Dahlia 'Irish Speckles' (Pom) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Irish Speckles' (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 'Irish Speckles' (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 'Irish Speckles' is a pompon dahlia cultivar that sets tight, rounded blooms on a clump-forming, tuberous perennial. It flowers from July to October. Plant in a south-facing, sheltered position in loam that is neutral in pH and remains moist but well drained, with full sun exposure. Suitable for borders, containers and as a source of 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 'Irish Speckles' (family Asteraceae) is a pompon-type cultivar that forms clumps of tuberous stems topped by small, rounded blooms. Flowering runs from July to October, supplying a steady succession of pompon heads throughout the summer and into autumn. As a herbaceous perennial it dies back after the season and regrows from its tubers. Give Dahlia 'Irish Speckles' a sunny, south-facing site with some shelter from prevailing winds. It prefers loam of neutral pH that holds moisture without waterlogging; ensure soil is free-draining at planting to avoid tuber rot. The hardiness rating H4 (average) indicates it will survive typical UK winters in many areas when planted into a suitable, sheltered position; allow for extra protection or lifting where winters are unusually cold. Plant where its habit — well-branched and clump-forming — can be seen from paths or borders, or use in containers on a sunny patio. Its bloom time and form make it practical for cutting; stems set readily into a vase and extend the garden display indoors. Place where the pompon heads can be seen close-up and harvested through the July to October season for best effect.