Dahlia Sunshine

The Dahlia 'Sunshine' lives up to its name. It showcases the full range of sunlit colours. Its red heart speckled with yellow tips is surrounded by orange petals at the base and yellow at the tips. This subtle and warm gradient naturally catches the eye and blends perfectly with its purple foliage. Its generous flowering and long-lasting duration invigorates the garden and allows for cheerful and lively bouquets to be arranged.

Belonging to the asteraceae family, the Dahlia is a perennial with tubers that is sensitive to frost and should be stored away during winter in most of our regions. It thrives in sunny exposures and prefers rich soils for a long and colourful flowering. Its upright and rather bushy habit gives it a place in the borders alongside all the summer flowers. Its hollow stems rise up to 60 cm (24in) in height and position it at the forefront in larger ensembles and in an intermediate position in smaller flower beds. It is also suitable for container cultivation. The stems bear opposite leaves composed of three to five subtly toothed leaflets in a beautiful shade of purple. At the top, beautiful flowers proudly stand towards the sun. They form single heads, with a row of wide and obovate ligulate florets spreading out and clearly exposing the centre. These ligulate florets have an original feature, they are bi-coloured: yellow for two-thirds of their length and orange near the base. They thus encircle the centre with sunny hues, in a beautiful reddish-brown shade with some touches of yellow. This already nuanced palette can vary in density. The whole plant blooms from July to September and often reaches a diameter of 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3in).

Thanks to its vibrant palette, 'Sunshine' is a distinguished guest in diverse flower beds. It naturally blends with Echinaceas, Marigolds, and other Dahlias. It happily mingles with flowers of all colours, bringing its joyful touch and allowing for flamboyant compositions to welcome autumn. Its purple foliage pleasantly contrasts with that of grasses in a variegated ensemble.