Dahlia 'Vivian Russell' (WL) — Bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial

Overview

Dahlia 'Vivian Russell' (WL) is a bushy, clump-forming, tuberous perennial bedding in the genus Dahlia, part of the Asteraceae family, with green, occasionally dark-leaved foliage. Dahlia 'Vivian Russell' (WL) 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 'Vivian Russell' is a tuberous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the Asteraceae that bears flowers from July to October. The plant forms a well-branched clump with green foliage that may be darker on some stems. It prefers full sun in a south-facing, sheltered spot on neutral loam that stays moist but drains freely. Use it in borders, containers or for 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 'Vivian Russell' is a named cultivar of Dahlia within the Asteraceae and behaves as a tuberous, herbaceous perennial. Expect a long flowering run from July to October, making it useful through summer into autumn. The foliage is generally green, occasionally showing darker tones on individual plants. Place Dahlia 'Vivian Russell' where it receives full sun and is protected from driving wind; a south-facing, sheltered aspect suits it best. It prefers neutral loam that retains moisture without becoming waterlogged, so improve heavy soil with organic matter to aid drainage. The rating H4 indicates average hardiness in UK conditions, so choose a sheltered site on exposed sites or consider additional winter protection if your garden is particularly exposed. It performs well as a middle- or back-of-border plant, in large containers where soil can be kept evenly moist, and as a source of cut flowers for bouquets. Because it flowers from July to October, it can fill the late-summer to autumn vase rota; select stems as blooms come into colour for the longest display. The cultivar's combination of a steady flowering window and its suitability for containers makes it straightforward to plan succession displays through to October.