Dahlia Happy Days Red Flame ('Hdrf 155') (Sin)![RHS Plants for pollinators](/assets/styles/images/icons/RHS_Bee_YELLOW-REGISTERED.png)
![RHS Plants for pollinators](/assets/styles/images/icons/RHS_Bee_YELLOW-REGISTERED.png)
dahlia [Happy Days Red Flame]
A compact cultivar, up to a height of 50cm, with purple foliage. Set above this from summer to early autumn are single flowers. Petals are red, streaked with white, set around a dark eye that opens to yellow stamens
Size
Ultimate height
0.1–0.5 metresTime to ultimate height
1–2 yearsUltimate spread
0.1–0.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
Spring | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Summer | Red | Purple Green | ||
Autumn | Red | Purple Green | ||
Winter |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H3Botanical details
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native to the UK
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Genus
Dahlia are tuberous rooted perennials with pinnately divided leaves and showy flowerheads, double in many cultivars, in summer and autumn
- Name status
Trade
- Horticultural Group
- Single-flowered dahlias have flowerheads usually less than 10cm across, with one or two rows of spreading ray florets, surrounding a central boss of small tubular disc florets which are valuable for bees and butterflies
How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil, enriched with organic matter and general purpose fertiliser, in full sun. Pinch out growing tips to encourage bushy plants. Water freely in dry periods. Lift and store tubers in autumn to replant or use as a source of cuttings in spring. See dahlia cultivation
Propagation
Propagate by softwood cuttings taken in spring from shoots from stored tubers, or divide the tubers ensuring each division has a viable bud
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- City and courtyard gardens
- Cottage and informal garden
- Patio and container plants
- Wildlife gardens
- Cut flowers
- Flower borders and beds
- Bedding
Pruning
Deadhead to prolong flowering. Cut back to near ground level in the autumn, before lifting and storing for the winter or mulching in milder locations
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, capsid bug, earwigs, caterpillars and glasshouse red spider mite
Diseases
May be affected by a virus, tubers may rot in store
Get involved
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