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Deutschland Dahlias

A large formal decorative Deutschland bloom against a speckled granite counter.
Photo generously gifted to us by Laura Sommerdorf.
Held between two hands, this 8 inch bloom has a darker center to lighter edge with slightly rounded petals.
Photo generously shared with us by Laura Sommerdorf.

Big. Dramatic. Breathtaking. Deutschland dahlias make 6-8 inch large red blooms in the formal decorative style. The plant in our costal climate was between 3.5 and 4 feet tall and produced a handful of blooms. It bloomed a bit earlier, but is definitely a standard 90 day to bloom variety. Our plant was a bit crowded by a vigorous Cheyenne and Cooper Blaine. It did not put on as much foliage and only a few blooms. Larger bloomed varieties tend to produce fewer blooms and it didn’t appear to appreciate the crowding it got in our garden. It made several tubers and probably could have done better if it had more space between it and it’s neighbors. Due to the size of the blooms, it would benefit from staking and from pinching lateral buds off a central stalk to encourage strong stems. All the blooms produced were an upward facing flower.

We started growing this variety in a trade with did with In The Trough farm. At the time we were looking for more deep reds and considering trying some of the larger dahlia varieties. Along with the color, Germany holds a special place in our heart as numerous exchange students we have befriended come from Deutschland. We only grew this variety a couple of years before discovering the wind storms that pick up in August, September and majorly in October just treated these bigger bloomed plants really bad. Even with staking, the large blooms get caught like a sail in the wind and rip the plant apart.

We wanted to share our notes here to build this resource and asked on a Facebook page for people who were willing to share photos of their plants as we were not photographing the garden heavily at the time we grew this variety. Laura Sommerdorf graciously shared pictures of her Deutschland and commented on how it was one of her families favorites. In a sweet twist of fate, we sent Laura her tubers so these blooms are descendants of the plants we grew. We are immensely grateful for the donation of these images.

Attributes of Deutschland Dahlias

Height – 3.5 – 4 feet

Color – Deep Valentines Red

Bloom Size – 6-8″

Bloom Style – Formal Decorative

Bloom Time – ~85 days

Vivid red flower petals. The petal has darker red lateral edges to the petals and lighter red in the center of each petal.
Deborah Renae is taller plant, but smaller flower in similar tones to Deutschland. If you like Deutschland’s color, but don’t want huge blooms, this variety may be an alternative.