Dahlia 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) 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 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae, grown for flowers that appear from July to October. Plants form well-branched clumps with green, occasionally darker, foliage. It performs best in full sun on a moist but well-drained neutral loam and is suited to 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 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) belongs to the Asteraceae and is cultivated for its midsummer to autumn flowering run, reliably producing blooms from July to October. The plant grows from tubers into a clump-forming habit with multiple shoots and foliage that is usually green but can sometimes take on darker tones. Place the dahlia in a south-facing, sheltered spot where it will receive full sun and protection from persistent strong winds. It prefers a loam soil at around neutral pH that remains moist yet drains freely; water during dry spells but avoid waterlogging. The cultivar is rated H4, which means average UK winter hardiness, so choose a location that benefits from the warmth and shelter of a sheltered aspect. Use Dahlia 'Jowey Marilyn' (Misc) where its season of interest matters: positioned in mixed borders, planted in large containers on a sunny patio, or grown specifically for cutting. Its flowering period makes it useful for late-summer arrangements, supplying blooms consistently from July through October for vase work or seasonal displays.