Growing dahlias month by month episode 13: September

Jobs in the dahlia garden to prolong the flowering period.
How to cross pollinate dahlias.

Dahlias
Dahlias start flowering in July and will continue to flower until the first frost, so they have a very long flowering season.
Their flowers come in many sizes from the tiniest pompons to the giant dinner-plate varieties, there are several shapes, including the round ball shaped decorative varieties, the spiky cactus types, the delicately pretty waterlilies and the pin-cushion shaped anemones.
They come in every colour apart from blue, and there are dahlias that reach 9 feet / 3 metres tall, whilst others only reach 18 inches / 40 centimetres.
So there is a dahlia suitable for every garden, and they can even be grown in pots.
Geoff and Heather have been growing dahlias for many years and use the different shapes and sizes to help create a tiered effect in their garden in Cheshire. Together with salvias, fuchsias, and bedding plants they have managed to create a riot of summer colour.
Each September they open their garden to the public as part of the U.K. National Garden Scheme.
In this video, and the other videos in the series, they show you how they manage to do this, providing guidance on how to grow perfect dahlias.