The free dahlia reference
Every dahlia variety, from blush to fireball.
Honest growing notes, real ADS classification, and a lookalike for the ones you can never get a tuber of. We sell nothing, so the tradeoffs are in here too: the colors that never come twice, the viruses nobody advertises, the stems too short to cut.
The hunt list
Most wanted right now
Cafe au Lait
Creamy blush that shifts through ivory, champagne, peach, and dusty rose, often varying bloom to bloom. Farms note that no two flowers are quite alike.
Labyrinth
A swirled two-tone blend of golden bronze and raspberry. The petals read peachy pink at a distance and resolve into the swirl up close.
Castle Drive
A light blend in soft sherbet peach. Coseytown and Idlewild note it carries less yellow than the varieties it gets confused with.
KA's Khaleesi
A clean white giant, ADS class AA ID WH. Petals stay crisp and bright rather than creamy, which is part of why florists chase it for big white installation work.
Rock Run Ashley
Soft guava pink with a muted peach cast that reads almost nude in bright light. Idlewild Blooms notes the color shifts between guava pink and muted peach over the season.
Bloomquist Tory P
Blush lavender over a pale base, ADS color chip PK18. Vendors describe a silvery, muted pink with a marshmallow base and an amethyst blush, like petals cut from porcelain.
The classification system, visually
The 20 forms of the dahlia
Informal Decorative
Fully double blooms with twisted, curled, or wavy ray florets arranged irregularly. Most of the famous dinnerplates, including Cafe au Lait, live here.
See the informal decorative varietiesForms and sizes follow the American Dahlia Society Classification and Handbook of Dahlias. By the way: "dinnerplate" is catalog language for the biggest blooms, not an official class. We explain on every profile.
Browse by color
Find a color story
Editorial
Collections
Dahlias That Look Like Cafe au Lait
Cafe au Lait sells out in minutes every winter. Here are the blush and cream dahlias growers reach for instead, with the honest tradeoffs.
Blush Dahlias for a Cutting Garden
Soft pinks, creams, and champagnes that earn their bed space in a cutting garden, chosen for stems you can actually harvest.
Best Dahlias for Beginners
Forgiving, productive dahlias that reward a first-year grower instead of testing one. Strong stems, generous blooms, easy tubers.
The supplier directory
34 farms with locations, shipping policies, and the field collectors care about most: when sales open. Free, complete, updated through the selling season.
Browse farmsSought-after tubers sell out in minutes
Get an email when tuber sales open in season and when we add new varieties.
Get drop alerts