I picked a great year to gamble with sprouting dahlias and hollyhocks for my flowerbeds. Both are Japanese beetle favorites, but this summer I’ve seen the fewest beetles since they descended upon our area for the first time more than 10 years ago.
‘Dahlia Figaro’ mix sends up flowers in shades of yellow, pink, orange and red. The plants grow 14-18 inches tall and thankfully don’t appear to be popular with the gang of rabbits that has taken over our whole city this summer.
I started my seeds indoors 5 weeks before my last frost date, and the seedlings were well-behaved and no-fuss. No insects seem to bother them, and the only disease that has ever affected my dahlias is powdery mildew. So far none of my ‘Figaro’ dahlias are showing any sign of the disease (although my garden-center-purchased plants DO have powdery mildew).
‘Figaro’ dahlias will continue blooming ’til frost if kept deadheaded. And if you’re into saving plants, you can wait until the growing season ends and then dig up the tubers and store them for next year.