Dahlia Graaf Floris

The 'Graaf Floris' Decorative Dahlia with Nymphaea-like flowers is truly remarkable with its lovely incarnate pink colour. It remains quite low, so take advantage of this by planting dahlias at the front of your summer beds. The well-arranged and colorful ligulate capitula of this variety are perfect for making bouquets.

A plant with a thousand faces, dahlias, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico, now represent around 20,000 horticultural varieties. This tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable. However, its poor taste qualities quickly gave way to its exuberant flowering. Since then, interest in this highly floriferous asteraceae has never waned.
The 'Graaf Floris' variety is a dwarf dahlia, reaching 60 cm (24in) in height and 40 in width. The very branched stems are hollow. The leaves are divided into 3 or 5 very denticulate leaflets. The stems and leaves are medium green. The plant has a bushy habit and, as a dwarf variety, has a slightly stocky appearance. Decorative dahlias with Nymphaea-like flowers have flat, wide, straight ligules, rounded at the tip. They are longer and wider than those of the camellia-like flower type. The center forms a tightly closed calyx. The flowers of 'Graaf Floris' are 12 cm (5in) or more in diameter, full and well-double. The ligules are generally straight and slightly concave. The shorter central florets form a darker calyx than the peripheral florets, which have not yet reached maturity.

The flowering of dahlias is exceptionally long. Our variety begins in July and ends in November. In fact, to promote repeat flowering and extend this flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Along borders or in flower beds, combine the colors of these dahlias with Cape Lilies, Shangri La Peach Verbena, create a color echo with one of the many varieties of asters, and add a wispy grass for a refined and romantic tableau.