Pooh Dahlia Tubers & Plants

Pooh: Decorative Dahlia Tubers

Pooh is a fun Collarette dahlia, with bright, uncomplicated and heart lifting red and yellow colours. Like its namesake, this dahlia will cheer you up with its uncompromising performance, flowering prolifically from July right through to the first frosts in November.
Browse our other Decorative Dahlias or our full range of Dahlias here.

The blooms are about 10cm across, in a collarette shape, so there's a rich-golden central button, surrounded by small, bright, sunshine-yellow tubular petals, which hum boldly against a single circle of larger orange-red petals that are dipped in a honey colour at the edges. The overall effect is open, colourful and upbeat.

The foliage and stems are a rich green. It's a medium-sized beauty, growing to 75-90cm tall.

Features

• Colour: Red with yellow centres
• Flower size: 5-10cm
• Type: Collarette dahlia
• Cutting: Yes
• Height/spread: 90cm x 45cm
• Flowering: July to November
• Outdoor Planting Months: March to July

Growing Pooh 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 Pooh

Towards the middle or back of a border, he will provide a colourful foil to other late-summer perennials and or grasses. The upward-pointing faces of a yellow helenium look lovely together, as does a floaty haze of Foeniculum vulgare.
Try combining him with other dahlias in hot colours, such as the deep red pompom Nescio, or crimson Berger's Record, planted in bold drifts.

In a pot, he is hard to beat when planted with soft grasses such as Pennisetum vilosum or Stipa tenuissima: the tactile flower heads make an ideal counterpoint to Pooh's charms.

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 just that little bit better if there is a bit of soluble food in the watering can once every couple of weeks.

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

Dahlia 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 dahlias flower.

Did You Know?

An American variety from 1998, by the prolific Gitts family who run Swan Island Dahlias. You may see it listed as Pooh Swan Island to distinguish it from another Pooh that dates back to 1951, which seems not to be available commercially, as far as we can see.

Pooh Bear's colour scheme also matches SuperTed's uniform, and Paddington Bear when he gets home and takes off his jacket, but still has his hat on.