Growing ‘Honey Dew’ Dahlia

Hi Lovelies,

The rain is pouring down out there and it’s cold, so that could only mean one thing! It’s time for me to jump on the ole’ internet machine and write about something. In honor of my goal to write about and create a sort of short “review” for everything that I grow, I bring you my thoughts on ‘Honey Dew’ Dahlia.

‘Honey Dew’ was one of my last minute purchases that I made around the first week of June when tubers were half price. I was quickly lured in by the creamy, peachy color of the photo on the website and threw that glamour girl into my shopping basket. Boasting promises of 6″-8″ inch blooms, I immediately began to daydream about all the gorgeous colors I could mix the flowers with, and how amazing it would look sitting in a vase on my kitchen table. Ugh, this is the stuff that my little flower farm dreams are made of, folks!

Sorry, I was caught in the moment – back to reality. As it turns out, ‘Honey Dew’ is a really nice cut flower. The plants grew to an impressive 4ft before flopping over. However, that’s not even their fault. Being that I planted these so late, I didn’t stake them, so the only person to blame is myself – definitely going to have to stake these. I’m currently swimming in my first blooms from this plant, and next year I’ll be extra eager to start these beauties at the right time. I topped the plants when they were about a foot tall, and they have since rewarded me generously, with more than enough big blooms – definitely living up to my hopes.

Now, onto the disappointment. Okay, I’m being dramatic; it’s more like onto the unexpected. True to catalog and internet fashion, the blooms of this plant didn’t look anything like the pictures I’d seen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very lovely, but it’s just not what I thought I was going to get. Pictures around the web confirm that many people have experienced variation with this variety. The majority of my blooms are what I would describe as a pale yellow with some purplish/honeyish undertones or even splashes in some cases. Hints of the possible apricoty, luscious flowers are there, but it just hasn’t happened for me. If it does before the frost hits, I’ll definitely update this post – who knows maybe it just takes patience.

Overall, I’ll be keeping and multiplying ‘Honey Dew’ in my garden. Even if the yellow flowers are all that are produced, the shape is absolutely wonderful and really does brighten up anything you add it to. Healthy, quick-growing plants that are covered in blooms seems like a fair trade-off for a little color variation – at least it does for me.

Have you grown ‘Honey Dew’? What dahlia should I try next? What’s your favorite variety? Hope you’re having a great day, much love! Don’t forget to comment and follow, I’d love to have you! 🙂