Waltzing Mathilda Dahlia Tubers

Waltzing Mathilda: Ball Dahlia Tubers

The new flowers have a crimson blush that recedes to reveal more of the warm peachy-orange base colour, which is beautifully bright against the dark foliage. The double, open blooms are favoured by bees and butterflies.

Browse our full Dahlia range.

Features

• Colour: Peach orange & red
• Flower Size: 8-10cm
• Type: Miscellaneous
• Cutting: Yes
• Height/spread: 75cm x 75cm
• Flowering: Jul - Nov
• Planting Months: Mar - Jul
• RHS Award of Garden Merit
• RHS Plants for Pollinators

Growing Waltzing Mathilda Dahlias

Dahlias like deep, fertile soil with good drainage and this compact variety is ideal for the middle of a sunny border. Add stakes at planting time, so support is available when it is needed.

Water well in dry periods and keep your dahlias flowering abundantly throughout summer and autumn by adding a bit of soluble food in the watering can once every couple of weeks. Dahlias grown in containers need to be kept especially well watered and fed.

If you ignore seed, Dahlias can be planted at three stages: as tubers, rooted cuttings and pot-grown plants.

Tubers can be planted at any time from March onwards. The hole should be at least double the diameter of the tuber laid out on the ground. Incorporate about 25% well rotted compost and if drainage is in any way doubtful then add plenty of horticultural grit as well. Plant one tuber per hole, leaving 60-80 cms between plants (depending on final size) and make sure the tuber is covered with 10-12 cms (4-5") of soil. This is important as it will insulate the tuber against frosts in March-May as they will take a couple of months to show.

Rooted cuttings, which are available from early April onwards, will need to be potted up and kept in a sunny and frost free place until they are ready to be planted out in mid May. Their treatment then is the same as for tubers except they are planted level with rather than 10 cms below the surrounding soil level.

Pot grown plants are not delivered until June, and are then planted out immediately in the same way as an established rooted cutting.

The more you deadhead, the more flowers you'll get.

Did You Know?

Bred in 2008 by Jan van Ruiten and René Rotteveel at RuRo-Plant in the Netherlands.