Dahlia Café au Lait Supreme

Dahlia 'Café au Lait Supreme' is a magnificent white version of the famous giant D. 'Café au Lait'. Just like its illustrious parent, this new variety bears enormous double flowers, sometimes reaching 25cm (10in) in diameter. They are pure white with a warm cream centre. It blooms quite late, from summer to autumn, on stems that can reach 1.2m (4ft) in height. It will look wonderful in borders with light flowers, grasses, or foliage plants. Its spectacular flowers also make sumptuous bouquets. 

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.

'Café au Lait Supreme' measures 1.2m (4ft) high and 60cm (24in) wide. It is classified as a decorative dahlia, which is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are regularly arranged in a spiral. They can be curved towards the stem or fringed, for example. This variety's flowering starts in July and ends in October. The 'flowers', called heads, measure 22 to 25cm (9 to 10in) in diameter. The outermost ligules are quite large and slightly turbinate, while those in the centre are more curled. They are a fairly uniform white, which is slightly more yellow in the centre of the inflorescence. The habit is bushy and erect, and the branched stems are hollow. Its leaves are opposite and pinnatisect, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 dentate lobes. The leaves and stems are a bright, light green.

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

'Café au Lait Supreme' pairs well with all the garden's blooms, especially roses. It will perfectly match echinaceas, white lilies, shrubby sages, cornflowers, and cosmos, for example. It will also create a beautiful scene with sedums and miscanthus.

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.