Dahlia Crème de Cognac

Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac' seduces with the subtlety of its colouring. In this brand new Dahlia from the Decorative group, each petal, washed and brushed with raspberry pink on a cream background, is edged and doubled with a brilliant purple pink, a very visible and nuanced shade of mahogany at the heart of the flower. This arrangement of colours highlights the very regular shape of the flower. This Dahlia blooms for a long time, from summer to autumn, on a beautiful, well-foliaged clump. 'Creme de Cognac' bears infinitely refined flowers, to be showcased in a mix of pastel and light blooms, both in the garden and in a vase. .

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large Asteraceae family, originally native to the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the some 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our greatest pleasure, gardens around the world. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flower. 'Creme de Cognac' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the capitulum are regularly arranged in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or fringed, for example. In this variety, the inflorescences in capitula are about 11cm (4in) in diameter and their ligules or petals are slightly curled, lanceolate in shape towards the heart of the flower. Their colour is magnificent: a cream almost striped with light raspberry pink on the top, they show a reverse and an edge of a much darker pink. The centre of the capitulum is occupied by ligules in darker tones. Flowering occurs from July to October. The plant will reach about 80cm (32in) in height, and 60cm (24in) in width, with a bushy and upright habit. The foliage is abundant, composed of opposite, pinnately compound leaves, meaning they divide into many leaflets. The leaves are a medium green and the floral stems are tinged with purple. As with all Dahlias, the highly branched stems are hollow.

To encourage 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 medium height of this variety makes it suitable for the centre of perennial plantings, of course, to structure a composition of flowering shrubs and shorter perennials. The flowering of summer and autumn Asters is perfect alongside that of Dahlias, they occur simultaneously, as well as the flowering of perennial salvias or Cannas, for example. Beautiful scenes can be composed in late season by combining the flowers of 'Creme de Cognac' with Japanese anemones, shrubby salvias... Also consider grasses (Miscanthus saccharifolius, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes) that take on beautiful hues in autumn.

As a star plant in ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers, they are impeccable in a flower bed but can also enhance a vegetable garden. 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.