Dahlia Melody Dora

The Dahlia 'Melody Dora' is a modest-sized dahlia with compact, sturdy, branched vegetation that can withstand bad weather. It produces double, medium-sized flowers that are generally bi-coloured. They are pale salmon pink, with yellow markings at the centre, and each petal is lightly tipped with light red, just like the centre of the flower. It blooms abundantly above very healthy dark green foliage from summer to autumn. This relatively short variety is perfect for sunny borders and flower pots and provides refined and colourful flowers for bouquets.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. The approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded gardens worldwide, much to our delight.

The 'Melody Dora' variety is part of the 'Melody' horticultural series, developed for its compact and branched growth habit and floribundity. It is a semi-dwarf dahlia, reaching a maximum height of 65 cm (26in) in all directions. It is also classified as a decorative dahlia, a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are regularly arranged in a spiral, and they can be bent towards the stem or fringed, for example. 'Melody Dora' flowers are 13 cm (5in) in diameter. The golden heart of the flower only appears late, just before fading. The flowering period is from July to October. The habit is bushy and compact, requiring no staking. The highly branched stems are hollow, and the leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 toothed lobes. The leaves and stems are dark green.

To encourage continuous flowering, remove faded flowers, or even better, regularly make large colourful bouquets by combining them with other varieties. The 'Melody' dahlias will create colourful spots in the front of flower beds alongside asters, heleniums, and cosmos. Also, consider pairing it with yarrow or Pennisetum villosum, a lovely fluffy grass, to bring softness and delicacy to the decor. This variety is particularly suitable for container gardening, making it easy to adorn the terrace or balcony.

Dahlias are the star plants of borders and cottage gardens, and they confidently accompany the most beautiful flowers but are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. This tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption in Mexico. However, its poor taste qualities relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.