Dahlia 'Macalisters Pride' (Misc) (dahlia 'Macalisters Pride') — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Macalisters Pride' (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 'Macalisters Pride' (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 'Macalisters Pride' (Misc) is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial producing flowers from July to October. It forms a well-branched clump with green, occasionally darker, foliage. Plant it in a south-facing, sheltered position with loam of neutral pH, kept moist but well drained and in full sun. Use it in borders, containers or for cutting.

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 'Macalisters Pride' (Misc) is grown as a bedding and herbaceous perennial with tuberous roots and a clump-forming habit. Flowering runs from July to October, providing a steady late-summer to autumn display. Foliage is generally green and may be darker on some plants, giving a bit of foliage contrast where required. Place plants in full sun on loam with a neutral pH and ensure soil remains moist but well drained; a south-facing, sheltered aspect will help flowers set and reduce wind damage to stems. The plant has an H4 hardiness rating — average for the UK — so select a site that avoids the coldest, exposed corners of the garden and benefits from daytime warmth. Dahlia 'Macalisters Pride' suits mixed borders where its seasonal display fills the mid to back of beds, and it performs well in containers on patios or terraces where soil conditions can be managed. It is also appropriate for cutting; the prolonged July to October flowering period supplies stems across late summer and into autumn for arrangements and bouquets.