In Bloom: Dahlias

Date posted: 15 January 2018

It's a two-horse race for the most popular sight at Adelaide Botanic Garden right now - our Nelumbo Pond or the ever-popular Dahlia Garden.

Have a look during your next visit and let us know your favourite. The Dahlia Garden can be found a short stroll east of the Santos Museum of Economic Botany.

About the Dahlia Garden

Every year, members of the Dahlia Society of South Australia Inc. and our horticultural staff, come together to prepare and maintain Adelaide Botanic Garden's dahlia display, which typically looks its best around February.

Dahlia history

The parents of these much-loved perennial herbs came from Central and South America.

Dahlias were an important food and medicinal crop to the Aztec people, while these ingenious people also used the sturdy, hollow, 10-metre long stems of Dahlia imperialis as pipes, supplying villages with water from mountain streams.

Dahlias today

Today dahlias are grown for their decorative flowers. Over the past three centuries hybridisation (combining different varieties) has given rise to a range of fascinating flower types.

Growing dahlias at home

As a general rule of thumb, the first week of November is a good time to plant dahlias. Choose a spot that has morning sun and afternoon shade. Visit the Dahlia Society of South Australia's website for more growing information.

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