Fairway Spur Dahlia Tubers

Fairway Spur: Decorative Dahlia Tubers

If you're a fan of vintage and retro looks, you'll love Fairway Spur Dahlias. This giant decorative type, so big it's often referred to as a 'dinnerplate' dahlia is a sumptuous blend of hazy colours. The petals are a soft mix of apricot and pink, while the flower takes on a bronze tone closer to the centre.

Far from being a regimented shape, the huge, soft flowers have an almost shaggy appearance due to its gently twisted petals: real shabby chic charm. This stunning giant is a top-class exhibition variety, and favoured by many keen growers for its size, beauty and reliability. Generally, its flowers measure 25-28 cm in diameter, but with disbudding and feeding with dilute tomato feed, they can reach a massive 38cm across!
Browse our other Decorative Dahlias or our full range of Dahlias here.

The huge flowers blooms are held on stout bright green stems, above attractive deep green foliage which makes a perfect backdrop towards the back of your border.

The huge flowers are a florist's dream and its colours are bang on trend for floral designers. Just a few stems in a vase make a massive statement.

Features

• Colour: Apricot and pink and bronze hues
• Foliage: Dark green divided leaves
• Flower Size: 25cm to 38cm
• Type: Decorative (Giant)
• Cutting: Yes
• Height/Spread: 1.2m x 75cm
• Flowering: July to November
• Outdoor Planting Months: March to July

Growing Fairway Spur Dahlias

All dahlias do best in deep rich soil with good drainage in a sunny spot. If it is windy they will need staking. They are greedy, thirsty plants so will need watering in dry spells, and they will always flower that little bit better if there is a bit of soluble food in the watering can once every couple of weeks.

It is generally more convenient to put support stakes in at planting time, rather than leaving it until there is foliage in the way.

Planting Companions for Fairway Spur

Flowers this big are difficult to work into mixed borders, so disbud in your cutting bed or allotment for show bench monsters and leave them alone in borders where the gorgeous colour combination of the blooms will improve any display, especially when contrasted with dark grasses or purple-leaved shrubs like Cotinus (the smoke bush) or perennials.

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?

This British variety was released in 1996.