Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' (Pom) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' (Pom) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' (Pom) grows best in full sun, and tolerates loam soils and neutral pH. Its UK hardiness is rated H4. Suggested uses include borders, containers and cut flowers.

About

Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' is a tuberous, clump-forming pompon dahlia grown as bedding and a herbaceous perennial. It carries green foliage that can sometimes be darker-leaved and produces compact blooms from July to October. Plant it in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered spot with loam-based, neutral soil that is moist but well-drained; it suits borders, containers and cut flowers.

About the genus

Dahlias come from the high meadows of Mexico, and somewhere in that heritage is the explanation for how they behave here: tender to frost, hungry, generous beyond all reason. No other plant gives you quite so much for so little. One tuber, planted after the last frost, becomes a shrub's worth of flowers by August — and the more you cut, the more they come.The range is faintly ridiculous. Tight pompoms, spiky cactus types, singles the bees adore, dinner-plates the size of your face. Whatever your garden's mood, there is a dahlia that agrees with it, which is probably why every generation falls out of love with them and then, a decade later, falls straight back in.They're at their best when much of the garden is winding down — late summer into autumn, flowering hard until the first frost calls time. I think of them as the encore. And they always play it.

Written by Henry

In the garden

Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' is a cultivar in the Asteraceae grown as a tuberous, herbaceous perennial and used primarily as bedding. Its pompon flower form produces compact heads that open from July to October, supplying summer into early autumn blooms suitable for cutting. Place plants in full sun on a south-facing site with shelter from strong winds; the variety performs best in loam-based, neutral soil that remains moist yet drains freely. The listed hardiness is H4 (average), so plants will be reliable through typical UK winters in many areas, though colder, exposed locations will need winter protection or situating where the soil is naturally warmer. Dahlia 'Hapet Compo' fits well in mixed borders where a compact flowering habit is useful, in pots on a sunny patio or as a source of cut flowers. Its compact pompon heads are particularly suited to small vases and economical bunching, making it straightforward to use in summer and early autumn displays.