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Dahlia (Dahlia)
We thought it would be cool to offer some of the more unusual species and garden-worthy hybrids that are often overlooked by the dahlia societies. Many of the purple-foliaged dahlias are truly stunning in the garden, as are the lesser-known, wild-collected plants. We think you’ll see dahlias in a whole new light after you try these. For us, dahlias are hardy in Zone 7b, but a light mulch is always helpful in case of a severe winter. Dry soil in the winter is also essential for success. In colder zones, dahlias can be dug and stored in peat moss for the winter.
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Dahlia 'Bednall Beauty' (Dahlia)
Sun Zone: 7b-8, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
If you have been looking for a nice companion to D. 'Bishop of Llandaff', look no longer. This delightful dahlia has cut-leaf, dark purple foliage on a well-formed 2' tall clump. Dahlia 'Bednall Beauty' flowers throughout late spring and summer, and again in late summer and fall. In areas with oppressively hot summers, don't expect many flowers until the weather cools. Dahlias will also perform wonderfully well in those Zone 9 and 10 regions that are blessed with cool, high summer temperatures. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04623
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Dahlia 'Bishop of Canterbury' (Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 36" tall Origin: Hybrid
This new addition to the "Bishop" series boasts the same wonderful dark-purple foliage, topped with 3' tall spikes of 2" dark, fluorescent wine-purple flowers. We tried to find an RHS color code, but this is obviously a new color for the RHS unless they are boycotting fluorescent purple. This plant is also unique since there is no such thing as a Bishop of Canterbury. There is an Archbishop of Canterbury, but that's several pay grades higher. For us, it flowers from June until frost...perfect for a touch of purple in the border. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06369
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Dahlia 'Bishop of Leicester' (Bishop of Leicester Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
Dahlia 'Bishop of Leicester' is another in the wonderful Gardening Diocese series of dark foliage dahlias. This particular "Bishop" makes a 2' tall x 18" wide clump of dark purple foliage, topped starting in late June with light lavender (RHS 78C) flowers, often streaked with a lighter shade. The flowers are highlighted by a contrasting center cone of orange with a dark center...praise Jeeesus. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07010
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Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' (Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 50" tall Origin: Hybrid
We have wanted to offer this gem for years but never could quite propagate enough to meet the demand, which always outstrips the supply. The bronzy-black foliage makes a stunning feature in the border, even before it is topped with wow-red flowers (RHS color 45A) held above the foliage. For us, "The Bishop" flowers in late June and July and then takes a break from flowering until nights cool in early September, when it resumes its floral show. For trivia buffs, this dahlia was named for Bishop Hughes of Llandaff (now Cardiff), Wales, UK, in 1924 and won the prestigious Award of Merit from the RHS in 1928. In 2004, it made the RHS list of the top plants of the last 200 years...quite an honor. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #03719
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Dahlia 'Bishop of York' (Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 36" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
This new "Bishop" has the same dark purple foliage, topped with 3' spikes of 3.5" golden flowers, brushed with orange (RHS 17A). The robust clump is topped with flowers from June until frost. Just like the Bishop of Canterbury, there is also no Bishop of York. I'm sure the Archbishop of York will be quite dismayed to find he's been demoted by the horticultural community...one of the worst nomenclatural faux pas that I've ever seen. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #06371
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Dahlia coccinea 'Hidalgo Crimson' (Mexican Red Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 36" tall Origin: Mexico
Web-Only!
Thanks to Bobby Ward for sharing this dahlia (T79-41) he collected on a 1998 Yucca Do Expedition to Hidalgo, Mexico. The vigorous, open habit of Dahlia coccinea makes this a great plant to interweave into the border. For us, the 3' tall x 6' wide mounds begin to flower in late summer with 2" brilliant orange-red flowers with bright yellow eyes. If you have enough room, this selection of Dahlia coccinea is a stunner! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04722
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Dahlia 'David Howard' (Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid alternate image
If single-flowered dahlias just don't have enough "uumph" for your garden, then Dahlia 'David Howard' is for you. The dark black-purple foliage composes a 2' clump, topped for most of the summer with large, 4", fully double flowers. Each flower is light orange at the base of the petals and bright orange in the center. The orange flower color in front of the dark purple foliage is a real screamer of a combination. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04744
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Dahlia 'Flame' (Flame Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8 28" tall Origin: Hybrid
This horticultural libido-rising dahlia from the Happy series is hotter than a night in Bangkok's Phat Phong district. The dark purple leaves adorn the 28" stalks (a dwarf...how kinky), which serve as a foil for the 5" flaming orange flowers with bright golden centers. Hide the straight kids and grandparents...this is one sexy dahlia! You can dig it figuratively all summer, but also do so literally in the fall if you garden north of Zone 7b. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07480
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Dahlia imperialis (Giant Tree Dahlia)
SunZone: 7-9 108" tall Origin: Central America alternate image
I have this fetish for growing peculiar things, and the giant tree dahlia is at the top of my list. In the wild, Dahlia imperialis can reach 30', but our garden plants only reach a meager 9' in height. The bamboo-looking stalks easily grow to a massive 3" in diameter and are topped with oversized but typical dahlia foliage. If you are in Zone 7, you can forget flowers, which are single pink and always manage to open the day we have our first killing frost. Nevertheless, this tropical-looking gem is worth growing just for its stature and texture in the garden...and to fool all your neighbors with its identity. Have someone take your photo standing alongside your dahlia, and you're a sure-fire winner for the next Miracle-Gro commercial. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04724
