Linda's Baby Dahlia Tubers

Linda's Baby: Ball Dahlia Tubers

The colours of Linda's Baby are bold, with the semi-furled petals angry purple-pink in the centre, cooling rapidly through smoky apricot and peach hues that become paler, even sorbet, towards the edge of the flower. With his study stems and gorgeous blooms, this irresistible dahlia is ideal for cutting and lasts well in a vase. This superb cultivar will provide peerless colour through the summer and well into autumn.
Browse our other Ball Dahlias or our full range of Dahlias here.

Features

• Colour: Smoky salmon pink
• Flower Size: 8-10cm
  
• Type: Ball
• Cutting: Yes
• Height/spread: 90cm x 70cm
  
• Flowering: July to November
• Planting Months: March to July

Growing Linda's Baby 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.

Planting Companions for Linda's Baby

His strong stems and graceful blooms are the perfect addition to any cutting garden, and dreamy coral-pink flowers combine beautifully with similar dahlias like Burlesque and Caitlin's Joy.

He creates dramatic impact as a specimen plant in container displays, and looks magnificent in a sunny border alongside grasses and the soft blues and purples of salvia, agastache and lavender.

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?

Small ball dahlias have fully double flowers from 10-15cm in diameter, so these 8-10cm blooms are in the miniature ball class.
Ball dahlias have semi-curled petals radiating out in swirling spirals, creating exquisitely neat globes of flower.

Linda's Baby was born in 2004, with the help of P.K.J. Smits in the Netherlands, who also raised the popular 'Boom Boom' series.