• THEY COME IN ALMOST EVERY HUE. “Whereas summer and spring flowers are petering out by fall, dahlias are still blooming, and you still get beautiful blush tones or peaches that aren’t necessarily fall colors, but they can help bridge color into fall,” Marryn says. Blush, apricot, peach and coral colors are the most coveted. While dahlias don’t come in blue or green, they do come in a deep, dark red that’s almost black.
• DAHLIAS ARE A LATE SUMMER AND EARLY FALL FLOWER. “Being in Washington, we don’t plant our dahlias until late April, if not early May. This is because the soil must be 60 degrees,” Marryn says. Dahlia tubers (the root part) can rot away if the soil is too wet and the weather too warm. At the end of July, the flowers start to bloom, and the more you cut them, the more they grow.