Golden Sapphire Dahlia Bulbs

Yellow and blue on the same petal, no blending. The heart of each petal is cobalt, deepening toward the center, then the tip finishes in gold. From ten feet away the flower reads blue; up close it’s unmistakably two colors. It’s a strong plant to put next to anything — which is either the point or the problem, depending on the border.

What you get

• Graded tubers with a visible eye, packed in peat.
• Blooms 4–5 in with a bright gold center that shows at full open.
• Plants 30–36 in tall, good stem length for cutting.

Design note

Use it as the one loud thing in a quiet bed rather than as part of a scheme. Blue-and-gold fights with red, sits well with cream, silver foliage and deep green, and disappears entirely against a dark wall.

Planting

• Wait for warm soil. Plant two weeks after your last frost date, once the soil holds 60°F / 15°C at 4 in deep. Cold soil rots tubers before they wake.
• Set them 4–6 in deep, eye facing up, with 2–3 in of soil over the crown. Space 15–18 in apart so air moves between plants.
• Water once at planting, then hold off until shoots break the surface — a soaking wet tuber with no roots has nowhere to put the water.
• Full sun, 6+ hours. Stake at planting if you want straight stems; adding supports later breaks roots.

Season & hardiness

• Blooms 8–10 weeks after planting and keeps going until the first hard frost.
• Hardy in USDA zones 8–11. In zones 3–7 lift the tubers after frost blackens the foliage, or grow as an annual.
• Pinch the center shoot at about 12 in to double the stem count; more stems, smaller blooms.
• Deadhead spent flowers every few days. Left to seed, the plant stops producing new buds.