Dahlia 'Sunburst' (Col) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Sunburst' (Col) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Sunburst' (Col) 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 'Sunburst' is a clump-forming, tuberous herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae grown for summer and autumn blooms. It flowers from July to October, producing stems well suited to cutting. Foliage is generally green with occasional darker leaves. Sit plants in full sun on moist, neutral loam and shelter from severe exposure.

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 'Sunburst' belongs to the genus Dahlia within the Asteraceae and is grown as a bedding, herbaceous perennial with tuberous roots. Plants form rounded clumps and carry foliage that is usually green, sometimes showing darker leaves; flowering runs from July to October, providing a sustained display through summer into autumn. For best results place Dahlia 'Sunburst' in full sun on loam soil with a neutral pH; keep the soil moist but well drained and choose a south-facing, sheltered spot. The UK hardiness rating H4 corresponds to average hardiness, so choose a protected site in exposed gardens or provide winter shelter if the location is particularly windy or cold. Dahlia 'Sunburst' works well in mixed borders where a sequence of flowering is needed, in suitably sized containers on a sunny patio, and as a reliable source of cut flowers for vases. Its clump-forming habit makes it straightforward to group for impact, and the flowering period from July to October means stems can be cut progressively for arrangements over several months.