'Firepot' Dahlia Bulb

A fiery blend of yellow, gold, orange, and crimson, the brilliant blooms on this compact 'Firepot' Dahlia are almost as colorful as actual flames, and certainly longer lasting. "Only" 3 to 4 inches wide, they are ideally suited for use in the annual or perennial border, or as a container subject. This "non-cutting" dahlia is about to become your favorite presence in the garden.

'Firepot' Dahlia is a semi-decorative dahlia with blooms held in a form that may remind you of waterlilies. The central cluster tends to be crimson, while the layers of outer petals shade from yellow to deep orange. They are 3 to 4 inches wide, which would be considered huge for most plants but is actually on the small side for dahlias. And that's good, because there are so many— 'Firepot' is a cut-and-come-again variety, setting new buds as soon as you deadhead the spent flowers—that you'll soon have a plant completely covered in color.

The blooms begin in midsummer, quite early for a dahlia, and continue right up to frost. The plant is petite, reaching 24 inches high and perhaps 15 to 18 inches wide. Good branching means even more blooms, and the smaller size makes 'Firepot' an excellent choice for containers of all kinds. (Wouldn't it be fun to plant 'Firepot' in a fire pit. You could create your own "eternal flame"... at least for summer and fall.) This is a super free-flowering variety, determined to keep itself in color for 4 months or more.

'Firepot' is one of the best dahlias for containers. Many varieties are simply too large for most flowerpots, and many need supports to hold their heavy blooms upright. 'Firepot' suffers from none of these issues. Make it the centerpiece of a big tub planting, or give it its own 10- to 12-inch pot. You'll be delighted by the show it puts on.

Dahlia is a sun-lover, happiest in rich, well-drained, moist soil. It is hardy only through zone 8 in the North, so you may want to dig it up at season's end and store it indoors to replant in spring. It forms a tuber, and is easy to tuck away in a shoebox filled with clean kitty litter or vermiculite.

Like most dahlias, 'Firepot' needs full sun (to afternoon shade in hot climates) and benefits from very fertile soil—we recommend a nitrogen-rich liquid fertilizer once a week throughout June. Keep 'Firepot' well-fed and watered, give it plenty of sun, and it will reward you with an abundance of early color that keeps coming 'til frost.