Dahlia Fleurel

Dahlia 'Fleurel' bears enormous double flowers that are difficult to measure. Their white colour is delicately warmed by a cream heart. This sublime variety is becoming something of a celebrity, just like the famous D. 'Café au Lait'. Its softly twisted petals give the flowers a charming frilly appearance. Each plant produces dozens of gigantic flowers from summer to autumn. The cut flowers make sublime bouquets.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. There are currently thousands of horticultural varieties that have conquered gardens worldwide. They are tender perennials with fleshy tubers.

The 'Fleurel' variety, introduced in 1997, is already a classic. The plant reaches about 70cm (28in) in height and 60cm (24in) in width. It is classified as a giant decorative dahlia, as well as a fimbriated dahlia. This is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. The flowering of this variety begins in July and ends in October. The heads measure about 25cm (10in) in diameter. The outer ligules are quite large, flexible, and slightly curled and twisted. They are ivory-white, while those in the centre are smaller and touched with cream. The habit is bushy and erect, and the highly branched stems are hollow. Its leaves are opposite, pinnately divided into 3 or 5 toothed lobes. The leaves and stems are a medium green colour, which enhances the flowers beautifully.

Remove faded flowers to encourage new blooms. You can use cut flowers to make colourful bouquets, combining them with other varieties. 

'Fleurel' pairs easily with all types of blooms, especially those of tithonias, anchusa, perennial delphiniums, kniphofias, and scarlet salvias. In borders, it will perfectly match echinaceas, sunflowers, and cleomes, for example. Also pair it with Dahlia 'Tartan' and D. 'Sam Hopkins' to create a contrasting white and dark red border. It will also be enhanced by a carpet of red or blue asters.

Dahlias are stars of borders and ornamental gardens, confidently accompanying the most beautiful flowers. However, they are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was first cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly saw it categorised as an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.