Dahlia Sword Dance

Dahlia 'Sword Dance' is a stunning anemone-flowered Dahlia that stands out with its pink flowers topped with a particularly large frizzy yellow-orange pompom, a veritable honeycomb that attracts butterflies. It is a medium-sized variety that charms with its original flowers, with soft and warm colours, as attractive in the garden as in bouquets, from summer until the first frost. It can be highlighted with blue catmints, white roses, or false chamomiles, for example.

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large aster family, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 75,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our great pleasure, gardens worldwide. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flowers. 'Sword Dance' is classified in the category of anemone-flowered Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are arranged in pompoms in the centre and surrounded by a collar of wide and flat "petals". In this variety, the heads are 12cm (5in) in diameter, and the external ligules, of a soft pink colour, are arranged in a single collar. Those in the centre are shorter, tubular, fringed, and yellow-orange in colour, tightly packed together like a large cushion. The flowering takes place from July (sometimes as early as the end of June) until 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 and stems are of a medium green colour.

To promote repeat flowering and extend the flowering period, take care to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The dahlia's flowering will be enhanced by the foliage and light spikes of grasses (Briza media, Panicum, Molinia, Calamagrostis), to emphasize the contrast between the delicacy of tall grasses and the more refined character of its flower. The flowering of Amaranthus and Echinaceas is perfect to accompany that of Dahlias, as they occur simultaneously, as well as the flowering of Cosmos or perennial salvias, for example.

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