February may still be cold, wet and stormy, but the garden never truly slows down.
Now is the time to focus on getting warm-season plants ready, giving them the preparation they need to establish strong, healthy roots before shifting their energy to flowering.
Planting dahlias in February is the perfect place to start for those keen to prepare for a year of beautiful garden blooms.
Strictly speaking, there is no single best dahlia variety, as it entirely depends on what you want from them.
Huw Richards, ambassador for GARDENA, and grow-your-own expert, shares his top picks for dahlias with Country Living, along with some handy advice for seasonal growing and pointers on which dahlia varieties work well for your designated garden space.
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1. Best for pollinators
Encouraging pollinators is something we’re all keen to be mindful of, and a necessary consideration when planting February bulbs.
The Bishop of Llandaff is Huw’s go-to dahlia for helping pollinators to thrive. It’s open, single flowers allow bees and hoverflies to access pollen easily.
This variety needs a few key areas of focus to encourage productivity. “To keep these reliable plants flowering well, it’s essential to avoid overfeeding – too much richness pushes leaf growth at the expense of flowers,” says Huw.
“Good compost, decent drainage, and full sun are all it needs. Deadhead little and often to keep blooms coming for pollinators right through the season.”
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
Betsie Van der Meer//Getty Images
2. Best for cut flowers
There’s nothing better than proudly bringing armfuls of fresh blooms, cut from our own garden, into our own home. “Cornel Dahlia makes the perfect cut flower for the florist gardener. Producing long, straight stems and flowers that hold beautifully in the vase,” says Huw.
For best results, Huw says to pinch the main growing tip when the plant reaches around 30–40cm. This delays flowering slightly but massively increases stem count later.
Dahlia ‘Cornel Brons’
3. Best for smaller gardens and pots
To maximise space, Huw recommends utilising naturally compact flowers, with varieties such as Gallery Art Deco Dahlias being key. Their tidy growth habit and strong stems make them the ideal dahlias for pots, borders, and the front of beds without the need for staking.
Good watering and properly sized pots matter when growing this variety of Dahlia. “Choose the largest pot you can reasonably fit and water deeply rather than little and often. Compact dahlias still build substantial root systems, and restricting them leads to weak flowering and stressed plants.”
Once the hard work and preparation have been done, you can look forward to a year of bountiful blooms and gorgeous colours popping their cheery heads up in British gardens throughout the season ahead.
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ (Gallery Series)
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Becky is a freelance journalist based in Somerset, UK, specialising in all things home, gardens, lifestyle, and entertainment. With a love of classic rom-coms and a penchant for romanticising her own everyday life, she enjoys embracing cosy, slow living with her family and their crazy Welsh collie, Cookie. Becky has been published in publications such as Cosmopolitan, The Independent, The Evening Standard, The Telegraph, Collider, Happiful Magazine, OK! And many more.
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