We love dahlias!!!
That’s a bit of an understatement… I’m borderline obsessed with these gorgeous flowers. We grow over 200 different dahlia varieties at Sea Change.
If you’ve grown dahlias before, I’m sure you know what I mean 😉 if you haven’t, then let me invite you to give these fantastic plants a try. You won’t regret it!
Here are my recommendations for 10 must-grow dahlias to add to your garden in 2024.
1. Cornel Bronze
Cornel Bronze topped last year’s list, and it’s topping 2024’s list as well. Why? Because it’s simply great, and if you don’t grow it yet, you should!
This is a tried and true dahlia for us! I think we’ll probably grow it forever. Every year, without fail, it grows a healthy, sturdy plant, and numerous flowers. Cornel Bronze’s flowers are ball-shaped, and have a great vase life and also dry well.
2. Coseytown Babycakes
This is a new introduction from Coseytown Dahlias, and we absolutely loved it this year!
Because it’s such a brand-new variety in the dahlia world, it does come with a higher price tag. But I feel it’s worth it, because the breeding is top notch: perfect rounded flowers with a soft, shifting coloring, strong plants, and abundant tubers make Coseytown Babycakes a keeper in my book.
3. Ferncliff Spice
This little mini ball dahlia is super cute! I love the honey-and-smoke coloring on Ferncliff Spice. The overtones of lavender really make this golden flower glow. My favorite yellow dahlia this year!
4. Myrtle’s Brandy
This is a super fun red-and-white bicolor dahlia. Myrtle’s Brandy is a vigorous grower, and would be a great choice for a first-time dahlia gardener. The flowers are large and definitely bring that “wow!” factor to the garden or to a bouquet.
5. Ferncliff Copper
I am very into the Ferncliff varieties lately! Can you tell? All the Ferncliff varieties we’ve grown are strong plants with great stems for cutting, and Ferncliff Copper is no exception.
We love the large flower size on this variety. I also love the hint of smoky purple in the centers of the flowers!
6. Valley Rust Bucket
A perfect dahlia to herald the fall, Valley Rust Bucket produces an abundance of super cute miniature ball-shaped flowers on small plants. Could be grown in a large container as well as a garden bed.
7. Alpen Sundown
The whole Sea Change farm crew adored the coloring of Alpen Sundown this year. Its soft butter-yellow petals with a dusting of raspberry are just delightful. This dahlia is a prolific bloomer, and plants are on the short side, so could be grown without staking as long as they are pinched as seedlings.
8. Citron du Cap
What a fun, textural bloom! Citron du Cap has lacinated petals, which give its flowers the appearance of being total fluffballs. Pale lemon yellow petals have a hint of blush in the centers.
Citron du Cap is a productive bloomer, and will treat you with lots of flowers in your garden.
9. Pink Sylvia
This one is another repeat winner from our 2023 list!
Pink Sylvia is a bright hot pink, with enchanting silver edging on its petals. This one makes loads of vibrant, fun flowers, and would be a great addition to any cutting garden.
10. Lark’s Ebbe
In past years, we grew this variety thinking it was Ferncliff Copper–whoops. It’s Lark’s Ebbe, and it’s wonderful in its own right. I love the soft coloring on this variety!
Lark’s Ebbe is a smaller-sized plant, so it doesn’t need as much support in the garden, making it a good choice for new dahlia growers.
If you know any fellow dahlia fans who are growing their own dahlias this year, please share this with them! We love these reliable varieties, and think they are a great first choice for growing dahlias.
All of these varieties (and more) will be available on our tuber store soon! I’ll send an email to our newsletter subscribers with the opening date and time (you can sign up for that here!).
I hope this little guide is helpful as you start to dream about your own garden this year. If you need more inspiration, we’ve got a little dahlia round-up from 2023 as well.
Happy imagining!
Samantha is the owner of Sea Change Farm & Flower.
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