How accurate is the advertised size of dahlia flowers?

12 years ago

When a dahlia catalog or website says that a certain dahlia will have 5" blooms, does that mean that on average they will be 5"?

Does it mean that at the largest, maybe one or more might reach 5"?

Or does it mean that they will only reach 5" if you prune off 2 out of every 3 flower buds before they open?

I'm wondering because 3 of my earlier planted dahlias are either beginning to have their first flower open, or they are growing flower buds. These 3 are: McAllister's Pride, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and Crazy Legs. McAllister's Pride is supposed to be a 5" flower, but the other 2 types are only supposed to grow 3" flowers, and I'm wondering if in fact the flowers might actually be much smaller that advertised, unless I cut off most of the other flower buds before they open, which I don't want to do.

It would be an additional disappointment if these flowers end up being 1-2" in diameter on 4 foot tall plants! Because as I stated in another thread, it turns out that all my Zinnias were mislabeled and are much smaller than they were supposed to be! They are 30-36" tall, growing 2" diameter, thin flowers, when they were supposed to grow 5" flowers that are double and thick!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Linda's Garden z6 Utah
12 years ago
Hi, I just went outside to measure a few of mine that are blooming to see how they measure up to the sizes in the catalog. The results are mixed, some are smaller and some are bigger. I never disbud because I just can't bear to pinch of buds that will be flowers. I generally purchase the ones that say they will be 6-8 inches in diameter because even if they don't get as big as they say, they will still be pretty good sized.

The ones I measured are:

Show n Tell 8", catalog says 9-10
Lucky Ducky 4", catalog says 3
Pinelands Princess 5 1/2", catalog says 7
Sonic Bloom 5", catalog says 5 1/2

I am sure the flowers would be bigger if I pinched them but I am OK with more flowers at a slightly smaller size.

I hope your 3" inch flowers are at least that big.

Good Luck with your dahlias!
Linda
mytime
12 years ago
I too find it mixed, and I don't disbud. Because of a late start, I didn't pinch the stems, either.
Rock Star--5", cat. says 3
Twilite--5", cat. says 4
Brittany Rey-- 5", we have a match!
Bahama Mama and Myrtle's Folly--both an inch smaller.
However, it's the first bloom for the last 3--the first 2 have gotten larger blooms with each succeeding bloom (both on their 3rd so far).
I grow Arabian Night in many places in the yard, and the size definitely varies by location.
Related Professionals
Middle River Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bethel Park Landscape Contractors · Four Corners Landscape Contractors · Charleston Fence Contractors · East Haven Fence Contractors · Garden Grove Fence Contractors · Hayward Fence Contractors · Palo Alto Fence Contractors · Roswell Fence Contractors · Milwaukie Fence Contractors · Bell Gardens Solar Energy Systems · Brockton Solar Energy Systems · Emeryville Solar Energy Systems · Woodland Hills Solar Energy Systems · Melville Solar Energy Systems
teddahlia
12 years ago
Growing conditions vary and size varies somewhat with growing conditions. Larger varieties are more variable as they need disbudding to reach a large size. Even on the same plant they can vary: Clearview Arlene is advertised as "A" sized 8-10 inches. The first blooms are that size. The second set are 6-8 inches and the third flush 4-6 inches.

Smaller sized dahlias have flowers pretty consistent in size. Rule of thumb is that any flower over 8 inches needs lots of disbudding to reach proper size.
karen13771
12 years ago
My Swan Island Crazy Legs is 3 inches same as posted size. However, my Kidd's Climax is 8 inches instead of 10 but I did not disbud.
teddahlia
12 years ago
By the way, the American Dahlia Society keeps track of the sizes of the dahlias that are shown. Most nurseries that sell dahlias use the size class that the American Dahlia Society has assigned to the variety.