Peach Melba Dahlia Bulbs

Peach arriving from the outside in. The outer petals finish in a warm peach while the center stays cream, so a half-open flower looks almost white and a fully open one looks fully peach. The form is loose and slightly irregular rather than geometrically perfect, which is what makes it look like a garden flower rather than a manufactured one.

What you get

• Graded tubers with a visible eye, packed in peat.
• Blooms 5–6 in with a small pale center.
• Plants 32–40 in tall, stems good for cutting.

Where it works

This is the color to use when a border is nearly right but slightly cold. It adds warmth without adding saturation, which is a much harder trick than it sounds.

How to plant

• Soil temperature matters more than the calendar. Wait until it holds 60°F / 15°C at 4 in deep — normally about two weeks after your last frost.
• Lay the tuber flat, eye up, 4–6 in under the surface, and leave 15–18 in between plants for airflow.
• No water until shoots appear. A dormant tuber in wet soil rots in about ten days; roots don’t form until the shoot breaks through.
• Six hours of sun minimum, and a stake in at planting time if the variety runs tall. Driving one in later spears the tuber.

Hardiness & season

• Perennial in USDA zones 8–11, grown as an annual or lifted and stored over winter in zones 3–7.
• First flowers 8–10 weeks after planting, then continuous bloom until the first hard freeze.
• Pinch out the growing tip at 12 in for a bushier plant with more, smaller stems — skip it if you want a few large blooms.
• Keep cutting and deadheading. A dahlia allowed to set seed stops producing buds, and the September flush never happens.