Dahlia 'Lady Nathalie' (Misc) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Lady Nathalie' (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 'Lady Nathalie' (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 'Lady Nathalie' (Misc) is a clump-forming, tuberous herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae grown for its long flowering season from July to October. It is used as bedding and in borders, containers and for cut flowers. Leaves are green and may occasionally take on darker tones.

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 'Lady Nathalie' (Misc) is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial raised as a bedding and border Dahlia; it produces blooms through July to October, making it a summer–autumn presence in the garden. As a member of the Asteraceae it sits with other composite-flowered ornamentals and is handled like other garden dahlias. Plant in a south-facing, sheltered spot in neutral loam that holds moisture yet drains freely. Place the clump where it will receive full sun and keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged; the site aspect and shelter will reduce wind stress on upright stems. It is H4 (average) in hardiness, so it will suit most UK gardens when given the recommended southerly, protected position. Use 'Lady Nathalie' in mixed borders or large containers where its long season of bloom can be seen, and cut stems for indoor arrangements through summer and into autumn. Foliage is generally green, sometimes with darker leaves, which provides a backdrop to the flowering display from July to October.