Dahlia Black Forest Ruby Seeds

What is Dahlia Black Forest Ruby like?

Dahlia Black Forest Ruby is a dahlia you grow from seed and see in flower the same summer. The flowers are red and range from single to double, and they’re held over dark foliage that’s close to black, which makes the red look all the deeper. The plants are bushy and upright, reaching about 60cm, so they suit containers, patio pots, bedding and the front of a border. It’s a half-hardy perennial, but in the UK it’s usually grown as a half-hardy annual.

When should you sow dahlia seeds?

• When to sow: Indoors, from February to April.
• How to sow: Sow about 0.5cm deep in trays of seed compost and keep them moist.
• Warmth: 15–20°C is enough, so a warm kitchen windowsill will do.
• Germination: Seedlings usually appear in 14 to 28 days.

How do you grow the seedlings on?

When the seedlings are big enough to handle, prick them out into other trays about 5cm apart. Hold them by a leaf, never by the stem, as the stems bruise easily. Grow them on somewhere cooler, but not cold. Harden the young plants off gradually, keeping them away from frost, and plant them out about 30cm apart once the frosts are over.

How do you look after it?

• Position: Full sun.
• Watering: Water regularly in dry spells; plants in pots will need it more often.
• Deadheading: Remove faded flowers to keep new ones coming until the frosts.

Can you keep the plants for next year?

You can treat it as an annual and sow again each spring, or keep your plants. Dahlias are lifted once the foliage has been blackened by the first frost. Cut the stems back to about 5cm, clean the soil off by hand, and dry the tubers upside down in a cool place for a few weeks. Then bury them in trays of dry compost, sand or soil, with just the old stems showing, and keep them somewhere cool but frost-free, at least 4°C at night.

In mild areas you can leave them in the ground under a thick, dry mulch instead, though plants overwintered that way may come into growth and flower a little later than lifted ones.

Is it good for pollinators?

Bees and hoverflies both visit the flowers, so it earns its place in a pollinator-friendly patio or border as well as for its colour.

The Grown Local Verdict “Dahlia Black Forest Ruby is a straightforward way into dahlias from seed. Sow it indoors in early spring, plant it out after the frosts, and it’ll usually flower from July until the first frosts, with dark leaves that set off the red flowers. If you’d like to keep a plant, lift and store it in autumn.”