Irish Candy - Fall

Irish Candy is exactly the kind of dahlia that earns a permanent place in a cutting garden. The blooms are small, rounded, and beautifully uniform, with soft blush-pink petals that can carry hints of lavender and creamy white depending on the stage of the flower and the conditions in the field.

Its miniature ball form gives each bloom that neat, tightly packed look that makes ball dahlias so satisfying to harvest. At roughly 2–3½ inches across, Irish Candy is also an incredibly practical size for bouquet work—small enough to tuck between larger focal flowers, but polished enough to hold its own when several stems are grouped together.

In our market bouquets, this is the kind of flower I reach for constantly. The soft pink coloring works beautifully with cream, blush, lavender, peach, burgundy, and other garden tones, and the compact shape brings just enough structure to keep a loose bouquet feeling balanced.

Irish Candy is especially valuable when I am cutting for our local florists or wedding work. Other growers consistently note its strong stems, steady production, and usefulness for event design, which are exactly the traits I want from a variety growing in a working flower field.

For weddings, the color is incredibly easy to use. It can sit quietly in a soft blush-and-cream palette, add texture to a romantic mauve design, or provide a lighter counterpoint to deeper raspberry and burgundy tones.

What I appreciate most about Irish Candy is that it manages to be both sweet and hardworking. It has the soft coloring that catches your eye, but it is the strong stems, compact form, and steady production that make me want to keep cutting it week after week.

For the gardener who loves soft pink color, perfectly rounded blooms, and a dahlia that truly performs as a cut flower, Irish Candy is an easy one to recommend.

Bloom Color: Blush Pink / Soft Pink with Creamy White Tones
Bloom Form: Miniature Ball
Bloom Size: Approximately 2–3½ inches
ADS Classification: 6104
Plant Height: Approximately 4–5 feet
Hybridizers: Steve & Sandy Boley
Introduced: 2020
Best For: Cutting gardens, market bouquets, florist work, weddings & exhibition