Up Close and Personal: Dahlia ‘Figaro Orange Shades’

I wish I could grow more dahlias (the colors are so rich!), but the Japanese beetles crave them and chew the flowers to shreds. I can get away with sprouting the shorter varieties from seed like ‘Figaro’ or ‘Fireworks’ because they bloom later in the summer when the beetle population is winding down. I also usually indulge in one large variety cultivar each year if I can find a cheap tuber at a garden center. My brother-in-law grows beautiful tall and small dahlias (the beetles haven’t migrated to his area yet), and he has great success saving the tubers each year. I’ve never tried it, mostly because over winter my basement is too warm and my garage is too cold.

I thought ‘Fireworks’ had a particularly low flower to foliage ratio which was disappointing. I was really looking forward to those mixed-color flowers, but there just weren’t very many of them. I’ve had much better luck with ‘Figaro’.