Dwarf Foliage Dahlia 'Hot Chocolate'

Dahlia Dreamy ‘Hot Chocolate’ is deliciously wonderful with red velveteen petals and a midnight blush over ebony blushed foliage. The leaves are fine and deeply divided appearing black in certain light. With all new breeding, these already amazing plants just got better!

These midsized Dahlias work their magic from mid summer with a lavish showing of 5cm, semi to fully double flowers over burgundy blushed foliage. Small but mighty and with a gift for the dramatic. The purple blushed foliage sets off the vivid flower colours exquisitely.

Pollinators love the flowers, though there are more than enough to share, and even plenty to bring indoors for a vase. Try them en masse, as border fillers, as colourful garden accents or in containers. You can relax, there is no staking needed for these beauties.

They have been planted earlier, in a hot house, so will flower earlier, the following seasons blooms will be a little later, summer to autumn. The tubers will appear small, but so are the plants, they won’t be as big as regular garden Dahlias. They are frost sensitive so should be treated with care where appropriate.

In cold climates, hold off on planting them outdoors until after the threat of frost has passed. Plant Dahlias into moist, humus rich, well drained soil in a sunny spot, they need at least six hours of sun to flower well – morning sun is ideal as the hot afternoon sun can scorch the leaves. If you have the time, we recommend digging a well rotted cow/sheep manure though the soil prior to planting. They are already up and growing, so water well, ensuring they have adequate drainage. They tend to grow larger in the garden than they will in pots, where their growth can be restricted.

Our Tip: you can add a slow release tomato fertiliser in early summer and some Sulphate of Potash to keep them happy and healthy.

Supplied as: Pots
Size: 10 cm