Dahlia Duke Duweno

The 'Duke Duweno' Dahlia is a difficult-to-find variety, with inflorescences that resemble beautiful, regular, and perfectly rounded pompoms. It produces a profusion of flowers from July to October, with a beautiful violet-purple colour enriched with magenta highlights, stunning next to pink or 'black' flowers, for example. Not exceeding a height of 80cm (32in), with a bushy habit, the plant produces excellent cut flowers. It will also be appreciated in sunny borders and the heart of flower beds. It is also suitable for container cultivation.

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have invaded gardens worldwide, much to our delight.

The 'Duke Duweno' variety is classified either among decorative Dahlias or ball Dahlias, which is a horticultural category defined by the shape of the flower. In this group, the heads are larger than those of pompom Dahlias, produced abundantly, and the tubular ligules form a more or less spherical or flattened inflorescence that has a regularly alveolate structure, like a beehive. The flowers of 'Duke Duweno' have a diameter of about 7-8cm (3in). Their colour is quite rare, blending different shades of purple, burgundy, violet, with magenta highlights in the sun. The flowering period is from July to October. The habit is particularly bushy. The highly branched stems are hollow, and the leaves are opposite, pinnately lobed, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 very toothed lobes. The leaves and stems are a bright green colour.

To promote continuous flowering, make sure to remove faded flowers, or better yet, regularly make large colorful bouquets by combining them with other varieties. 'Duke Duweno' pairs particularly well with very dark flowers or different shades of pink, English roses, and the mauve colours found in paniculate phlox. In flower beds, this Dahlia will create highly colourful spots in the company of Echinaceas and fox-tail Amaranthus, for example, which bloom at the same time, as well as daylilies and asters. This variety with its highly flowered stems allows for the decoration of bouquets until late in the season.

As a star plant in borders and herb gardens, Dahlias confidently accompany the most beautiful flowers but are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuber was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. However, its poor taste qualities relegated it to the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.