Dahlia Little William

The Dahlia 'Little William' is a pompon type variety. The plant bears very round flowers, not very large, perfectly formed, of a strawberry red nuanced with pink, delicately edged with white at the petal tips. Its growth, neither too tall nor too short, is suitable for borders, beds, and containers alike. Very floriferous from mid-summer until the first frosts, it provides a constant supply of flowers for cut flower arrangements. A dahlia that is easy to integrate into any garden!

Belonging to the large Asteraceae family, dahlias are native to the cool mountains of Mexico and Central America. Botanically, they are perennials with tubercles, cultivated as summer-flowering bulbs in temperate climates: the aerial part dies back in winter, but the tubercles survive if the temperature remains above –3/–5 °C; elsewhere, they are lifted and overwintered in a dry place.
The cultivar 'Little William' belongs to the horticultural group of pompon dahlias, characterised by almost spherical, very double flowers of small diameter, formed of ligules rolled into a funnel shape and arranged in a spiral, giving the appearance of a perfect little ball. It is also sold under the name 'Little Willem'.
The plant has a bushy, upright, and well-ramified habit, reaching 70 to 80 cm in height with a spread of 40 to 60 cm. Its stems are sturdy, usually rigid enough to not require staking. The inflorescences, small, very dense spheres of 5-7 cm, are composed of ligules of a strawberry red or carmine at the centre, lightening to a creamy white at the tip, this gradient creating a remarkable effect of depth. Flowering is renewed from July until the first autumn frosts, provided one regularly removes the spent flowers. The foliage is green, composed of pinnate or bipinnate leaves, ovate to lanceolate, with coarsely dentate edges.

This bicolour pompon dahlia combines graphic form and delicacy. It is perfect for structuring a large border of summer flowers. It can be paired with dahlias in complementary tones such as 'Copper Boy', with its dark coppery pink pompons, or 'Ice Baby', pure white, to create elegant arrangements. In a contemporary garden, it pairs well with the silky spikes of a Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'. In a more romantic setting, it can be associated with pastel dahlias like 'Wizard of Oz' and with dark blue sages like 'Victoria Blue'. In a vase, a few stems of this dahlia, tightly arranged with foliage of Asparagus plumosus, are enough to compose very graphic, rounded arrangements that last a long time in water.

For enthusiasts: long before they adorned European gardens, dahlias were cultivated by the Aztecs for their edible tubercles and medicinal uses, and it was only after their introduction to Europe that the idea of using them as a vegetable was abandoned to focus on the infinite richness of their forms and colours.

Note that dahlias are considered toxic to dogs and cats; therefore, care should be taken to prevent pets from nibbling on them.