Dahlia Evening Breeze

The Decorative Dahlia 'Evening Breeze' is a very recent variety, registered in 2013, that will appeal to lovers of dark foliage. The plant forms a bush of stems and leaves with an intermediate colour between reddish-brown and bronze-green, and produces beautiful double inflorescences in a rose-magenta colour, a soft and shiny shade, sometimes touched with white. The tightly packed head has a light violet centre. Its dark foliage enhances all the plants that accompany it in flower beds, from summer to autumn. Its flowers are perfect for creating generous bouquets.

Dahlias are tuberous plants belonging to the large family of asters, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, the approximately 25,000 horticultural varieties obtained by humans have arrived in gardens all over the world, to our great pleasure. Dahlias are classified based on the shape of their flowers. 'Evening Breeze' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are arranged regularly in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or fringed for example. In this variety, the heads are about 10 cm (4in) in diameter and their ligules are mostly wide and incurved, sometimes laciniate. Their colour is a purplish rose-magenta, randomly touched with small white spots and stripes along the edges. Flowering occurs from July to September-October. The plant will reach a height of 90 cm (35in) and a width of 45 cm (18in), with a bushy and erect habit. The very branched stems are hollow and the leaves are divided into 3 or 5 denticulate leaflets. The leaves and stems are reddish-brown.

To promote reblooming and extend the flowering period, make sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining various varieties. The tall stature of this variety makes it suitable for the back of perennial flower beds, of course, to structure a composition of flowering shrubs and shorter perennials. The flowering of Echinaceas is perfect when accompanied by Dahlias, they bloom simultaneously, as well as perennial salvias or asters for example. Also consider grasses (Miscanthus saccharifolius, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes) which take on beautiful colours in autumn.

A star plant in ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly very beautiful flowers, they are perfect in flower beds but can also enhance the vegetable garden. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was initially cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly assigned it the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.