Dahlia Bed on Allotment

[MarkHackwell]

Not Sure if this is the right part to put this question or not so if not please move

I am possibly now looking at making a Dahlia bed on the Allotment. However to be able to do it it's probably going to cost me about �30 in Dahlia's. Do other's have Dahlia bed's at all and is it worth it?

[bramble]

I have a dahlia border down one side of my garden.
I started off sowing my own seeds, very simple to sow and germinate very easily.
Over the years I have bought tubers of named varieties and added to my garden.
Is it worth it...very much. They come back every year stronger than ever.
The bees love them and they last right up until the first frost.

[mcdood]

I love Dahlias so would say yes, they are great hobby plants with huge variety. I have one long flower bed on the allotment and I plant some dahlias in that. This year I've also sown quite a few dahlias (maybe a cheaper option for you if new to them?) so will probably add another bed for these and then pick out the better ones to overwinter. Would love to try breeding my own one year.
Do you normally lift dahlias for winter as some find this a pain. Living in Sussex you may be Ok leaving them in the ground if your soil is not too heavy?

[bramble]

I never lift my dahlias and have never lost any.
I just make sure the tubers are well covered up.

[Thelma Sanders]

I have a long row of them on my plot, it's the first year that they've been left in the soil - I saw other plotters leaving theirs in, so thought I'd try. I sure hope they're ok, as it'll cost a lot to replace them all