Dahlia Schippers Bronze

Dahlia 'Schippers Bronze' is a variety that will win every heart. This vigorous plant has decorative dark foliage and beautiful single flowers in warm and changing tones. Unlike the huge, highly double heads of many varieties, its flowers are very popular with bees and butterflies. It is a wonderful variety that will look sublime in any garden.

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.

'Schippers Bronze' is classified as a single flowered dahlia. It will reach a height of about 60cm (24in) and a width of 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in). The flowers or heads of this variety are single and have a diameter of 10cm (4in). The "petals" or ligules display a rich range of tones ranging from crimson to coppery red and bronze, lightening over time. The tiny fertile flowers in the centre form a bronze to dark brown disc, sprinkled with golden pollen. Flowering occurs from July to October. The habit is bushy and upright. The highly branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 toothed lobes. The leaves and stems have a unique colour in tones of bronze, purple, chocolate, and almost black, which enhances the colour of the flowers.

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

'Schippers Bronze' pairs particularly well with the grey foliage of artemisias (Artemesia 'Powis Castle, A. absinthium 'Lambrook Silver') or the blue flowers of hardy geraniums. This glorious dahlia will create colourful and bright spots in flower beds alongside blue or mauve asters with light flowering. Its cut flowers are magnificent in bouquets, but they don't last as long as those of double-flowered varieties.

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.