Dahlia Seniors White

Dahlia Senior's White is a newcomer to the superb series of Senior Dahlias. These varieties, highly floriferous and with particularly ornamental vegetation, are not very tall, bushy, and very dark, bringing something new to the world of Dahlias and are sensational in flowerbeds. This one offers the delicacy of its almost white ball-shaped flowers to this collection of very versatile plants that also have the advantage of not needing staking. The flowers here are of modest size but widely displayed and produced abundantly from summer until the first frost. The Senior Dahlias are a real favourite: 'Seniors White', with its candid pompom flowers, is easy to combine with all blooms and its modest stature is suitable for container gardening. Its flowers are very long-lasting in a vase.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have arrived in gardens around the world, much to our delight.

The brand new variety 'Seniors White' is a semi-dwarf Dahlia, it will not exceed 70 cm (28in) in all directions. It is also classified as a decorative Dahlia, 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 White' are about 7-8 cm (3in) in diameter. The ligules or 'petals' are oval in shape, slightly concave. Their ivory-white colour is fairly uniform on the inflorescence, the ligules in the centre, forming a beautiful bud, are slightly shaded with cream and green. The golden heart of the flower only appears late, just before wilting. The flowering period is from July to October. The habit is bushy and compact. The highly branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately lobed, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 very toothed lobes. The leaves of this variety are very dark green, almost black, and the stems, also very dark, are purplish-violet.

To encourage repeat flowering, take care to remove faded flowers, or even better, regularly make large colourful bouquets by combining it with other varieties. 'Seniors White' goes well with all other varieties in the Senior series, as well as with all garden plants, shrubs, or perennials. In flowerbeds, this Dahlia will create bright spots contrasting with the brighter colors of Echinaceas, for example, as they bloom at the same time, as well as Hemerocallis or Asters. Japanese anemones are good companions for the late season, as are grasses (compact Miscanthus, Stipa, Pennisetum, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Eragrostis spectabilis). This variety of modest stature is particularly suitable for container gardening, to easily adorn the patio or balcony.

As the star plant in ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. They are perfect in flowerbeds but can also enhance a vegetable garden. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was first cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.