Dahlia Karma Amanda

Decorative Dahlia 'Karma Amanda', with its soft pastel flowers resembling water lilies, is a versatile plant of medium size, equally at home in flowerbeds or in containers on the patio. Its flowers, of modest size, are very double, overall white-cream in colour, but delicately infused and tipped with pale lilac. The Karma series, originally developed for cut flowers, offers varieties with long flowering periods that produce remarkably strong stems.

Dahlias belong to the large family of Asteraceae, originally native to the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have arrived in gardens all over the world. Varieties of Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their heads. 'Karma Amanda' is a Dahlia from the decorative group with water lily-like flowers. The inflorescences are composed of several rows of almost flat outer ligules, barely curled downwards. The heads are opulent and measure 10 cm (4in) in diameter. The ligules are delicately white-cream at the base, but washed with a mauve tone towards their tips. The center of the flower, very tight, is composed of small yellow petals at the base, also tipped with a slightly deeper lilac. The plant will reach a height of 80 cm (32in) and a width of 50 cm (20in). It has a bushy and compact habit, and the strength of its stems does not require any staking. Its leaves are divided into finely toothed lobes. The exceptionally long flowering period of this variety starts in July and ends in October-November, if faded flowers are removed or frequently made into bouquets.

Today, Dahlias are essential in gardens, but initially they were 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 bring a splash of colour among the vegetables. 'Karma Amanda' pairs particularly well with pink, plum, and violet flowers.