Things you always wanted to know about Dahlias: The dahlia originated in Central American in the
16th century where Spanish Botanists discovered it growing wild on the sandy hillsides of Mexico.
The first tubers arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century and Andreas Dahl (after whom the
plant is named) regarded it as a vegetable rather than a garden flower. Interest switched from the
edible tubers to the blooms when the first varieties with large, double flowers were bred in
Belgium in 1815.