Dahlia Strawberry Cream

Dahlia 'Strawberry Cream' is a decorative variety bearing small cream-white flowers with a strawberry-red heart. They bloom in abundance for three months on a medium-sized bushy plant. It will look wonderful in borders and bouquets with roses in harmonious colours, arums, or white dahlias, for example. 

Dahlias belong to the Asteraceae family and are originally from the high plateaus of Mexico. There are currently thousands of horticultural varieties that have conquered gardens worldwide. They are tender perennials with fleshy tubers.

Dahlias are classified according to the shape of their flowers. 'Strawberry Cream' is classified as a decorative dahlia with small flowers. In this group, the coloured ligules of the head are arranged regularly in a spiral, and they can be curved towards the stem or fringed, for example. In this variety, the heads are 9cm (4in) in diameter. Their petals or ligules are wide and ovate. The cream-coloured blooms are streaked with strawberry red, and washed with the same red near the centre. The flowering period is from July-August to October. The plant will reach approximately 90cm (35in) in height, and 60cm (24in) in width, with a bushy and erect habit. The highly branched stems are hollow. The leaves are opposite and pinnately compound, meaning they divide into 3 or 5 toothed leaflets. The leaves are a fairly dark green.

Remove faded flowers to encourage new blooms. You can use cut flowers to make colourful bouquets, combining them with other varieties.

'Strawberry Cream' is suitable for ornamental planting among tall perennial plants or low shrubs. Echinaceas are perfect companions, as they bloom simultaneously. Shrubby salvias and asters also work well. Consider planting this dahlia with grasses (Miscanthus saccharifolius, Stipa arundinacea, Eragrostis trichodes), which display lovely autumnal hues.

Dahlias are stars of borders and ornamental gardens, confidently accompanying the most beautiful flowers. However, they are also appreciated alongside vegetable plants. In Mexico, this tuberous plant was first cultivated as a root vegetable for consumption. Its poor taste qualities quickly saw it categorised as an ornamental plant. Since then, the interest in their beautiful exuberance has never waned.