Plant Library

Group/Class:  Dahlietta Series

Brand:  Ball

Description:

A small, charming variety that will produce masses of white and yellow double blooms from early summer until mid-fall; wonderful for smaller garden areas, along borders or in containers; easy to grow; remove spent flowers to encourage blooms

Ornamental Features

Dahlietta® Shirley Dahlia features showy white daisy flowers with yellow overtones and gold eyes at the ends of the stems from early summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its serrated pointy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Dahlietta® Shirley Dahlia is an herbaceous annual 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, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Dahlietta® Shirley Dahlia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Dahlietta® Shirley Dahlia will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 14 inches. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. Although it's not a true annual, 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. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

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. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider covering it with a thick layer of mulch in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Dahlietta® Shirley Dahlia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.