Blue Bayou Dahlia
Finding dahlias in a true purple can be tricky, but Blue Bayou Dahlias provide not only a robust purple flower, but also a unique texture that is a delight. The plant produces nice tall flowers, which are good for cuttings and the anemone flower adds a twist in the dahlia patch and in the vase. Our plant on the coast was a little leggy and not very bushy. However, it was in a place that may have needed more soil amendments, and we will plant it in a different location next year and reassess to determine if it’s really the coastal climate, or perhaps where we put this plant in the ground. It was a bit slow to bloom here on the coast, but well worth the wait. We are curious what the tuber production will be on this plant and will make notes once we have more information.
The anemone bloom of Blue Bayou is the only variety we have grown so far. Personally, we don’t have a lot of open centered dahlias and prefer flowers with numerous petal whorls. Yet in 2021, a dear friend suggested we go to Swan Island Dahlias and tour the fields. Living in Oregon, it was a simple trip and most of our tubers had been bought from Swan Island because we wanted to buy local. Wandering acres of dahlias is blissful and seeing the blooms in person is somewhat more meaningful than observing photos. If we had not made this trip, we probably wouldn’t have Blue Bayou, but that trip started the obsession and we had to order a tuber to add to the dahlia patch.
Attributes of Blue Bayou Dahlias
Height – 4 feet
Color – Purple
Bloom Size – 4″
Bloom Style – Anemone
Bloom Time – ~90 days
