Dahlia Mats

The 'Mats' Decorative Dahlia is a novelty that doesn't leave anyone indifferent: its medium-sized flowers display a unique colour that combines salmon orange with cream and red in a very unusual way. Its petals are randomly streaked with red and consistently edged with white on an orange background that turns pale yellow. All different, they transform the plant into a surprising multicoloured bouquet. Undoubtedly one of the most original dahlias we have seen in recent years!

Dahlias are tuberous plants from the large family of Asteraceae, originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. At present, the approximately 75,000 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. 'Mats', introduced to the market in 2021, is classified in the category of Decorative Dahlias. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are regularly arranged in a spiral, they can be curved towards the stem or curled, for example. In this variety, the heads reach a diameter of 14cm (6in) and their petals or ligules are wide, ovate, almost flattened. The flowering season is from July-August to October. The plant will reach approximately 1m (3ft) in height and 60cm (24in) in width, with a bushy and upright habit. The very branched stems are hollow and the leaves are opposite, pinnately compound, meaning they are divided into 3 or 5 leaflets, which have very denticulate lobes. The leaves are a fairly dark green, and the stems are more or less tinged with brown.

To promote repeat flowering and extend the flowering period, be sure to remove faded flowers. Even better, regularly create attractive colourful bouquets by combining different varieties. The average stature of this 'Mats' variety makes it suitable for ornamental planting in large perennial plant beds or low bushes. The flowering of Echinaceas is perfect when accompanied by that of Dahlias, as well as shrubby salvias and asters, for example. Also consider grasses (Miscanthus saccharifolius, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes) which take on beautiful colours in autumn.

As the star plant in ornamental gardens, Dahlias are undoubtedly beautiful flowers. They are perfect 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 qualities quickly assigned it the status of an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.