Dahlia Féline Yvonne

The 'Feline Yvonne' Camellia-flowered Dahlia is a very beautiful variety that combines perfect flower shape, a colour of great purity, and long dark floral stems. Of medium size, slightly flattened, they resemble those of water lilies. Their colour is a vivid coral pink without being aggressive, with a more mauve centre. This dahlia, with its beautiful fresh green foliage, provides a long summer flowering, overflowing with charm until the frost, perfect for adding a romantic and feminine touch to flower beds or homemade bouquets.

Dahlias belong to the large family of Asteraceae, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, much to our delight, gardens all over the world. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their heads. 'Feline Yvonne' is a decorative dahlia with camellia-like flowers. Registered in the Netherlands in 2019, it won the third prize of the Public Criterium at the Parc Floral in Paris in 2020. The terminal inflorescences, called heads, are carried by purple-violet stems. They consist of several rows of almost flat outer ligules, slightly rolled up. The heads are regular and generally measure 8 to 9cm (3 to 4in) in diameter. The small yellow centre of the flowers only appears late, just before wilting. The plant will easily reach a height of 1m (3ft) and a width of 70cm (28in). It has an upright habit, and its stems sometimes require staking. Its beautiful bright green leaves are deeply denticulate. The particularly long flowering of this variety starts in July and ends in October-November, if care is taken to remove faded flowers or make bouquets frequently.

Today, indispensable in gardens, whether it is an ornamental garden or even a vegetable garden, Dahlias were initially cultivated in Mexico as a root vegetable. Their poor taste qualities quickly assigned them the status of ornamental plants, but they are still welcome in the vegetable garden to add some colour among the vegetables. 'Feline Yvonne' is a beautiful plant that can be used to structure elevated flower beds, and can be combined with purple foliage, for example (Cotinus 'Royal Purple', Physocarpus 'Red Baron', Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'). It pairs particularly well with blue, plum, or even chocolate flowers.