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Since mid-summer, dahlias have reigned in our gardens. According to some sources, their varieties number more than 15,000, and the list is constantly growing. They are among the most long-flowering perennials, their beauty will not leave even the hardest heart indifferent. Dahlias are very diverse in bush height, color, shape and size of flowers. All of them are good in bouquets, used as flowerbeds, borders and container plants.If you choose the right planting location, maintenance will not be burdensome and will be kept to a minimum. In this article we will present you the best varieties of dahlias with photos and names, but this is our point of view, each person decides for himself which variety is best for him, and believe me, there are plenty to choose from.
general description
Dahlia (Dahlia) is a flowering plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, which includes about 40 species and came to us from Mexico. Natural species most often reach a height of 2.5 meters; there is the species Dahlia imperialis, which grows up to 6 meters and has yellow flowers. On our plots, cultivars of Dahlia Changeable are most often grown - its numerous varieties and hybrids, and the size of the bush can be, depending on the variety, from 30 cm to 1.5 m.
Dahlia flowers
What we call a dahlia flower is actually a basket inflorescence, it consists of:
- Marginal reed flowers wrapped inside;
- Outwardly folded marginal ligulate flowers;
- Flat marginal ligulate flowers;
- Reed flowers of the collar;
- Open tubular flowers;
- Buds of a tubular flower.
It is thanks to this complex flower structure that dahlias have so many different varieties, sometimes not very similar to each other. Breeders artificially increase the number of certain flowers in an inflorescence, while others are transferred to a rudimentary form or are completely absent.
Root system
Another common mistake is that we call the dahlia a tuberous plant. In fact, it does not have tubers, but root cones or root tubers. A tuber is a modified shoot with a thickened stem located in the ground. The root cone is a thickened root.
Classification of dahlias
There are so many varieties of this perennial that they simply need to be divided into groups. We will provide a photo of dahlias with the names of the varieties, but for now let’s try to understand their diversity.
Grouping by inflorescence size
Dahlia inflorescences can be of different sizes. It is customary to divide them as follows:
- giant – diameter exceeds 25 cm;
- large – 20-25 cm;
- medium – 15-20 cm;
- small – 10-15 cm;
- miniature - less than 10 cm.
Moreover, the sizes of well-developed inflorescences on healthy plants are given here.
Grouping by height
Before presenting this classification, we note that the average height of an adult plant will be indicated. In reality, it can vary greatly depending on the quality of the soil, weather, watering, and fertilizing. So, dahlias can be:
- tall borders - more than 1.2 m in height;
- medium-sized borders - 90-120 cm;
- low-growing borders - 60-90 cm;
- flower beds - less than 60 cm;
- midgets - from 30 cm and below.
International classification of dahlias
Before presenting the international classification, which was adopted in 1962, we note that some countries have their own taxonomy, for example, in Russia these flowers are divided into 12 groups, in the USA - into 20, and in France - into 22. So, According to the international classification, dahlias are divided into:
- simple;
- anemone-shaped;
- collar;
- nymphaeal;
- decorative;
- spherical;
- pompons;
- cactus;
- semi-cactus;
- transition group.
Thus, border and flower bed dahlias are divided into groups, but recently a fashion has come to us from Europe and the USA for midgets - miniature flowers, most often grown from seeds and that feel great as a potted crop.
Varieties according to international classification
We will present the best varieties of dahlias, from our point of view, with photographs, but there are a lot of them, so everyone can choose a flower to their liking.
Simple
Simple dahlias are distinguished by a bush height of 45 to 60 cm, inflorescences with a diameter of about 10 cm, mainly consisting of tubular flowers surrounded by one row of reed flowers.
Murillo
Medium-sized variety, basket diameter - from 5 to 10 cm, color - pink, lilac, violet.
Wellow Hammer
This variety is very similar to the previous one, only the color is yellow.
Anna-Karina
Bush up to 70 cm high, snow-white flower with a yellow center.
Agnes
Dahlias are very beautiful red or crimson in color; the bush for this variety is considered to be undersized.
Alpen Sarah
A new variety of extraordinary beauty. Its white flower is painted with cherry strokes, the height of the plant is low.
Anemoneaceae
These very popular dahlias grow in height from 60 to 90 cm. They have an inflorescence, usually not exceeding 10 cm in diameter. Along the edge there is one or several rows of reed flowers, and inside there is a disk of large tubular ones. These dahlias got their name due to the fact that they really look a lot like anemones.
Blue Bayou
Baskets with a diameter of 10-15 cm. Reed flowers arranged in one row are purple, tubular flowers are purple.
Asahi Chohi
The height of the plant is less than a meter, the tubular flowers are yellow and white, the only row of reed flowers is white with red stripes along the edge.
Brio
A very beautiful low-growing variety with red petals.
Honey
Reaches 50 cm, double flowers - about 7. The outer circle is dark pink, and the inner circle is light yellow.
Collar
No description can convey the beauty of collared dahlias. They usually grow 75-120 cm in height, baskets up to 10 cm in diameter. The inflorescences have one row of reed flowers, followed by a ring of transitional “collar” flowers, and inside there is a disk of tubular flowers.
Night Butterfly
An attractive low variety, 50-70 cm high, with dark burgundy reed flowers, a white collar and a yellow center.
