Buy Dahlia 'Indian Summer'

Dahlia 'Indian Summer' is the best spiky, brilliant-red dahlia of all varieties we've trialled and excellent as a splash of brightness amongst the crimsons.

Our dahlias:

are first class, healthy tubers – the largest and best you can buy.
come with full planting, spacing and cultivating instructions for beginner gardeners
tubers should be potted up when they arrive and be kept in a light, frost-free place until the frosts are over and then be planted into the garden.

Genus	Dahlia
Group/Species	Semi-cactus Group
Variety	Indian Summer
Type	Tender Perennial Tuber
Border Position	Back, Middle
Bulb Size	I
Soil Type	Acid, Chalky, Fertile, Neutral
Scent	Unscented
Site	Full Sun
Moisture	Moist but Well-drained
Height	1m (3ft 3in)
Spacing	Plant just under the soil surface, 75cm (30in) apart.
Sowing, Seeds, Planting	Pot them up undercover March or early April in a generous pot (at least 2 litre) filled with multi-purpose potting compost. Place them in a light, frost-free place and keep the compost moist. Pinch out their growing tips when they have reached about 8" tall. They will have formed bushy plants by the time the frosts have ended and will be in flower by the beginning of July. If you don’t have anywhere to grow the potted tubers, you can put them straight into the ground when the frosts are nearly over, mulching them or protecting with a cloche or protective horticultural fleece if the foliage appears before the frosts are over, but this will delay flowering.
Care Tips	Support with a stout stick, tie in every couple of weeks. In the south you can mulch deeply and overwinter them in the ground, alternatively, lift and overwinter your dahlias frost free undercover.
Flowering	July - November
Vase Life	Only pick dahlias in full flower. Recut the hollow stem ends under water to avoid airlocks.
Cooking Notes	All dahlia flowers are edible. I use the petals scattered over salad and to decorate a range of puddings.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Sow Under Cover/Plant Indoors
Direct Sow/Plant Outdoors
Flowers/Harvest

How to overwinter dahlia tubers

Sarah discusses the best options for overwintering dahlias – lifting or mulching.

How to take dahlia cuttings

Watch and learn how to take dahlia cuttings – turn 1 tuber into 10.

How to plant and grow dahlia tubers

Find out how to grow strong, healthy dahlias this spring – how to plant, look after and overwinter them, and what to do with your bulbs when...

Dahlia 'Indian Summer' reviews

Average based on 4 reviews

Height of Plant

Reviewed 4th September 2017 by Christine Sellick

Followed the instructions on how to bring on the tuber. Planted it at the end of May. Was just going through the order I received it with to see how the plants compared. Have to say the height of this plant is all wrong! Not 3ft but at least 6ft. Obviously growing conditions suit the plant. No complaints at all.

Bright and Beautiful

Reviewed 19th April 2017 by N Ismail

My garden looked bright and beautiful with the Indian Summer dahlia alongside Hillcrest Royal. I had so many cut flowers too.
Thank you!!

Not very good

Reviewed 19th November 2014 by Alan Ford

Two problems:
- definitely orange, not red as stated;
- flower stems too tall and bent right over. Happy to stake the plant - but not the flower stems too.

Reply from the Sarah Raven Team:

"Thank you so much for your comments. How strange that yours has flowered orange, as we've not had any other reports from customers about this. Perhaps you could email info@sarahraven.com a picture of them? To help strengthen your plants, Sarah normally recommends pinching out all but 5 stems, see her guide for more info, http://www.sarahraven.com/articles/how_to_plant_and_grow_dahlia_tubers.htm, as this may help."

Posted 20th November 2014

superb autumn colour

Reviewed 17th November 2014 by mary dunstan

Planted in a container in my sunless London patio, this performed superbly, giving enormous fiery flowers well into November. Looked good with the nearly black 'Chat Noir'. They were rich orange, however - not the red described in the catalogue. Only wish I had room to plant many more, to add joy as the cold and darkness descends.

1 tuber 229243-1	£3.95	Delivery late February [?] When in stock, please allow up to 1 week for delivery.
3 tubers 229243-3	£9.95	Delivery late February [?] When in stock, please allow up to 1 week for delivery.
1 x 3 litre plant 229243-3L	£9.95	Delivery late May [?] When in stock, please allow up to 1 week for delivery.

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