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Dahlia Painted Lady

Dahlia Painted Lady
Decorative dahlia

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This dahlia offers double flowers in shades from creamy white to very pale pink, all striate and speckled with carmine red. Its flowering spreads from mid-summer until the first frosts on an upright clump 80 cm to just over a metre tall. Well ramified, this variety produces numerous sturdy stems, perfect for cut flower arrangements.
Flower size
12 cm
Height at maturity
90 cm
Spread at maturity
55 cm
Exposure
Sun
Hardiness
Hardy down to -4°C
Soil moisture
Moist soil
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Best planting time March to April
Recommended planting time March to May
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Flowering time July to October
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Description

The Dahlia 'Painted Lady' (or 'Fern Ridge Painted Lady') is a bicolour decorative dahlia which heads appear to have been hand-painted. Its medium-sized flowers are splashed and striated with purplish-red on a cream to very pale pink background. It forms an upright, well-branched clump that produces numerous flowers throughout the summer for borders or cut flower arrangements. Easy to pair with light or dark shades, for example with roses, asters, and statice.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are native to the high plateaus of Mexico and Central America; they are tuberous perennials. In our gardens, they behave as tender perennials: the plant disappears in winter but survives as fleshy tubers that must be overwintered frost-free.
'Painted Lady' belongs to the horticultural group of Decorative Dahlias, characterised by fully double flowers with flat or slightly incurved ligules, completely concealing the central disc. This cultivar is registered under the name 'Fern Ridge Painted Lady', with 'Painted Lady' recognised as a synonym. It was bred in the United States by hybridiser R. Wilson in the early 1990s and officially registered in 2014 in the international dahlia register. It is often presented as part of the "Painted family", a small series of bicolour decorative dahlias with striated or spotted petals, which also includes varieties like 'Painted Madam' or 'Painted Girl'.
The plant forms a bushy clump, upright, reaching 80 to 100 cm in height, sometimes up to 1.20 m in fertile soil, with a spread of 50 to 60 cm. The green, sturdy, and relatively thick stems bear pinnate leaves, divided into dentate, ovate lobes of a clear medium green. The flower buds open into double flowers, 10-12 cm in diameter, composed of rounded "petals" or ligules, slightly incurved inwards, neatly arranged in several ranks. Their colouring is quite unusual: a white to cream or very pale pink background, overlaid with streaks, flames, and speckles of purplish-red to ruby, each head showing a slightly different pattern. Flowering begins in July and continues uninterrupted until the first autumn frosts, provided faded flowers are regularly removed.

The "splashed" flowers of this dahlia are highlighted by almost all black varieties like the Dahlia 'Arabian Night' or 'Black Destiny', in borders as well as in vases. A very contemporary scene can be created by pairing it with a coneflower 'JS Engeltje' Pretty Parasols and the spikes of Sanguisorba 'Proud Mary'. In borders, plant it among ornamental grasses such as Panicum virgatum 'Purple Breeze' or perennials with grey foliage. In a vase, a few stems of this dahlia, accompanied by black flowers and small, light umbels, are enough to create sophisticated and very contemporary cut flower arrangements.

Long cultivated by the pre-Columbian peoples of Mexico for their edible tubers and medicinal use, dahlias were introduced to Europe in the late 18th century and are now the national flower of Mexico since 1963.

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Dahlia: planting, care, and growing tips
Family sheet
by Virginie T. 19 min.
Dahlia: planting, care, and growing tips
Read article

Plant habit

Height at maturity 90 cm
Spread at maturity 55 cm
Growth rate fast

Flowering

Flower colour two-tone
Flowering time July to October
Inflorescence Flower head
Flower size 12 cm
Good for cut flowers Cut flower blooms

Foliage

Foliage persistence Deciduous
Foliage colour medium green

Botanical data

Genus

Dahlia

Cultivar

Painted Lady

Family

Asteraceae

Other common names

Decorative dahlia

Botanical synonyms

Dahlia dahlia 'Fern Ridge Painted Lady'

Origin

Cultivar or hybrid

Product reference25228

Planting and care

The Dahlia 'Painted Lady' is easy to grow in all regions. For generous flowering, it is good to follow a few simple rules: plant the tubercles in full sun after the last frosts; rich, cool, and well-drained soils are perfect. However, stagnant moisture would encourage the tubercles to rot. Do not hesitate to amend the soil with compost and sand if needed. Work the soil deeply and enrich it, for example, with ground horn or dried blood. Place your tubercle and crumble the soil well to fill in without air pockets. Your dahlia should be covered with about 6 cm of soil. At the end of planting, water thoroughly once, then repeat this watering regularly for the first 6 weeks to help with rooting.

Dahlias are sensitive to cold and need to be overwintered. In November, the first frosts blacken the foliage; this is the time to lift them. Dig up the tubercles carefully. Remove as much soil as possible. Allow the foliage to dry so that the tubercles can replenish their reserves. Then cut the stems to 10 cm. Spread your bulbs in a crate on newspaper. Store them in a frost-free, dry, cool, and dark place, such as a frost-free garage or an attic. In southern regions, near the coast, experiencing only a few frosty days per year, it is possible to leave them in place. In this case, simply cover the soil with a carpet of leaves or straw as protection.

This large-sized Dahlia, with its hollow stems, is still sensitive to strong winds or heavy rain. To overcome this drawback, you can stake it, but, you must agree, it is not very aesthetic. On the other hand, by pinching the stems early or removing the axial flower buds, you will spread the habit of the plant, which will offer more resistance to bad weather. At the same time, you thus channel the influx of sap onto a single flower, which will become larger and stronger.

1
€7.50
9
€5.90
3
€17.50

Planting period

Best planting time March to April
Recommended planting time March to May
Planting depth 10 cm

Intended location

Suitable for Meadow
Type of use Border, Cut flowers, Container, Vegetable garden
Hardiness Hardy down to -4°C (USDA zone 9b) Show map
Ease of cultivation Amateur
Planting density 5 per m2
Exposure Sun
Soil pH Any
Soil moisture Moist soil, Fertile, well-drained.

Care

Pruning instructions Remove faded flowers regularly to encourage flowering.
Pruning Pruning recommended once a year
Pruning time July to September
Soil moisture Moist soil
Disease resistance Good
Overwinter Needs to be stored

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