Dahlia Paso Doble

Dahlia Paso Doble is a very beautiful variety with vigorous vegetation. It produces very double and bright flowers from summer until the first frost, displaying an orange tone that leans towards coral, with each ligulate petal revealing a golden heart at the base. The plant forms a beautiful bushy and dense clump, adorned with abundant medium green foliage.

Dahlias belong to the large family of asters, originally from the Mexican highlands. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties created by humans have invaded gardens worldwide, much to our delight. Dahlias are classified based on the shape of their flowers. 'Paso Doble' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are arranged regularly in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or curled, for example. In this variety, the heads are 16 cm (6in) in diameter and the ligules are wide, flattened, and slightly folded towards the centre, with a magnificent light orange colour with a yellow base, and those in the centre are darker, almost red. Flowering occurs from July to October. The plant reaches a height of 1.20 m (4ft), and a width of 50 to 70 cm (20 to 28in), with a bushy and upright habit. The highly 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 and stems are medium green.

To promote repeat flowering and extend the flowering period, make sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The tall stature of this variety makes it suitable for the back of perennial borders, where it pairs well with red, yellow, brown, and purple. The flowering of sunflowers, cosmos, and echinaceas is perfect when accompanied by dahlias, as they bloom simultaneously, as well as asters, for example. Also, consider grasses (foxtail barley, pennisetum, stipa) which have a beautiful effect in autumn.

As a star plant in ornamental gardens, dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. They are perfect in flowerbeds but can also enhance vegetable gardens. In Mexico, this tuber was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly assigned it the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.