Dahlia 'Red Emperor' (D) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Red Emperor' (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 'Red Emperor' (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 'Red Emperor' is a tuberous, clump-forming bedding perennial that flowers from July to October. It carries green foliage, occasionally with darker leaves, and produces terminal blooms through late summer into autumn. Position in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered site in loam of neutral pH and keep the soil moist but well drained. Suited to borders, containers and cutting for fresh arrangements.

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 'Red Emperor' is a tuberous, herbaceous perennial grown as a bedding plant that flowers from July to October. It forms a compact clump of green foliage (sometimes darker on certain plants) with stems that bear late-summer to autumn blooms suitable for cutting. Give it full sun in loam with a neutral pH and a moist but well-drained balance; avoid waterlogged positions. A south-facing, sheltered aspect helps the plant establish and carry its flowering period without undue wind exposure. Its UK hardiness rating is H4 (average), so place where it benefits from some protection from the most exposed conditions. Dahlia 'Red Emperor' works well in mixed borders where late-season flowers are required, in large containers on sunny patios, and in beds planted for cutting. When using it for cut flowers, keep stems accessible and choose a sheltered site to reduce wind damage to open blooms. For a compact display that remains easy to harvest, situate the plants where their July to October flowering is clearly visible and reachable.