Top Ten Tubers for 2025!
Dahlia planting season is right around the corner, and spring fever is here! People always ask me “what’s your favorite dahlia?”, and that is a difficult decision to answer. With over 100 cultivars growing in my field, all of them are a favorite in one way or another. My goal is to grow sought-after, hard to find, dinnerplates, or specialty types. Not necessarily the ones that are great for a cut-flower farm (although I do have a decent collection of those), but the ones that are unique showstoppers.
Every year, I try to add some new cultivars to my collection, so the order of favorites seem to alternate. There are the tried-and-true kinds that I think I will always grow such as: Sierra Glow, Café au lait, Penhill watermelon, Loverboy, islander, Milena fleur, Peaches n’ cream, Emory Paul, Strawberry ice, AC Devin, Wyn’s new pastel, Ferncliff copper, Temple of beauty, AC Ben, and more.
This past year my top ten favorites would be:
American Dawn: I just love this dahlia. Tuber storage can be questionable, but it has amazing, strong, dark stems and perfect blooms. The color is extremely dynamic. I just love this dahlia. The color is mesmerizing, pulling you in with the darker purple undersides of the deep pink petals and a hint of yellow in the center.
Belle of Barmera: for the first few years, I wasn’t always the biggest fan of this one, but the past two years, Belle of Barmera has been outstanding. The color is hard to photograph, but it is a mostly pink bloom with twisted petals what have a purple and orange hue to them. The blooms can get huge with disbudding.
Bubbling Over: Again, I just love this dahlia. It’s generally late to the party for blooming, but WOW- the form, color, size…all of it is outstanding. It also has very distinct oval-type shaped, large leaves. The flower does look like it is bubbling over as it continues to open.
Camano Mordor: This was new in 2024 and I was blown away. The color was like nothing I have seen before- again, the photos don’t really do it justice. Very nicely uniform petals, tightly packed. Plus, if you’re a LOTR fan, this is a must-grow in your garden.
Cameo Peach: Another new one for me in 2024 that was amazing! It was an early bloomer and continued to pump out blooms all summer. It slowed down in the fall when others were just getting going, but overall, a very nice flower. The color started off a bright pink with yellow/peach centers and got a little lighter with cooler either. Very nice, rounded petals.
Caitlin’s Joy: While it’s not a large, showstopper, the color and form on Caitlin’s Joy is extremely consistent. A great cut flower, strong stems, good vase life. It’s hard to capture the purple nature of this flower in the photos, but to me, it is more on the purple than pink scale.
Hollyhill Gloria: Everything about this flower is different from the other blooms in my collection. Bright pink petals with yellow centers make the color POP even more. The pointed and lancinated petals are an added uniqueness to this flower. It also has very distinct, serrated leaves. While the plant doesn’t grow too tall (in the 3-4’ range), the blooms pack enough color to still make them stand out. I had a rabbit really enjoy this plant early on in the growing stage in 2024, so my tuber stock will be limited for 2025 as I work to rebuild.
Kenora Lisa: The gold-tipped, pointed petals are what hook me into Kenora Lisa. This is another bright pink flower with a shimmery sparkle. This flower will catch your eye in the garden and in photos every time. It produces consistent flowers all season.
Red Labyrinth: I wasn’t sure I was going to like this dahlia, because I am not generally a fan of reds. However, this red has something different…it’s hard to identify, but It’s special. Perhaps it’s the bi-color twist of the pointed petals. Or the space between the petals that give the red a space to breathe. Or the dark stems and dark green foliage that provide a nice contrast. No matter what it is, I am glad I have grown it! If you’re a fan of Labyrinth, you’ll probably like this version too.
Vancouver: I tend to like the hard to grow dahlias. Vancouver can be a diva in storage, and not always the best tuber producers, but the BLOOMS! Show stopping. Great in photographs, beautiful in the garden, or for a cut flower. This dahlia benefits from disbudding for larger blooms.
Other cultivars of note:
- AC Moonwalk
- Bloomquist Jean
- Bloomquist York
- KA Khalessi
These would also be included in a ‘top’ list, but they won’t be available for 2025. I am planning to grow more stock of these to have available in coming years.
A new introduction to the dahlia world!
For the first time a 'LE' dahlia is hitting the market with 'LE Lemonade'! I hybridzed this dahlia in 2021 and have been growing it for the past 3 years. It has a lovely lemon yellow color, produces blooms all season, and has interesting, serrated leaves. It's a great tuber producer and would make a lovely addition to your collection. You have the chance to be the first one to get this new introduction. View it here!
Overall, I think that finding favorites is a personal decision. Many ‘unicorns’ come in and out of fashion, changing the prices of some tubers to $30-$50 each. Different hybridizers become popular, social media ‘FOMO’ causes panic buying, and some dahlias that look good in pictures but lack luster in real life. With thousands of cultivars available, there’s something for everyone in the dahlia world.
These are a list of my current favorites. What are yours? What are you looking forward to growing this year?
Remember- this is supposed to be fun! Things will happen to your plants that are out of your control- bugs, rodents, drought, flooding, heat waves, or cold snaps can all damage your tubers despite every effort to keep them alive. You should expect some loss in your garden. I make every effort to ensure that each tuber packed and shipped out has at least one viable eye and/or a sprout to give you the best chance at success. Don’t be too hard on yourself (or other sellers) if nature takes over the process. Please reach out if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer.
Have fun and happy planting!