Collection.
Bright, bold and colourful, dahlias are the perfect cut flower for late summer and early autumn. While most people are familiar with the decorative dahlia varieties, such as the Rembrandt and Art Nouveau, they also come in many other forms - and we sell dahlias as potted tubers as well as cut flowers.
For our flower buyer, Sue Steptoe, choosing the right dahlias starts with a trip to Cornwall to visit the National Dahlia Collection. A few miles outside Penzance, with St Michael's Mount in the distance across a vista of glimmering water, the Collection houses over 1,700 varieties and species - in other words, lots and lots of dahlias for Sue to choose from...
Native to South America, dahlias, in common with many other flowers, are named after a botanist - in this case Dr Dahl, an 18th century Scandinavian expert. Seeds eventually found their way to the UK early in the 19th century and dahlias became very popular. Being something of a living museum of dahlias, the Collection is unique in England and is registered with the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens. It is owned by Winchester Growers, a leading horticultural company that also supplies a range of other flowers to Waitrose.
What Sue Steptoe finds so appealing about the Collection is the opportunity to see every possible variety of dahlia available in one place and to discuss them with the top experts in the field. She can select the best cut flower varieties for autumn, as well as tubers for growing in pots in the spring, and patio planters for the summer. In fact, the wide availability of dahlias is one of its many assets, and once the tuber and planter seasons are over, cut flowers are available from late July or early August until the early wintry frosts signal the end of the long dahlia season.
With such a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours on offer (from soft pinks to vibrant reds), there's bound to be a dahlia to suit everyone's taste. So make the most of our selection and fill your house with colour.
Sue's dahlia tips
Cut about 2cm off the base of each dahlia stem. Always use the flower food provided and mix with 1 litre of water in a vase. To make up a bouquet, use generous amounts of dahlias and their foliage for the best effect. Also, try dividing the flowers and showing them off singly or in threes in narrow vases - their brilliant colours are great for a more minimalist approach.
This article was first published on Waitrose.com in September 2003.