Dahlia 'Tropical Sunset' (D) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Tropical Sunset' (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 'Tropical Sunset' (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 'Tropical Sunset' is a tuberous herbaceous perennial Dahlia grown for sustained summer-to-autumn flowering from July to October. It forms a well-branched, clump-forming mound with green foliage that can sometimes be darker on certain stems. Plant in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered site in loam that is neutral in pH and kept moist but well drained. It is used widely in borders, containers and as a 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 'Tropical Sunset' is a cultivar of the genus Dahlia in the Asteraceae family, grown as a bedding and herbaceous perennial. It produces a clump-forming, tuberous rootstock with well-branched stems and green foliage that may be darker on some plants, and flowers reliably from July to October. Place it in full sun on a south-facing, sheltered position and use a loam-based soil of neutral pH. The plant prefers soil that stays moist but drains freely; avoid heavy, waterlogged ground. The UK hardiness H4 equates to average winter hardiness — the cultivar will survive in most UK gardens but can be vulnerable in the coldest, exposed sites. Dahlia 'Tropical Sunset' works equally well in mixed borders and in containers, where it provides stems suitable for cutting. Regular removal of spent blooms will help maintain flowering through the July–October season, and a sheltered, sunny aspect brings the best flowering performance. For gardeners seeking dependable late-summer and autumn blooms, this Dahlia supplies a steady run of stems for arrangements and borders alike.