Dahlia Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') (Dahlia) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') 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 Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial used for bedding and cut flowers. It flowers from July to October. Leaves are usually green, sometimes showing darker tones on individual plants. It prefers full sun on a south-facing, sheltered site in neutral loam kept moist but well drained.

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

A member of the Asteraceae, Dahlia Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') is a tuberous Dahlia derived from the Mexican/Central American lineage of the genus. It is grown primarily as a bedding plant and herbaceous perennial, forming rounded clumps of stems and foliage that carry summer and autumn blooms from July to October. Plant this cultivar in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered aspect where neutral loam is available; the soil should be kept moist but must drain freely. The plant is suited to neutral pH soils and will perform best where exposure is sheltered from prevailing winds. Its UK hardiness is H4 (average), which means it will tolerate typical UK conditions but may need winter protection or a frost-free position in the coldest gardens. Use Dahlia Hypnotica Icarus ('Dodahhypicar') in mixed borders, containers or as a source of cut flowers where season-long blooms are wanted. As a tuberous perennial it will respond to a sunny, protected site and careful siting on a south-facing aspect will extend flowering and make the best use of its stems for cutting and display. In colder locations consider winter protection for the tubers rather than leaving them exposed.