Dahlia Miss Delilah

The 'Miss Delilah' Decorative Dahlia is one of those flowers that always stands out in a garden, because of the size of its flowers and the perfection of their shape and delicacy of their colour. This variety, known as nymphaea flowers, bears large, fully double, globose capitula, perfectly arranged in a beautiful gradient ranging from fresh pink to white near the heart. 'Miss Delilah' will accompany the blue, white, and purple blooms until the first frost, planted at the back of perennial borders or among low bushes. A star plant in healing gardens, magnificent at the back of perennial borders, it is also a universally beloved cut flower.

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large Asteraceae family, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. At present, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by man have arrived in gardens all over the world, much to our delight. Dahlias are classified based on the shape of their flowers. 'Miss Delilah', introduced in 2002, is classified in the category of decorative dahlias with nymphaea-like flowers. 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 15 to 17 cm (6 to 7in) in diameter and their ligules or petals are almost flat. Their pink colour is lovely, and the centre of the capitulum is occupied by ligules in lighter tones, almost white. The flowering occurs from July to October. The plant will reach a height of about 1.10 m (4ft) and a width of 50-60 cm (20-24in), with a bushy and erect habit. The leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into several leaflets, which form very denticulate lobes. The leaves are a fairly dark green and the floral stems are tinged with purple. Like all dahlias, the highly branched stems are hollow and not very wind-resistant.

To promote new flower growth and extend the flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The stature of this variety makes it more suitable for the back of perennial borders, of course, to structure a composition of flowering bushes and lower perennials. The summer and autumn asters are perfect companions for dahlias, as they bloom simultaneously, as well as caryopteris or perovskia, for example. You can create beautiful scenes at the end of the season by combining Miss Delilah's flowers with Japanese anemones, pink, white or blue shrubby salvias... Also consider grasses (miscanthus, stipa, eragrostis trichodes) that take on lovely colours in autumn.

A star plant in healing gardens, dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers, they are perfect in flower beds but can also enhance the vegetable garden. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly assigned it the status of an ornamental plant.