Dahlia Mr. Bojangles

The 'Mr. Bojangles' Decorative Dahlia offers medium-sized, fully double flowers that are particularly bright, with a beautiful white heart surrounded by lemon yellow petals. They bloom from summer to autumn, for over three months, on a medium-sized plant. Carried by long purple stems, which are very long-lasting in a vase, they allow for the creation of elegant bouquets.

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large family of asters, originally native to the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 75,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded gardens worldwide, much to our delight. Dahlias are classified based on the shape of their flowers. 'Mr. Bojangles' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias with small flowers. In this group, the colourful ligules of the capitulum are regularly arranged in a spiral, and can be bent towards the stem or curled, for example. In this variety, the capitulum reaches a diameter of 14cm (6in), and its petals or ligules are wide, ovate, more or less tubular or flattened. The upper part of the capitulum is occupied by numerous white ligules, resting on a collar composed of many longer ligules of bright yellow. The flowering period is from July-August to October. The plant will reach a height of approximately 1m (3ft), and a width of 60cm (24in). It has a bushy and upright habit. The very branched stems are hollow, and the leaves are opposite, pinnately compound, meaning they divide into 3 or 5 leaflets, which have very denticulate lobes. The leaves are a fairly dark green, and the stems are more or less purple.

To promote repeated flowering and extend the flowering period, make sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly compose attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The medium height of this variety, 'Mr. Bojangles', makes it suitable for ornamental planting in the borders of large perennial plants or low bushes. The flowering of Echinaceas is perfect when accompanied by Dahlias, as they bloom simultaneously, as well as the flowering of shrubby salvias and asters, for example. Also consider grasses (Miscanthus saccharifolius, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes) that take on beautiful colours in autumn.

As the star plants in ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. They are perfect in flower beds, but can also enhance vegetable gardens. In Mexico, these tuberous plants were initially cultivated as root vegetables for consumption. Their poor taste quickly relegated them to the status of ornamental plants. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.