I'm new to the Dahlias forum. I just got hooked to the Dahlias with black leaves. I have several now. Is their care the same as other Dahlias? It says on the tags that these are annuals. Can I store this kind too over winter? This one is Dark Angel 'Dracula.' Can I root cuttings of these? Sorry I have so many questions!

Did you purchase them as tubers or seedlings, Clint? I'm new to dahlias as well so don't have a good answer for you, just wanted to say that dark foliage is really beautiful.

They can be dug up and overwintered. I've grown them before and growing 3 separate singles w/ dark leaves this year. Growing them in pots.
This year's - Happy Single First Love (apricot/pink), Happy Single Romeo (dark red), and Happy Single Flame (salmon/coral). 2 years ago I grew Happy Single Party (yellow).

I purchased these in pots. Glad to hear I can store them.

Hi @clintbrown ,

Yes to all of your questions. The are sold as "annuals", simply because they don't overwinter easily many places in the US, though with a little insulation, people in zone 6 and above can sometimes get away with leaving them in the ground. Zone 8 and above its fine to leave them if you prefer (and have well draining soil). They should be dug and divided every 2-3 years even if overwintered in the ground.

Dahlias grow easily from cuttings. In the UK they are generally sold as rooted cuttings, instead of tubers. This year I cut any secondary sprouts that grew, and rooted them up. Every one survived.

There are a few larger dahlias with dark foliage too. (though maybe not that dark)

Thank you!

Hi Clint. Other than their color, I don't think there is any difference in the care. Dracula is really pretty. I may have to take a second look at dk. leaved dahlias. I'm SO obsessive!

Clint - love the color on that one!

I've had Bishop of Llandaff many times and it grew to enormous proportions. It was not nearly as lovely as yours.

Your new dahlias look very lovely. I have some dark red types, but none that have nearly black leaves. It's interesting that red varieties often have a sort of red in the leaves which makes them darker than say yellow ones. Over winter you need to keep the bulbs from freezing, drying out, or rotting from too much humidity. There is lots of advice in this area on the net if you check the dahlia web sites. Hope you enjoy them... But be careful because dahlia growing is addictive

Welcome to the site Donald

Thankyou for the welcome, jmorth, i have been growing dahlias for a number of years and thought I could share my pictures and thoughts... Have not figured out how to load my dahlia pictures into a plant list. I picked a dahlia (dahlia) from the provided list, but it loaded someone ekses photo... Any ideas?

Always great to have an experienced Dahlia enthusiast on board! Welcome

Data base / Plant lists. I think that if you have uploaded your pictures into the data base collection, it should automatically choose your own picture when you make a plant list.

If that doesn't work contact a moderator . Let us know when you get them listed - I'd love to see what you have.

This is a link to my list from last year - I have added about 90 new ones this year that are not yet on the list.
http://garden.org/lists/view/m...

The new ones I have added are here
https://www.pinterest.com/stou...

Thanks to add your photos Geoff, I found that there were not many Dahlia photos available on this site, unlike Daylilies and Irises...