Dahlia Apricot Desire

Classified among the water lily-flowered group, the Dahlia 'Apricot Desire' will accompany the summer blooms of your garden and warm up autumn with its lovely apricot colour. It is a plant of great size with an original flowering.

Dahlias belong to the large family of asteraceae, they are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 20,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our greatest pleasure, gardens all over the world. Varieties of Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flowerheads.

Dahlias with water lily-like flowers have flat, wide, straight ligules, rounded at their ends, and the centre is tightly closed. The heads of 'Apricot Desire' are 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6in) in diameter, or even more, they are full and very double. The ligules are generally straight and slightly concave. They are delicately coloured with apricot orange. The shorter central florets bring a slightly darker shade. The very branched dark purple stems are hollow, they form a bushy tuft with dense foliage that will reach 120 cm (47in) in height and 85 cm (34in) in width. The medium green leaves are divided into 3 or 5 denticulate lobes. The large size of these stems will probably require you to stake them or at least pinch them well at the beginning of the season to solidify the silhouette.

The flowering of Dahlias is exceptionally long, it begins in July and ends in November. To promote reblooming and extend this flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, cut them regularly to create attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties.

Dahlias are easy to grow, however, they require some work as the tubers need to be stored each winter. In the background of a flower bed, the feathery foliage of bronze fennel will enhance the texture of your giant Dahlia varieties. Add a few 'Hélénies Hoopesii' with their old gold colour to perfect a refined and romantic tableau. The colour of this variety will blend perfectly with dark purples and violets.