Dahlia 'Noir Desir' (D) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Noir Desir' (D) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Noir Desir' (D) 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 'Noir Desir' is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae grown for summer–autumn flowering and use as bedding or cut flowers. It blooms from July to October and performs best in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered site. Plant into neutral loam that remains moist but drains freely; it carries an H4 (average) UK hardiness rating. Suitable for borders or containers where sustained summer and autumn blooms are required.

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 'Noir Desir' is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae, intended for bedding schemes, herbaceous borders and cutting. As a bedding and perennial cultivar it produces multiple stems from its tubers and provides a long season of interest when positioned correctly. For reliable growth choose a south-facing, sheltered site in full sun and plant into loam with a neutral pH. The soil should remain moist but well drained; avoid waterlogged positions. The plant is rated H4 (average) for UK hardiness, so it will do well across many gardens provided it is not left in exposed, windy places where shelter is lacking. Use Dahlia 'Noir Desir' in mixed borders to extend summer colour into autumn, or in containers where it can be positioned on a sunny, sheltered patio. It flowers from July to October, making it a useful source of stems for cut flowers through late summer and early autumn. Position and soil choice have a direct effect on flowering duration, so a sunny, south-facing spot in neutral loam will give the best run of blooms.