Dahlia 'Snow Cap' (S-c) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Snow Cap' (S-c) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Snow Cap' (S-c) 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. It is native to Western South America, Mexico and Central America.

About

Dahlia 'Snow Cap' (S-c) is a clump-forming, tuberous Dahlia that flowers from July to October. It forms multiple stems with green, occasionally darker leaves and performs best in a south-facing, sheltered spot in full sun. Plant into neutral loam that remains moist but drains freely. Suitable uses include borders, containers and 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 'Snow Cap' (S-c) is a tuberous, clump-forming perennial in the Asteraceae family, with origins in western South America, Mexico and Central America. In cultivation it extends the summer display into autumn, reliably producing blooms between July and October. For best results site the plant in full sun on a south-facing aspect with some shelter from prevailing winds; exposure should be sheltered rather than exposed. Use a loam-based soil of neutral pH that retains moisture yet drains well, and avoid waterlogged situations. Its UK hardiness is H4, which equates to average cold tolerance, so choose a protected position in cooler districts. Dahlia 'Snow Cap' (S-c) works well in mixed borders where the multi-stemmed clump can fill space, in suitably sized containers, or grown specifically for cutting to bring summer–autumn flowers indoors. Positioning in a south-facing, sheltered border or pot filled with neutral loam gives the best flowering run from July to October.