Growing Dahlias in Zone 9B FL

Zone 9B Florida: I love growing dahlias. I used to grow dahlias back in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is an on-going documentary on how I grow dahlias. I cover the topics on dahlias varieties I grow and the potting mix and plant care. I will update this post with the beautiful dahlias faces as they bloom for me.

Dahlias Varieties:

1. Fubuki Sakura
2. Tbd
3. Cafe Au Lait Royal
4. Purple Taiheijo
5. Paintball
to be continued

Soil requirement:

Dahlias needs soil with good drainage. I have tried growing dahlias in the somewhat sandy soil of the Florida ground. It does well with the first bloom but then I noticed consecutive blooms became smaller and smaller. Then the tubers all rotted away during the rainy seasoning in the late summer.
I decided to pot all my dahlias up from now on. So far, one has survived as a perennial for one year.

Potting
I used a plastic barrel planter bought from Home Depot and drilled 8 holes using an 1/2-inch drill bit on the bottom. I used my potting mix #2 with two scoops or about 3 cups of all-purpose sand mixed in to allow better drainage. I plant my dahlias at random months in spring and summer. They all bloomed for me. The only thing I noticed they don’t like so far is the rainy season with constant wet soil. So make sure the potting medium has good drainage.