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Introduced to Europe from Mexico in the late 1700s, the dahlia quickly became a popular plant in English gardens.

By the mid 1930s there were as many as 14,000 different cultivars in circulation but thereafter, linked perhaps with the decline of the English country house garden, their popularity waned. Dahlias survived, however, treasured by those who grew them for the show bench, and in the last decade or so they have experienced a bit of a revival.

Popularised by gardening aficionados like Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto, they are now 'de rigueur' in all the most fashionable gardens. Along with those of chrysanthemums, their bright colours are invaluable from July to October when many herbaceous plants are beginning to tire. To see dahlias at their best, you have only to pay a visit to the Lakeland Horticultural Gardens at Holehird in late summer.

There are three ways to produce dahlia plants.

Firstly there are tubers. These are over-wintered in a frost-free shed or greenhouse, and started into growth by potting in moist compost in early February. Planted out into the borders in early June, they will flower freely from July to September.

For later flowers, take cuttings from tubers as they begin to sprout in March and April. These cuttings will mature and flower from August to October, or until the first frosts blacken them. Cuttings will have made their own small tubers by the late autumn, when it's time to dig them up and put them into storage for the winter again.

Dahlias can also be grown from seed, sown in the warm in early spring. Though they won't look as big as plants grown from tubers or cuttings, seedlings should be ready to plant out in early June and will soon catch up with the tuberous plants. All but the shortest plants will need some form of staking, together with regular dead-heading to keep the new flowers coming.

If all this seems like too much trouble, then dahlias are not for you. But for gardeners with the time and enthusiasm, they will provide a fine show throughout the late summer and early autumn.

Those who know me well will, by now, be remembering a time when I professed to a hearty dislike of dahlias, refusing to grow them and railing against their blowsy, over-dressed blooms.

I confess to having been converted by the single-flowered varieties (appropriately enough, the first I grew were called 'The Bishop of Llandaff') which have more delicate, open flowers than the traditional cactus and pompon dahlias, often with dark or finely divided foliage.

This year I'm growing 'The Bishop of York', which has 'purplish foliage and golden flowers brushed with orange' according to the catalogue. I can't wait!

Jobs for this week...

_ Clear any weeds from herbaceous and shrub borders.

An hour or two spent now will save twice as much time later in the year.

_ As the ground becomes drier and more workable, plant out onion sets and shallots in the vegetable plot.

_ Check all plants, trees and shrubs that were planted in the autumn.

If they have been raised or loosened by frosts or high winds, firm them in again with your foot.

9:23am Friday 22nd February 2008

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