Dahlia Mama Mia

Dahlia 'Mama Mia' is a decorative group dahlia, with small-sized flowers, white in colour, marbled with a pinkish mauve shade, more or less in the centre or on the tips of its oval and pointed petals. The centre is barely tinged with a green-yellow halo. Its sturdy, tall stems carry the flowers well above the foliage. For abundant and prolonged flowering, from July until the first frost.

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large Asteraceae family, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. Currently, 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 flowers. 'Mama Mia' is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias. In this group, the colourful ligules of the head are arranged regularly in a spiral, they can be bent towards the stem or curled for example. In this variety, the heads measure 12cm (5in) in diameter and the ligules are oval, quite wide, pointed and slightly curved inward. Flowering occurs from July to October-November. The plant reaches an average height of 1.20m (4ft), and 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in) in width, with a bushy and upright habit. The highly branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnatisect, meaning they divide into 3 or 5 leaflets, which form very denticulate lobes. The leaves are a medium green, like the stems, particularly sturdy.

If you take care to remove faded flowers, you will benefit from a prolonged flowering period. Even better, create beautiful dense bouquets with the generous dahlias by combining various varieties. Lighten the silhouette of decorative dahlias by combining them with more airy flowers such as Gauras, salvias or Echinaceas. Fine-leaved plants like grasses play the same role in addition to adding beautiful golden spikes. Plant 'Molly Raven' in the middle of a bed of bushes and lower perennials. Shrubs with purple foliage like Loropetalum provide a beautiful backdrop for this pink variety.

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