Cafe au Lait, Dahlia Tubers

Cafe au Lait Dahlia Tubers

Eight-inch blooms bring coveted wedding-flower romance
Peach, blush, and creamy tones vary beautifully
Fluffy dinnerplate form creates luxurious focal flowers
Exceptional for elegant arrangements and cutting gardens

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Key Attributes

Botanical Name

Dahlia

Days to maturity

90 Days

Sun

Full Sun

Zones 8–10 Check your growing zone

About Cafe au Lait, Dahlia Tubers, Dahlia Tubers

These large, fluffy 8-inch blooms are highly sought after for wedding arrangements and elegant floral designs. Their soft, romantic coloring can range from pale peach to a delicate pink blush, often appearing in multiple shades on the same plant. Growing on sturdy plants about 4 feet tall, they make a beautiful statement in the garden as well as in bouquets. While this variety tends to grow a bit slower and produces fewer blooms than some dahlias, the size and beauty of each flower make it well worth the wait.

Growing details

Planting

Germination Type

A - No Pretreatment

Plant profile

Life Cycle

Tender Perennial

Hardiness Zone

Zones 8-10

Plant Height

48 inches

Growth Habits

Clumping, Upright

Seed & variety

Color

Orange, Pink

Seed Type

Bulb

Before Planting

Firm tubers with sound necks and visible eyes are worth planting; discard pieces that are soft, moldy, or badly shriveled. Prepare a sunny, wind-sheltered bed with crumbly drainage and moderate fertility. Put supports in place now so stakes will not pierce expanding clumps later.

Planting

Wait for warm soil and the end of frost danger. Position each tuber horizontally with the eye upward, then cover it at the variety’s recommended depth without snapping the neck. Unless the bed is exceptionally dry, withhold substantial irrigation until green shoots break the surface.

Watering

Dahlias shift from needing little moisture before emergence to requiring thorough watering in active growth. Once shoots are established, soak the bed deeply once or twice a week, adjusting for heat and rainfall. Let the soil drain between applications to discourage rot.

Fertilizer

Choose a formulation lower in nitrogen once active growth begins. Additional light feedings during heavy bloom can help plants in lean soil, but lush leaves paired with few flowers usually signal too much nitrogen.

Harvesting

Select newly opened flowers with firm petals, cutting long stems early in the day. Place them promptly into clean water and leave enough foliage to keep the tuber clump productive. Frequent cutting also prevents aging blooms from slowing new bud development.

Tips

Pinching above several leaf pairs produces a fuller plant, while early tying prevents tall stems from breaking. Where winters freeze the ground, lift the clumps after frost blackens the tops, dry off surface moisture, and overwinter them in cool, airy, frost-free storage.

Pests & Diseases

Inspect dahlia tubers for crown gall, bacterial soft rot, Fusarium decay, and virus symptoms before planting. Discard galled, mushy, or badly shriveled stock—cutting away visible damage is unreliable. Divide with disinfected tools, cure storage wounds, and keep labeled clumps separate so suspect stock is not propagated.

Young shoots attract slugs and caterpillars; later growth may host aphids, thrips, mites, or Japanese beetles. Check buds and leaf undersides rather than spraying on a schedule. Remove isolated pests and damaged tissue first, especially while pollinators are visiting the flowers.