How to Grow
Dahlias are grown from tubers (similar to a bulb, but thin-skinned like a potato). Plant tubers in the springtime, about the same time as you would your vegetable gardens or when the ground is warm enough to work up and play in daily. Plant them in a full sun location (giving them 6-8 hours of direct sunlight) and enjoy blooms all summer long. They will bloom and provide you with color and abundant flowers for cutting and enjoying throughout the summer.
The more you cut a dahlia plant, the more it will bloom. Most cut dahlias will last up to 5 days once cut and treated.
Labyrinth was 100% the winner for me this year. It did ok the first year, some nice blooms but late. Left it in the ground this year (within 10 minutes as the crow flies from Swan Island, covered in oak mulch and then a tarp over winter) and it struggled a bit to sprout, but since then... Constant, huge, picture-perfect blooms on super sturdy, LONG stems, keeps for a very long time cut. Only used a big tomato cage for the base of the plant but the super long stems needed no staking. Did not fertilize, barely did anything but water them. Unbelievable results & cannot recommend more.
The second of my dahlias to bloom this year, early in the season, and she just didn't quit. HUGE BEAUTIFUL showy blooms that just don't stop coming. Sturdy stems that hold the large blooms well. A beautiful show.
Sad to say, I haven't gotten a single flower. It was planted in late May this year, along with Apple Blossom and Flip Flop, which both are doing well. It has less-than-optimal growth/size but I hope that it will at the least have a healthy tuber for next year. I hoped for better considering the price. My SI tubers have always performed well in the past.
After 2 years of new purchases this is my favorite by far. Expensive but worth it.
The flowers are amazing, but the plant has challenges. First, much of the flowers don't open all the way, they don't even open flat! The pictures are, obviously, taken from the most favorable angle but even here you can see a flower that's cone-shaped. That's weird and annoying and, sadly, common for this variety. Second, the plant absolutely requires disbudding. If you miss it, there is no catch up: laterals grow tall but the main bud stem stops growing, the flowers get "crotchy" and yield is bad because you have to cut super deep. Third, it's highly susceptible to powdery mildew. It's September of a dry year and the bottom half is the leaves is all black and dead, and the top leaves are not super great either. I'll be growing it again, begrudgingly so, but will be looking for a replacement.
The Labyrinth is beautiful & I've had several flowers so far & will be ordering for next year. I don't generally spend $25 on a tuber when there are many other beautiful dahlias for under $10. But this one is my splurge & worth it to me.
This just might be my favorite dahlia. My plant produced a lot of this gorgeous flower in shades of lavender, pink, and mauve. It’s expensive but worth it.
I cannot say enough about this stunning dahlia and it may be my favorite of new varieties I grew this year. For a larger dahlia it is very prolific with strong stems and has looked amazing in my cut flower arrangements. The colors are light peach and pink with a hint of lavender toward the center petals.
The color is fabulous! I like everything about this dahlia except the price.