Dahlia Babylon Lila Gevlamd

The 'Babylon Lila Gevlamd' decorative Dahlia will delight lovers of giant flowers with exceptional colours. The flowers of this variety, of the "dinnerplate" type, are truly enormous, as wide as a plate, well double, slightly flattened, and of a rich plum purple colour, speckled and striped with red. Despite their size, these sumptuous flowers show excellent resistance due to their structure that allows rain to flow through. The plant, otherwise sturdy in constitution, produces very rigid stems. And the spectacle of this flowering, visible from afar, is constantly renewed from July until the frost.

Dahlias are tuberous plants of the large Asteraceae family, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. At present, the thousands of horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded, to our great pleasure, gardens all over the world. Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flower. 'Babylon Lila Gevlamd' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias, but also Giants, due to the size of its heads. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are regularly arranged in a spiral, they can be bent towards the stem or even curled, for example. In this variety, the heads are 20 to 25cm (8 to 10in) in diameter and their ligules are oval to lanceolate, slightly pleated and folded, with a fine texture. Flowering takes place from July to October-November. The plant reaches up to an average height of 1.20m (4ft), and a width of 60 to 70cm (24 to 28in), with a bushy and erect habit. The very branching stems are hollow and the leaves are divided into 3 or 5 very denticulate leaflets. The leaves are dark green and the stems are more or less tinged with purple.

To promote floral reblooming and extend the flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining different varieties. Decorative Dahlias go well with Gauras and Cleomes which will lighten their generous silhouette and bountiful flowering. The flowers of 'Babylon Lila Gevlamd' also allow for numerous combinations in floral arrangements. The beautiful stature of this variety makes it suitable for the back of perennial plant borders, of course, to structure an ensemble composed of flowering shrubs (Smokebush, Compact Winged Spindle, Loropetalum) and lower-growing perennials. The flowering of Echinaceas is perfect to accompany that of Dahlias, as they bloom simultaneously, as well as perennial salvias for example. Also consider grasses (Miscanthus, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes) that take on beautiful autumnal hues.

As the star of ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. They are impeccable in flower beds, but can also enhance vegetable gardens. In Mexico, this tuber was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste quickly assigned it the rank of an ornamental plant. Since then, interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.