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Dahlia imperialis 'California Angel' (Double White Tree Dahlia)
Sun to Part SunZone: 7-9 96" tall Origin: Central America
(aka: D. i. Double White) From the late California plantsman Wayne Roderick comes this unusual form of tree dahlia that we named in 2005. Just like the more commonly grown forms, this selection of the giant tree dahlia makes a clump of bamboo-like stems to 8' tall, topped with typical dahlia foliage on the top half. In mid-November, the clumps are topped with large double white flowers...just about the time of our first frost. Although we love the plant for its form in the garden, those of you with later first frost dates would even get to enjoy the flowers. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05935
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Dahlia imperialis 'Double or Nothing' (Double Lavender Tree Dahlia)
SunZone: 7-9 108" tall Origin: Central America
(syn: D. i. Double Purple) Thanks to customer Larry Depuy for sharing this wonderful lavender double-flowered form of the giant tree dahlia. We eventually tracked these back to the late CA plantsman extraordinaire Wayne Roderick, who introduced a plethora of great garden plants. Since it had no valid cultivar name, we have given it one. The 9' bamboo-like stalks are topped in late October with sprays of 3" anemone-like, lavender double flowers...very spectacular if you can hold off the frosts long enough to enjoy the flowers. If not, the stalks are a great structural element in the garden anyway. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05926
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Dahlia 'Juliet' (Juliet Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
Dahlia 'Juliet' is one of the stunning new series of black-foliaged Happy Dahlias. D. 'Juliet' makes a compact 2' tall clump of nearly black foliage, topped starting in late June and continuing until fall with 4" lilac-pink (RHS 78A) flowers. Warning...D. 'Juliet' should be kept at a distance from D. 'Romeo' due to a lethal allelopathic reaction when the two are grown close together.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07016
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Dahlia 'Kiss' (Kiss Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
Dahlia 'Kiss' is another selection from the wonderful Happy Series, forming a compact 2' tall clump of very dark, nearly black foliage, topped with clusters of 5" wide salmon-orange flowers. The flowers, which top the plant from late June until frost, are highlighted by a red ring at the base of the petals. Don't you know someone who deserves a 'Kiss'? If you're married, however, please be careful to whom you give a 'Kiss', as we are not responsible for ensuing legal difficulties. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07017
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Dahlia 'Nippon' (Nippon Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 16" tall Origin: Hybrid
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What a delightful plant! Dahlia 'Nippon' makes a tight 16" tall x 16" wide mound of dark black foliage, topped, starting in late June and continuing until frost, with dozens of 2" light yellow flowers. Each flower is highlighted with a contrasting dark brown central cone...very cute! Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07005
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Dahlia 'Party' (Party Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 28" tall Origin: Hybrid alternate image
Web-Only!
If you thought your partying days were over, think again. Imagine a stunning display of bright yellow against shiny black and you get the picture. No, it's not the re-emergence of disco days, it's Dahlia 'Party'. This hot little number from the Happy Dahlia Series makes a 28" tall clump of black foliage, topped from late June until frost with 4" bright yellow flowers, each highlighted by a light brown center. It's time to boogie down....I mean, dig down and plant your Dahlia 'Party'.
Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07018
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Dahlia 'Romeo' (Romeo Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8, at least 22" tall Origin: Hybrid alternate image
Web-Only!
Looking for a Shakespearian moment in your garden? It's love at first sight with Dahlia 'Romeo', another gem from the Happy Dahlia Series. The dark black-foliaged 'D. Romeo' is topped with stalks of dark crimson-red flowers, whose color doesn't correspond to anything in the RHS color chart. The 4" wide flowers top the short 22" tall plants from late June until frost. Please see our warning under D. 'Juliet'. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #07019
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Dahlia sublignosa (Mexican Cutleaf Dahlia)
Sun to Part SunZone: 8-10, guessing 30" tall Origin: Mexico alternate image
Web-Only!
From a Yucca Do collection D07-615 comes a truly rare and amazing un-dahlia-like dahlia. D. dissecta var. sublignosa has not been known from the wild since a 1949 collection. Our plants are from 8000' in the Cerro Pena Nevada Mountains of Tamaulipas, Mexico, found growing among dasylirions. This stunning, fine-textured, cut-leaf dahlia makes a compact clump that flowers from midsummer through early fall, topped with 2' long spikes of single lavender-pink flowers. It has been amazingly heat-tolerant in Zone 9 Houston, TX summers, compared to other commonly grown dahlias that wimp out. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04510
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Dahlia 'Terracotta' (Terracotta Dahlia)
SunZone: 7b-8 24" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
This dahlia was shared with us by NC plantsman and designer Doug Ruhren, who selected it from a box-store offering of assorted seedling perennials. D. 'Terracotta' makes a compact 2' tall x 3' wide mound of purple foliage, topped from early summer through fall with 3-4" wide flowers of golden orange (RHS 23B), suffused with a wide, darker-orange streak down the center of each petal. This has become a real favorite here at the gardens. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #05612
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Dahlia 'Yellow Hammer' (Yellow Hammer Dahlia)
SunZone: 7-8, at least 36" tall Origin: Hybrid
Web-Only!
I remember exactly where I was when my Dahlia 'Yellow Hammer' first flowered...we tend to do that with really important events. Yes, I was standing in my garden looking at my Dahlia 'Yellow Hammer'. It was indeed a memorable sight...the dark black of the night...I mean...of the foliage and the stunning single flower...opening a butterscotch-yellow (RHS 163A)...did someone mention scotch? Sorry, butterscotch-yellow with orange streaks...that might be the scotch and not the flower. For us, Dahlia 'Yellow Hammer' flowers from early summer until fall, only taking time to rest in the hottest of weather. Pot size: 24 fl. oz (709.77 ml) #04718
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