Dahlia Speech

The 'Speech' Anemone-Flowered Dahlia offers beautifully made red flowers adorned with a white pattern that gives them a precious appearance. Of medium stature, it produces an abundance of flowers in compound heads composed of a red and white collar topped with a fringed heart of the same red, but sprinkled with gold. These flowers have a lot of charm in floral arrangements. In the garden, they are visited by pollinators.

Dahlias belong to the aster family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the thousands of horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our great pleasure, gardens around the world. These are fleshy tuberous plants that are not very hardy. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flowers. 'Speech', registered in 2021, is classified in the category of Anemone-Flowered Dahlias. In this group, the colourful ligules of the head are arranged in pompoms in the centre and surrounded by a collar of longer and wider ligules. In this variety, the heads are 12cm (5in) in diameter and the outer ligules, of a deep red colour, are almost flat, arranged in a single collar. Each of these ligules is topped with a few small white-flamed petals. The ligules in the centre are shorter, tubular, fringed, and packed together like a cushion. Flowering takes place from July to October. The plant will reach a height of 1m (3ft), with a bushy and dense habit. The highly branched stems are hollow, and the leaves are divided into 3 or 5 leaflets, which are toothed. The leaves are medium green, while the stems are more or less coppery.

To encourage repeat flowering and extend the flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Better yet, regularly compose attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The flowering of this 'Speech' variety will be enhanced by the foliage and light spikes of grasses (Briza, Panicum, Molinia, Calamagrostis), to emphasize the contrast between the delicacy of tall grasses and the precious nature of its flower. The flowering of Amaranthus, Agastaches, and Echinaceas is perfect to accompany the Dahlias, as they bloom simultaneously, as well as the cosmos or perennial salvias, for example.

As the star plants of ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. Impeccable in flower beds, they can also enhance vegetable gardens. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly assigned it the status of an ornamental plant.