What to Grow for Showing

With literally thousands of different varieties of dahlia in many colours choosing what to grow for the show bench can be very daunting for the new exhibitor. There are certain varieties that perform best which is why exhibitors choose those varieties. In addition not every variety of dahlia grows well in all climates. Here in the South West we have quite a damp climate and this can affect the blooms petals.

Many new growers / showers tend to use dahlias that they have already purchased, either online or via their local garden centre and this can be a good place to start when entering the Peoples Competition or the Novice classes.

Shown below is a table of each “Classification” of dahlia type and good varieties to start with that a proven to grow well in our climate. You may recognise the names when looking at entries on the show bench or have seen them recorded in our show reports.

Dahlia varieties for beginner and novice growers

If you are restricted to the number of dahlias that you can grow, I have composed a list of dahlias that I would recommend you try. The first variety shown in each class is a variety that grows very well in the Southwest.