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Dahlias are the highlight of the annual CNY displays as their Chinese name, da li hua, sounds similar to a common CNY greeting da ji da li, which means “great luck, great profit”.

Published Feb 09, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Feb 09, 2026, 06:28 AM

SINGAPORE – Visitors at Gardens by the Bay have even more to feast their eyes on this Chinese New Year, with massive, showy dahlia blooms taking pride of place in the 2026 festive display.

The Gardens began cultivating and showcasing the dinnerplate dahlias in 2018, but it was only in 2026 that horticulturists succeeded in growing flowers as large as 30cm in diameter. These flowers are bred to produce exceptionally large blooms of more than 20cm – as big as a dinner plate. 

Dahlias are the highlight of the annual CNY displays as their Chinese name, da li hua, sounds similar to a common CNY greeting, da ji da li, which means “great luck, great profit”.

With a myriad of colours and sizes, the flowers have always been crowd-pleasers. 

But growing dahlias to such a size has been something of a scientific feat. Behind the vibrant displays is a team of horticulturists who follow an intricate process to nurture these flowers to their biggest size, said Mr Gary Chua, senior director of the research and horticulture team at the Gardens.

As dahlias are autumn flowers found in temperate areas with mild temperatures, they require controlled conditions to grow in tropical Singapore, especially since all the dahlias are grown in-house

In the Gardens’ back-of-house support biome, which functions as a reverse glasshouse that ensures the plants are sheltered from Singapore’s heat, the research and horticulture team closely monitors the flowers’ growth.

An elderly couple taking photo at  the Gardens By The Bay Spring Blossoms: Gallop into Prosperity exhibition at Flower Dome on Jan 30.

“A surprising amount of our job is computational: It’s on the computer inputting data, tracking photos, tracking height, looking at environmental conditions, and planning for future shows,” said Ms Jieli Wegerif, a researcher in the team. 

After receiving flower orders from the display designers, the horticulturists source dahlia tubers from the Netherlands and Japan, and receive them between July and October the year before the display. The tubers are then planted in October every year.

As the plants begin to germinate, Ms Wegerif and her colleague Sharifah Osman closely track the flowers’ growth, collecting data such as their average height every week and when they begin flowering.

“Sometimes I wish I could wave a magic wand and the plants would grow, but instead, I must sit at a computer and put in my data,” Ms Wegerif said. 

The support biome, which was built in 2019, was engineered to give the horticulturists maximum control over the environment. A chiller system in the glasshouse keeps the temperature cool, and shades regulate the amount of light coming in.

The dashboard of the monitoring system in Gardens by the Bay’s Support Biome that shows current carbon dioxide, humidity, and temperature levels, allowing horticulturists to monitor conditions for optimal plant growth.

Ms Sharifah, senior manager of the research and horticulture team, said: “Before we had this glasshouse, we could only grow 8,000 plants or less in a year. But with the addition of the third support biome at the Gardens, we can now grow up to 30,000 plants a year to support the changing floral displays.”

To grow dinnerplate dahlias, providing the optimum light conditions is key in helping them achieve their full potential. The pressure to deliver the biggest blooms is heightened by the unpredictable weather and the grey days in November and December, when the dahlias are grown, the team said. 

After upgrading the plant monitoring system in 2024, they could collect information more easily on even the most minute of measurements, such as the amount of sunlight that the plants can use for photosynthesis each day. 

In 2025, the team also installed special lights to better ensure optimum lighting, after experiencing record rain and cloud coverage the year before. A combination of red and blue lights are used, casting a purplish-pink hue over the plants. The horticulturists explained that plants absorb light wavelengths of these colours most efficiently for photosynthesis.

“It’s not just about the quantity, but you do need the right quality of light as well,” Ms Wegerif said. “It also looks like a Blackpink concert at night when we run the lights.”

The team also needs to control the height of these flowers, as they can grow up to 2m.

Senior manager Sharifah Osman (right) and researcher Jieli Wegerif, who grew the dinnerplate dahlias for the Spring Blossoms: Gallop into Prosperity Chinese New Year floral display, at Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome.

“When it comes to designing the display, the main aim is to ensure the flowers are at eye level or below,” said Ms Sharifah. “That’s where we come in. We adjust our regiment of plant growth regulators to make the flowers a bit shorter.”

“When it grows to 2m tall, nobody can see the flower,” she added. “It also gets very unmanageable, whether you’re planting it or moving it.”

Through experimenting with plant growth regulators – which are sprayed onto plants to artificially reduce their height – the team found that they could create dahlias with sturdier stems that could better support larger, heavier flowers. 

Every aspect – from product choice to dosage and time of application – was carefully fine-tuned to produce strong plants that can support the large blooms and are of the ideal height for visitors to enjoy.

Even before one display ends, the team is already looking ahead to future displays, determined to keep impressing visitors.

“We’re always trying to excite visitors with what we can offer,” said Ms Sharifah. 

“I’m sure if there was a plant that produces hundreds of mini, tiny dahlias, that would also be cool. But for now, the size is very impressive, and I think people are very wowed.”

Where: Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens DriveWhen: Jan 16 to March 1, 9am to 9pm dailyTicket prices (Singapore residents): Adults: $12; seniors (above 60) and children (3-12): $8

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