dahlia

1. Any of several plants of the genus Dahlia native to the mountains of Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, having tuberous roots and showy, rayed, variously colored flower heads.
2. The flower head of one of these plants.

[New Latin Dahlia, genus name, after Anders Dahl (1751–1787), Swedish botanist.]

For more information on dahlia, visit Britannica.com.

Dahl'ya, also day'li-ya. A small but very important genus of tuberous-rooted herbs, the source of all the garden dahlias, most from the uplands of Mexico and Guatemala.

Description
Tuberous roots. Leaves opposite, often compound or twice-compound, the leaflets or segments toothed or cut. Flowers very varied due to breeding, ranging from small ball-shaped pompons to large multipetaled blossoms with curled, quill-like petals. Wild types always have both ray and disk flowers.

How to Grow
While moderately heat-resistant, dahlias grown from seeds for first-year bloom will burn out in midsummer except in northern and cool western gardens. Sow seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost. Set out in moist, fertile soil when danger of frost is over. Tall plants may need staking. Tubers will mature at base of main stem at end of first season. Save plants you like by digging up tuber cluster, shaking off soil, and storing during winter in a cool, moist place. Separate tubers carefully before planting. These flowers prefer warm weather.

Dahliahybrids
Although dahlias are officially classed in 14 groups based on flower shape, for gardening purposes they can be separated into 2 types: those of medium to tall height with long-stemmed blossoms used for cutting, and the dwarf types used for bedding. 1-5 ft. (0.3-1.5 m) high, depending on the cultivar. Flowers yellow, red, pink, purple, white, orange, scarlet, or bicolored, usually 2-4 in. (5-10 cm) wide, but sometimes to 12 in. (30 cm). Dwarf varieties available, with green or bronze leaves. Abundant blooms from early summer to frost. Parent species are possibly D. coccinea and D. pinnata . Tender perennial treated as a tender annual.

For other uses, see Dahlia (disambiguation).

Dahlia
Dahlia 'Graceland'
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Genus: Dahlia
Species
30 species, 20,000 cultivars

Dahlia is a genus of bushy, tuberous, perennial plants native to Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. There are at least 36 species of dahlia. Dahlia hybrids are commonly grown as garden plants. The Aztecs gathered and cultivated the dahlia for food, ceremony, as well as decorative purposes,^[1] and the long woody stem of one variety was used for small pipes.

1872 a box of dahlia roots was sent from Mexico to the Netherlands. Only one plant survived the trip, but produced spectacular red flowers with pointed petals. Nurserymen in Europe bred from this plant, which was named Dahlia juarezii with parents of dahlias discovered earlier and these are the progenitors of all modern dahlia hybrids. Ever since, plant breeders have been breeding dahlias to produce thousands of cultivars, usually chosen for their stunning and brightly coloured flowers. Dahlia plants range in height from as low as 12" (30 cm) to as tall as 6-8 feet (180-240 cm). The flowers can be as small as 2" (5 cm) in diameter or up to a foot (30 cm) "dinner plate". The great variety results from dahlias being octoploids (they have eight sets of homologous chromosomes, whereas most plants have only two).

Dahlias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Angle Shades, Common Swift, Ghost Moth and Large Yellow Underwing.

The dahlia is named after Swedish 18th-century botanist Anders Dahl ^[2]. In German the dahlia was known as Georgia until recently, being named after the naturalist Johann Gottlieb Georgi of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Contents 1 Judged shows 2 Gallery 3 Other names 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

Judged shows

Dahlias are often grown for judged shows. Awards are given for best in class and best in show. Traditionally, dahlias grown for shows have used intensive application of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. More recently, however, competitive dahlia growers have used organic methods with equally good results.^[3]

Gallery

Dahlia 'Adelaide Fontane'	Dahlia 'Appleblossom'	Dahlia 'Arabian Night'	Dahlia 'Art Deco'
Dahlia 'Asahi Chohji'	Dahlia 'Aspen'		Dahlia 'Aurora's Kiss'
Dahlia 'Heat Seeker'	Dahlia 'Dahlstar Sunset Pink'	Double Dahlia.

Other names

The dahlia is also known as Tenjikubotan (天竺牡丹) in Japanese, which literally means 'Peony of India'. According to the Japanese language of flowers, it means 'good taste'.

References

1. ^ Harvard Arboretum
2. ^ Dahlia name
3. ^ Irene Verag “Greener gardening”, Newsday, July 13, 2008

See also

• List of dahlia diseases

External links

• The United Kingdom National Dahlia Collection
• American Dahlia Society
• The National Dahlia Society of New Zealand
• Dahlia Flower Care
• Info about care for dahlias
  • Dahlia rosea at pfaf
  • Dahlia pinnata at pfaf
• Gallery of Dahlia Images
• Dahlia species
• The medicinal and nutritional properties of Dahlia spp.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - georgine, dahlia

Nederlands (Dutch)
dahlia (bloem)

Français (French)
n. - dahlia

Deutsch (German)
n. - (bot.) Dahlie

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) ντάλια

Italiano (Italian)
dalia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dália (f) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
георгин

Español (Spanish)
n. - dalia

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (bot.) dahlia

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
大丽花, 天竺牡丹

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大理花, 天竺牡丹

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 모란꽃

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ダリア, ダリア色, 天竺牡丹

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الأضاليا نبته طويله وذات زهرات كبيرة جميله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דליה (צמח)‬

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