Alpen Mary Lloyd
The height of the bush is up to 1 meter, the color of the inflorescence is different shades of crimson.
Impression Fantastico
A low-growing bush, the outer row of petals is red, the “collar” is red and white, the middle is yellow.
Fashion Monger
Very good variety. The height can reach a meter, the inflorescences are 5-10 cm. The outer reed petals are pointed at the ends, white, with a wide stroke of red-violet color in the middle, the “collar” is white, the inner disc is yellow.
Flamenco
The height of the plant is less than a meter, the outer petals are bright red, the “collar” is light yellow, almost white with red, the inner disc is yellow.
Nymphaeal
Nymphaeal dahlias have a height of up to 1.2 m and flattened double inflorescences up to 15 cm in diameter. The reed flowers of this group are either flat or with slightly raised edges.
Bahama Red
The bushes are tall, the baskets are about 8 cm, the petals are red with white tips.
Seduction
A tall flower, the size of the inflorescence is 13 cm. A very interesting variety of pink color, the middle of which and the edges of the petals are painted dark purple.
Sugar Kane
Tall bush with large baskets. Marginal flowers with raised edges, orange with white tips.
Angela
Excellent for cutting dahlias with a height of 120 cm with large pink inflorescences.
Decorative
Decorative dahlias grow up to 1.5 m in height and have inflorescences 25 cm or more with wide, blunt marginal reed flowers.
A. Humpley
This variety can decorate any bouquet. It grows up to 1.2 m, the basket is large, pink or mauve in color.
Tartan
It has very large cherry-purple flowers with a white stripe in the center and wavy petals.
Lucky Nambre
An eternal classic is the large pink dahlia.
Prince Carnival
An original light pink variety with cherry flecks and tiny touches.
Globular
Globular and pompon dahlias are very similar and differ only in the diameter of the double inflorescence. Globular flowers grow up to 1.2 m and have a diameter of up to 15 cm. Reed flowers are obtuse or rounded.
Antie
Classic spherical red dahlias.
Aykun
Very beautiful dahlias up to 1 meter high. The yellow color of the petals is crowned with red edges.
Rocco
A spreading bush with red-violet baskets of standard size.
Silvia
These dahlias have delicate salmon-orange blossoms.
Annushka
A domestic variety with purple baskets.
Pompons
This variety of dahlia has double inflorescences in the form of a ball, about 5 cm in size, with curled marginal flowers with a rounded or blunt tip. Bushes – 75-120 cm high.
Acrobat
New popular tall variety up to 1.2 m tall. It has dense spherical inflorescences with pink petals rolled into a tube.
Bantling
Bushes up to 0.9 m with orange dense spherical baskets and rolled petals.
Anke
Bush up to 1 m tall, inflorescences perfectly round, red in color.
Albino
A snow-white dahlia with slightly folded petals, a bush about a meter tall.
Andrew Lockwood
Bush up to 1 meter, baskets pink, dense, with petals rolled into a tube.
Cactaceae
These dahlias reach a height of one and a half meters. Their inflorescence is up to 25 cm in diameter and more; the marginal flowers are wrapped outward along almost the entire length, which is why they appear needle-like.
Blutenteppich
Deep pink dahlias with baskets about 15 cm in diameter, low, not reaching even a meter.
White Star
Very beautiful creamy-white flowers up to 20 cm in diameter with needle-shaped, slightly curved petals of an original shape.
Black Bird
An old reliable variety, bright red with a burgundy center, inflorescences about 15 cm in diameter.
Windhaven Highlight
The plant is tall - about a meter, the inflorescence is large, yellow in color.
Jessica
Tall dahlia with large inflorescence. The marginal flowers are yellow, the tips are red.
Semi-cactus
The height of the bushes is about 1.5 m, double inflorescences are up to 25 cm and more, the marginal flowers are pointed and curled outward no more than half the length.
Aitara Success
A medium-sized dahlia up to 1 meter high, the inflorescence is painted in a harmonious combination of soft pink and light yellow.
Adlerstein
Yellow-orange large tall dahlias.
Ice Princess
A snow-white flower with a diameter of about 15 cm.
Andrew Mitchell
A red basket with a diameter of about 20 cm and a bush just under one and a half meters high.
Anna
German high grade and peach baskets up to 15 cm.
Transition group
This group contains dahlias, the inflorescences of which cannot be classified into any of the above groups.
Bishop of Llandaff
Red flowers and purple leaves are the hallmark of this famous variety.
Pink Giraffe
An original variety with curved pink petals, an inflorescence about 12 cm and a bush over a meter high.
Lilliputians
Actually, midgets are not included in the International Classification of Dahlias; breeders began to pay close attention to them not so long ago. Often these flowers are grown as an annual crop from seeds, so they bloom earlier, and they usually do not need pinching. But this does not mean that they do not form root tubers - they can be dug up late in the fall, stored in the same way as other varieties and planted in the ground in the spring.
White midget
Compact bush with white flowers and yellow centers.
Funny boys
Rather, not a variety, but a series of low, up to 30 cm, double and simple dahlias of a wide variety of colors, known for a long time and propagated mainly by seeds.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many varieties of dahlias, they are very different, truly for every taste. We do not pretend to have shown all the variety of varieties of this perennial. We just hope that we have aroused interest even among those who for some reason did not know or did not like this flower.
