FlowerDahlia
Thomas A. Edison Dahlia
The Thomas A. Edison Dahlia is a striking dinnerplate medium informal decorative variety that brings bold, showstopping blooms to gardens across zones 3 through 11. This heirloom flower grows as a sturdy bush reaching 36 to 40 inches tall, flowering within 100 to 109 days from planting. Whether you're gardening in cold climates where it thrives as an annual or in warmer zones where it returns year after year as a perennial, this dahlia rewards full sun exposure with abundant, unforgettable flowers that command attention from every angle.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-11
Sunlight
Full Sun
Growth Stats
40 in
Height
TypeBush
Spacing
18
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
—
Zones
3-11
Size
40in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
Named after the inventor himself, this dahlia lives up to its illustrious namesake with dinner-plate-sized blooms in an informal decorative form that captures the drama and innovation Edison was known for. The plant reaches a manageable 36 to 40 inches, making it substantial without overwhelming garden space, and it produces flowers continuously from midsummer onward. Its dual personality as both an annual and perennial depending on your hardiness zone means gardeners from Minnesota to southern Florida can grow it successfully.
Common Uses
The Thomas A. Edison Dahlia is grown as a cut flower and garden specimen, valued for its large, dramatic blooms that bring visual impact to floral arrangements and landscape displays. The dinner-plate form makes it particularly prized by florists and gardeners seeking show-stopping focal points in mixed borders or dahlia-dedicated beds.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Transplant Outdoors
Plant tubers outdoors after the last spring frost when soil has warmed. Set tubers 4 to 6 inches deep, spacing them 18 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart. Water well at planting and keep soil consistently moist during the first few weeks as shoots emerge and establish.
Pruning
Pinch back the central stem when plants reach 12 to 18 inches tall to encourage branching and a fuller, bushier form with more flowering stems. Remove spent flower heads regularly throughout the season to redirect energy into continuous bloom production rather than seed set.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Scientific Classification
Dahlia 'Thomas Edison'
Growth Habit
Bush
History & Origin
“The Thomas A. Edison Dahlia carries the name of one of history's most prolific inventors, a figure who embodied American ingenuity and relentless improvement. Dahlias themselves were cultivated for centuries in Mexico before European plant breeders took up their development in earnest during the 19th and 20th centuries, creating the vast diversity of forms and colors we grow today. This particular variety emerged as a heirloom cultivar, preserved and passed forward by gardeners who recognized its exceptional qualities and wanted to ensure it remained available to future generations.”