WHY DAHLIAS? They get better and better in late summer and autumn when many plants are fading. They come in lush colors and astonishing forms. And the more you cut them for bouquets, the more they bloom. DAHLIA HISTORY — Dahlias were brought into gardens by the Aztecs, and first bloomed in Europe in 1789. For more, click here.

Pass-along heirloom plants like “Wisconsin Red” often have certain qualities in common that help preserve them and make them good choices for modern gardeners: they’re beautiful, distinctive, easy to grow even in tough conditions, and in the case of tender plants like dahlias, easy to store over the winter.

Dahlia Growing 101: Let’s Talk Heirloom Tubers! As you may have guessed, we love growing dahlias for their diverse colors and forms and the way they close the gardening season with beauty and abundance, and we want to share some of our experiences and observations with those of you who may be trying them for the first time.

Heirloom dahlias picked for the farm’s weekly CSA shares. That’s ‘Winsome’ in front, with variegated ‘Gipsy Girl’ (coming soon) on the left.

This classic dinner-plate dahlia isn’t just big — 8 to 10 inches across when well grown — it’s ruggedly handsome, with an ivory center opening into masses of rippling white petals.

Grow an heirloom that still ranks as an ADS “Cream of the Crop” dahlia – ‘Kelvin Floodlight’ (with 42 blue ribbons or higher awards in 2014), ‘Bonne Esperance’ (26), ‘Juanita’ (18), ‘Thomas Edison’ (16), and ‘Little Beeswings’ (16).

This striking family heirloom with its ruby flowers on dark stems is SO easy to grow and store that it’s been a pass-along plant in Wisconsin since the early 1900s.

America’s expert source for heirloom flower bulbs! Tough, gorgeous, and different, our bulbs have charmed gardeners from Thomas Jefferson to Martha Stewart, and our superb quality and service have won us rave reviews from gardeners all across the country.

With its dark foliage and apricot-orange flowers, ‘David Howard’ is one of our most popular heirloom dahlias.

The dark foliage of this Award of Garden Merit-winning dahlia makes its brilliant, lilac-rose, semi-double blooms look even more beautiful. Dark eyes ringed by golden stamens add to its allure, and they definitely make the bees happy!