Dahlia Lady Darlene, produces huge spectacular butter-yellow flowers adorned with contrasting ruby red tips. The fully double flowers, up to 10″ wide (25cm), are borne atop stems from summer to frost and provide an amazing focal point in the garden or a vase. Shockingly gorgeous, this dahlia grows to heights of 36″ (90cm) and is an excellent choice to create a lovely garden display or for bouquets. Dinner plate Dahlia get their name from the size of the flowers which are literally the size of a dinner plate!
Ornamental Features – Lady Darlene Dahlia flowers from from mid summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated oval leaves remain green in colour throughout the season. Landscape Attributes Lady Darlene Dahlia is an herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition. This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard.
Lady Darlene Dahlia is recommended for the following landscape applications; Accent, Mass Planting, General Garden Use, Container Planting.
Planting & Growing – Lady Darlene Dahlia will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 2 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 3-4 feet apart. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. This plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Dahlia need to be lifted in late fall or they will die in our winter temperatures. Dig them up before the first frost and store them over winter before replanting them the next spring. Store them in boxes, covered with moistened sand in a cool, dark, frost free place where temperatures remain between 45-70°F (7-10°C). Lady Darlene Dahlia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a ‘thriller’ in the ‘spiller-thriller-filler’ container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
