Dahlia 'Tisa' (Pom) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Tisa' (Pom) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Tisa' (Pom) 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 'Tisa' is a pompon dahlia cultivar that carries a mass of small, rounded flowers. It grows as a clump-forming, tuberous herbaceous perennial with green, occasionally dark leaves. Flowering runs from July to October. It prefers full sun on neutral loam and suits south-facing, sheltered sites for best performance.

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 'Tisa' belongs to the genus Dahlia in the Asteraceae and is offered as a pompon form suited to garden bedding and containers. The plant is tuberous and clump-forming, producing multiple stems from each crown with foliage that is normally green but can be darker on some plants. Expect a steady display from July to October. Site and soil are important: place Dahlia 'Tisa' in full sun on a loam-based soil with a neutral pH that remains moist but drains freely. A south-facing, sheltered aspect reduces wind damage to the compact flower heads and helps ripen stems for cutting. The UK hardiness rating is H4, which translates to average winter hardiness across the country; consider situating tubers where winter wet and cold are less severe or provide winter protection if your garden is exposed. Use Dahlia 'Tisa' at the front or middle of mixed borders, in generously sized containers, or grown specifically for cut flowers. Short, neat stems and the pompon bloom form make it straightforward to harvest material for vases. Regular removal of spent blooms will help maintain flowering through the season.