Dahlia Park Idylle

The Dahlia 'Park Idylle', like all varieties of the 'Park' series, combines extreme floribundity with very compact vegetation, particularly well suited for ornamenting sunny borders and flower pots. The flowers of this Dahlia are cactus-type, of a pure and brilliant orange, well doubled, formed by long, narrow and pointed petals, recurved over more than half their length.

Dahlias belong to the asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. At present, the some 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our greatest pleasure, gardens all over the world. The 'Park Idylle' variety is a dwarf dahlia, belonging to the horticultural group of the cactus-type, which will not exceed 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20in) in all directions. It is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the flowers are 'double-petalled', composed of long narrow and pointed coloured ligules, recurved over more than half their length. The flowers of 'Park Idylle' measure about 7 cm (3in) in diameter, and display a bright and pure orange colour. The flowering takes place from July to October-November. The habit is bushy and compact, not requiring staking. The very branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 very toothed lobes. The leaves and stems are dark green.

To promote flowering, take care to remove faded flowers, or better yet, regularly make large colourful bouquets by combining it with other varieties. 'Park Idylle' pairs particularly well with the 'Park Princess' and 'Princesse des Neiges' varieties, but also with blue flowers, chamomiles, fennels, and silver foliage. In the front of beds, this dahlia will create colourful spots in the company of echinaceas, for example, that bloom at the same time as well as daylilies or asters. This modest-sized variety is particularly suitable for container gardening, to easily adorn the terrace or balcony.

As the star of borders and ornamental gardens, Dahlias confidently accompany the most beautiful flowers but are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. But its poor taste assigned it the rank of ornamental plant. Since then, interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.