Dahlia Hillcrest Margaret

The pompom Dahlia 'Hillcrest Margaret' is a cultivar of impressive size that has long and generous flowering in delicious colours. The numerous flowers, shaped like mini-balls, succeed each other throughout the summer season until autumn and punctuate the flowerbeds with a very sunny yellow, dusted with a very warm apricot shade. Their round shape, made up of multiple petals arranged with exemplary regularity, further enhances these subtle hues. It is also a popular choice for summer bouquets.

Belonging to the Asteraceae family, the Dahlia is a perennial with tubers that is sensitive to frost and needs to be stored away during winter in most of our regions. It appreciates sunny exposures and prefers rich soils for a long and colourful flowering. Its upright and rather bushy habit gives it a place in the flowerbeds alongside all the summer flowers. Its hollow stems can reach a height of up to 1.20 m (4ft) and sometimes require staking. They bear opposite leaves composed of three to five leaflets. With a beautiful deep green colour, they are also slightly shiny and barely dentate. At the top, small globular flowers stand towards the sun. They are made up of numerous rows of concave ligules arranged in a very orderly manner. Very tightly packed in the centre, they are smaller when they bloom, folded in three lengthwise and seem to form an origami heart. As they move towards the outer edges, they grow larger and unfold. The whole flower opens up and easily reaches a diameter of 6 cm (2in), while maintaining an almost perfect symmetry. Their colour, a very vibrant yellow, brings light and cheerfulness to summer compositions. It seems sprinkled with a changing apricot hue that infuses more or less into the tips of the ligules and sometimes blushes.

'Hillcrest Margaret' brings a gentle and warm touch. It will integrate well among a profusion of straw-toned grasses for a natural effect alongside Dahlias 'Honka Yellow' or 'Bishop of Oxford'. It will complete a multicoloured ensemble by bridging the gap between orange and yellow. Don't hesitate to multiply the pompom Dahlias and delve into the collection with a wide choice, you will have cut flowers for the whole summer.