Dahlia Babylon Rose

The 'Babylon Rose' Decorative Dahlia is an impressive variety, truly glamorous, due to its enormous ruffled flowers reaching 25 cm (10in) in diameter, a very bright candy pink, barely bluish, veiled with warm pink at the center of the petals. Planted in a bed of light flowers or used in large homemade bouquets, this spectacular and floriferous Dahlia will attract all eyes, from summer to frost. The plant, awarded numerous times, forms a beautiful bushy and dense clump, adorned with abundant medium green foliage.

Dahlias belong to the large family of asteraceae, they are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, for our greatest pleasure, gardens all over the world. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flowers. 'Babylon Rose' is classified in the category of giant decorative Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the capitulum are arranged regularly in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or fringed, for example. In this variety, the capitula are 22-25 cm (9-10in) in diameter and the ligules are like small flames, flattened and slightly folded towards the center, of a magnificent pink colour, those in the heart are darker, almost fuchsia. The flowering takes place from July to October. The plant will reach 1 m (3ft) in height, and 50 to 60 cm (20 to 24in) in width, the habit is bushy and erect. The very branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately compound, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 leaflets, which form very denticulate lobes. The leaves are medium green and the stems rather purplish.

To promote flowering and extend the flowering period, make sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create charming colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The stature of this variety is more suitable for the background or the rear of perennial plant beds, where it will blend well with white, mauve, and purple, colours that can be found in other Dahlia varieties such as Lilac Time, White Perfection, and Babylon Purple. The blue of delphiniums, carried in tall spikes, will be a magnificent contrast to its enormous pink flowers. The flowering of Sunflowers, cosmos, and Echinaceas is perfect alongside Dahlias, as well as asters, for example. Also, consider grasses (foxtail barley, pennisetum, stipa) which have a very nice effect in autumn.

As the star plant of ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers, they are impeccable in flower beds but can also enhance the vegetable garden. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was first cultivated as a root vegetable to be consumed. Its poor taste qualities quickly assigned it the rank of an ornamental plant. Since then, interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.