There was a point where I felt every aspirational garden revolved around roses. Climbing roses over doorways, bush roses spilling through borders, David Austin roses photographed in linen dresses and outdated terracotta pots until every garden on the internet looked like it was waiting to be discovered by a duke with emotional baggage.
Honestly, I can see why. Roses hectare beautiful. I have a few plants in my garden myself (the white ones near my kitchen door are my favourite) and when they are at their peak there are very few plants that can compete with them. Shakespeare was on the money when he said nothing else smells so sweet.
However, in recent years, another flower has very quietly come to dominate – and not just in gardens, but in flower shows, cutting gardens, Instagram feeds and the kinds of planting schemes that designers suddenly can’t seem to stop talking about.
Because Dahlias are quietly replacing roses
This flower? The one who happens to be quietly replacing roses like a particularly insidious sleeper agent? THE dahliaobviously.
Now, I realize I’ve described this as a quiet acquisition, but once you notice it, you understand dahlias they are suddenly everywhere. In fact, there are entire social media accounts dedicated to them. Specialist growers are releasing now tubers the way fashion brands launch limited-edition, sought-after collections dahlia varieties sold out almost immediately.
Even traditional horticultural retailers have begun to describe dahlias as being in the middle of a “huge resurgence in popularityas gardeners rediscover their long flowering period and dramatic effect.
(Image: Alex Manders/Shutterstock)
It’s more than understandable, of course. Roses still offer that classic romance, obviously, but they can also feel surprisingly fleeting. You wait months for the perfect flush, you obsess over pruning, you watch black spot like it’s a developing political scandal, and suddenly the whole show is over almost as quickly as it started.
Dahlias, meanwhile, seem to understand the task of busy gardens much better. They bloom relentlessly – often until the first frost – and instead of fading as the summer progresses, they somehow become more spectacular later in the season as many borders begin to look slightly exhausted.
Even better, there’s a dahlia to suit everyone. Some dahlias are soft and romantic enough to sit comfortably alongside the roses they replace quietly, while others offer giant plate blooms, spiky cactus forms and rich, velvety petals in hues that look absolutely AI-enhanced, even when they’re real.
Buy Dahlias now:
Walmart
Cafe Au Lait Decorative Dahlia – 3 Root Divisions
One of the most beautiful and popular dahlia varieties, its creamy petals are sure to turn out great.
Garden State Bulb Co.
Colorful Topmix Single Mix Dahlia Flower Bulbs
Hardy in USDA Planting Zones 8 to 10, these beautiful dahlias are a sure way to a garden bursting with color.
Holland Bulb Farms
Labyrinth Decorative Dahlia Bulbs
Varying shades of pink and peach in this tropical-coded dahlia make it a summer favorite!
Personally, I suspect part of the reason dahlias are growing again is because they fit how people increasingly want gardens to work. Gardeners gravitate toward plants that earn their keep longer, work harder visually, and deliver impact without needing an entire border dedicated to them.
They can feel maximalist and chaotic in one garden, then sculptural and sophisticated in another. You can grow them in extensive borders, special cutting patches or containers, and they still somehow manage to look expensive. Additionally, unlike roses, which can feel slightly demanding emotionally, let alone horticulturally, dahlias tend to reward even relatively average gardeners with an absurd number of flowers.
(Image credit: Kirin_Photo/Getty Images)
Yes, taller varieties need staking before summer storms flatten them to the trail, they appreciate regular watering in dry spells, and in colder gardens you may need to lift and overwinter the tubers once frost arrives. However, compared to the endless cycle of feeding, pruning, spraying and troubleshooting that roses can require, dahlias feel refreshingly straightforward for something so dramatic.
This is probably why so many gardeners become slightly obsessed with them after growing just one or two. From personal experience, after having flowers bloom continuously until October, watch pollinators working them through late summer and filling jar after jar without making any visible dents in the outer screen, it becomes surprisingly difficult to go back.
So no, roses aren’t going away anytime soon. But dahlias are no longer the supporting act quietly filling in the gaps at the back of the border. Increasingly, they become the plants that steal the show… and the ones that everyone suddenly pretends they grew first.
