Dahlia Fired Up

Dahlia 'Fired Up' is a truly flamboyant fimbriated semi-cactus variety that charms with its large, frilly flowers in shades of orange-red with a golden yellow heart. They are produced in abundance from summer until the first frost, on a beautiful, rather compact bushy clump. This variety will bring colour and dynamism to sunny borders and floral arrangements.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. There are currently thousands of horticultural varieties that have conquered gardens worldwide. They are tender perennials with fleshy tubers.

'Fired Up' was registered in 2019. The plant forms a clump that reaches a height of 1.1m (4ft) and a width of about 60cm (24in). It is classified as a cactus dahlia, specifically a fimbriated semi-cactus variety, a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are incompletely coiled for at least 1/3 of their length. This dahlia's ligules are slightly coiled at their tips, randomly split, and more flattened at the base. Flowering begins in July and ends in October-November. The heads measure 17 to 18cm (7in) in diameter. The habit is bushy and erect, and the highly branched stems are hollow. Its leaves are opposite and compound, meaning they divide into 3 or 5 toothed lobes. The leaves are a bright green and the stems are green with a slight purple tinge.

Remove faded flowers to encourage new blooms. You can use cut flowers to make colourful bouquets, combining them with other varieties.

Dahlia 'Fired Up' is an excellent cut flower to use, for example, with ornamental grasses, sunflowers, and ferns. In the garden, it blends well in perennial borders and can be supported by small bushes. It particularly complements red, orange, yellow, and white blooms, especially those of roses. In borders, it will perfectly complement tall "thistles" (cardoon and artichoke), fennel, and cosmos, for example.

Dahlias are stars of borders and ornamental gardens, confidently accompanying the most beautiful flowers. However, they are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was first cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly saw it categorised as an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.