Dahlia Seniors Love

Dahlia Seniors Love, like all varieties of the Seniors series, is a new decorative dahlia of modest size, highly floriferous, with a particularly ornamental growth, both bushy and very dark. In a word, a truly glamorous plant that creates a sensation in flower beds. This variety, still relatively rare in commerce, captivates with its somewhat theatrical appearance: its double flowers in balls of a rich and deep red crown a plant with stems and leaves of an almost black purple on which the sun leaves a tin-like reflection. Blooming late in the season, this next generation Dahlia is also a strong and versatile plant that does not require staking. It has its rightful place in a flower garden, is well suited for pot cultivation, and its long-lasting flowers can be used to create all sorts of bouquets. For us, it's a true favourite!

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. At present, the few 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our greatest pleasure, gardens all over the world.

The 'Seniors Love' variety is a semi-dwarf Dahlia, it will not exceed 70 cm (28in) in all directions. It is also classified among the decorative Dahlias, which is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the coloured ligules of the capitulum are arranged regularly in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or fringed, for example. The 'flowers' or capitula of 'Seniors Love', widely offered to the eye, are approximately 7-8 cm (3in) in diameter. The ligules or 'petals' are silky in texture, oval in shape, and in shells. Their dark red colour is quite uniform on the inflorescence, and the ligules in the centre are slightly shaded with violet. 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 dense. The very branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 very toothed lobes. The leaves are shiny, of a very dark purple-violet colour, just like the floral stems.

To promote continuous flowering, take care to remove faded flowers, or better yet, regularly make large colourful displays by combining it with other varieties. 'Seniors Love' pairs particularly well with pink, mauve, violet, and white flowers. In flower beds, this Dahlia will create highly colourful spots in the company of pink Echinaceas, for example, which bloom at the same time, as well as daylilies and asters. Japanese anemones are good companions for the late season, as well as grasses (compact Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Stipa, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Eragrostis spectabilis). This moderately sized variety is particularly suitable for container cultivation, to easily adorn the patio or balcony.

As a star plant in ornamental 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 quickly relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.