From the north to the south, from the plateau to the plain, the beautiful figure of the dahlia can almost be seen everywhere. As potted plants and garden plants, dahlias are deeply loved by the common people for their strong adaptability and rich varieties.

It is understood that Zhangjiakou City in Hebei Province, Wuwei City in Gansu Province, as well as Baotou City, Chifeng City and Hohhot City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have all chosen the dahlia as their city flower, while Jilin Province has selected the dahlia as one of its provincial flowers. When I was a child, I could see dahlias in the yard or by the roadside. For many people, it was a special existence or a kind of sentiment. Yang Wenwei, the general manager of Yunnan A Na Flower Co., LTD., expressed the feelings of many people.

Nowadays, the dahlia has transformed from a native flower that carries memories to a "newcomer" in the home gardening market. It is understood that the annual sales volume of Dahlia bulbs in the domestic home gardening market has increased from 500,000 a few years ago to nearly one million.

We have collaborated with several well-known gardening e-commerce platforms to sell dahlia tubers to the home gardening market, and our sales have been increasing year by year. Yang Wenwei told the reporter. 

Beijing Ruicheng International Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd. mainly imports dahlia bulbs from the Netherlands to supply the home gardening e-commerce market. Wang Yueyang, the marketing manager of the company, told the reporter, "Five years ago, we started the import business of dahlia flower bulbs. At that time, the overall flower e-commerce was booming, so we first started with the home gardening market." He said that dahlias have a wide range of applications, including potted plants, gardens, courtyards, etc. Consumers especially prefer varieties with special flower colors. For instance, the lotus-shaped varieties that have been very popular this year, such as' Kerguian 'and ' Caramel Macchiato’. 

‘Kelgan’

‘caramel macchiato’

Nowadays, there are a wide variety of dahlia varieties in the market, with ever-changing colors. They have a high survival rate and a long flowering period, blooming from early summer until frost, making them very popular among home gardening consumers. The market for dahlia seedlings is also very lively. World giants in the flower seed industry such as Syngenta, Orange Domore, and Paul Horticulture have all entered the Chinese market.

Double-petaled large-flowered varieties are more popular in the market. Tang Xiaoxue, the clonal business manager of Paul Horticulture in the Chinese market, introduced that the "King Kong" series of bright red products have long held the top sales position. They are deeply loved by consumers for their features such as correct flower color, large flowers and high double petal rate. Its two-color varieties' Neon 'and' Bright Red ', as well as the fresh-flowered 'Peach' and 'Pink Muhly', are also very popular.

‘nectarine’

In recent years, with the development of online sales channels, consumers have been able to come into contact with an increasing number of new varieties and their demands have become more diverse. The young consumer group is on the rise, and they prefer varieties with unique patterns and colors. Based on the feedback from the consumer market, Paul Horticulture has newly launched the "Colorful Smoothie" series this year. The flowers are large in the shape of anemones and come in special colors. Among them, "Mango Watermelon" and "Strawberry Cherry Blossom" are both very popular products.

 "Colorful Smoothie" potted plant

 "Colorful smoothies" planted in the ground

Platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu have played a very good role in promoting and educating about dahlias, enabling more people to recognize and understand them. The popularization of horticultural knowledge has reduced the risks for beginners in planting. Yang Wenwei frankly admitted that growing dahlias in the garden has become a trend. Popular varieties like "Milk Coffee" and "Sweet Natalie" have already become the mainframes of the garden.

The "Sweet Natalie" blooming in the garden comes from Yezi's flower-growing time

Dahlias themselves are eye-catching enough. They have large flowers, a high rate of double petals, and a long indoor viewing period. In addition, it is convenient for transportation, exerts less pressure on e-commerce platforms for shipping, and can enhance the consumer experience. In the field of landscape architecture, dahlias also have promising application prospects, such as creating flower seas, flower beds, and flower borders.

 Paul launched an unnamed new variety

Our dahlia sales have consistently maintained an annual growth rate of 20%. Tang Xiaoxue told the reporter that the company is very optimistic about the Chinese dahlia market and also pays close attention to customer needs. While retaining the advantages of large flowers and double petals, it is also making efforts to enhance the branching and resistance of the plants. More two-color varieties will be launched, such as the newly introduced 'Shuifurong' and 'Yingxue' this year. Tang Xiaoxue said

          （Image source: Paul Gardening, Yezi's Flower-Growing Time）

Editor: Ma Qiang. Producer: Qi Qi