Dahlias and their history in eastern Colorado

Who would have ever thought that dahlias were considered a unique dryland crop? Here is a great record of a historical dahlia farm. This is from a historical reference titled “Our Heritage: a collection of tales of East Central Colorado” that was put together and published by the East Central Council of Governments headquartered in Stratton. It was produced by Terry Blevins and printed by the Burlington Record back in 1983.

In Elbert County in the town of Fondis around the 1920s, Newton Tripp started growing dahlias. His two maiden sisters Ella and Mary helped him raise a wide variety of dahlias. Being the postmaster at Fondis at the same time, together he and his sisters grew two acres of dahlias on a “gentle hillside north and west of the Fondis post office,” according to the newsletter article titled “A Unique Dryland Crop!”

 And just what did it take to make this venture successful? In this time in history there were no wells to irrigate. Tripp did not shy away from this. He spoke out about the resiliency of dahlias grown without irrigation. His selling point was dahlia roots grown without irrigation produce a better plant. The roots that contain less water mature better. He proclaimed on his brochures and price lists that dahlias were “dry grown and sturdy.”

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