Dahlia 'Smiling Don' (D) (dahlia 'Smiling Don') — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Smiling Don' (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 'Smiling Don' (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 'Smiling Don' is a clump-forming, tuberous perennial in the Asteraceae that produces flowering stems from July to October. The plant has well-branched growth with green foliage that can be darker on some shoots. It favours a south-facing, sheltered spot in loam-rich, neutral soil kept moist but well drained. Use in borders, containers or as a dependable source of 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 'Smiling Don' is a tuberous, herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae cultivated for its summer and autumn flowering run. It forms a well-branched clump and carries green, occasionally darker, leaves; flowering extends from July to October, providing a long season of stems for displays and cutting. Plant in full sun on a south-facing site with some shelter from strong winds. A loam soil with a neutral pH and a moisture level that remains moist but well drained suits it best; avoid waterlogged positions. The UK hardiness rating is H4 (average), so position it where frost exposure is reduced and choose a sheltered aspect if your garden is exposed. Dahlia 'Smiling Don' works equally well at the back of mixed borders, in generous containers, or planted in a dedicated cutting patch. Stems held from mid-summer to autumn supply regular blooms for vases. Where foliage tends to darken, that contrast helps emphasise the flower stems in mixed plantings and container compositions.