PlantFiles: Single Flowered Border Dahlia
Dahlia 'Bishop's Children'

Wintersows very well. Blooms are enjoyed towards the end of the summer and through fall.

Very easy to start from seed. Mine were about 3 feet tall and the foliage looked great in front of a chartruse colored shrub. Unfortunately, they did not store well over the winter. I have heard some say they don't form tubers large enough. My full size dahlias survived in storage, but not these. Lucky for me I have more seed!

This dahlia is a descendant of Bishop of Llandaff's dahlia, introduced in 1927. Awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's prestigious Award of Garden Merit.

Very pretty colors both flower and foliage. I will grow it again.
Very easy to grow from seeds.

Last year I planted nine 'Bishop's Children' Dahlias (seedlings purchased from a garden center) in various locations with exposure ranging from part to full shade. I expected them to grow about as tall as other dahlia cultivars (18" or so), if that because of the shady locations, and simply be nice little color spots, but they became the most gorgeous, eye-catching plants of the entire garden. They're tall, graceful and the foliage must be seen to be appreciated. It's a silvery dark blue-green in sunlight, and in the shade seemed to have the same color but a little darker and without the silvery attribute. Another thing about the foliage is the symmetrical structure, and due to B.C.'s height (the tallest was 5' ) and width (3' at the base), the symmetry is truly noticeable. The shortest specimen (about 3 1/2 ft.- oddly enough also the one in the sunniest location) grew straight as an arrow and was compass-accurate: three tiers of four branches, each pointing exactly north, south, east, west. That's probably somewhat due to an accident of its original placement, but stunning nonetheless, and the taller ones were almost as ridiculously perfect. I didn't need to stake mine, but would have if frost had come any later than it did. And the blooms? Long-lasting and purty, purty, purty. All sorts of warm, vibrant colors that brightened up the shade gardens considerably. They didn't seem to last more than half a day as cut flowers for me, but would likely dry well and serve as a decorative potpourri ingredient, which I might try this year as I'll be planting them again, this time as border accents. They required very little care and grew extremely well in the heavy clay soil of my SE Idaho region. 'Bishop's Children' has become my favorite dahlia, and a must have on my annual flowers list. I love 'em.

Good points;
They make a heck of a nice display of 3 - 5 inch single flowers in a range of pink to burgandy and orange colors from mid summer to frost.
Lovely dark foliage, easy to grow.
Bad points;
They require staking or their 3 to 5 feet will smother any nearby plants.
I bought these seed without realising how tall they grow.
Very impressed with them but they are too tall for me.
Andy P

Very easy to grow from seed. Dig up tubers after the first frost and store like other dahlia's. Flowers are about 4 inches and single colored. It worked really well in a whiskey barrel this year.