The best varieties of annual and perennial dahlias: 40 photos with descriptions

Brief description of the culture

Both names of the culture are associated with the names of botanists - Dahl and Georg, who studied the plant. Moreover, the flowers are often called jorgini. Dahlias belong to the Astrovye family, have about 40 species and about 15 thousand varieties. The culture can be both annual and long-term.

The peculiarity of dahlia lies in the structure of its inflorescences, which are formed from several flowers growing in different directions. The flowers are called basket inflorescences. It is thanks to the complex structure that there are so many varieties of this plant, which are sometimes completely different in external characteristics. The root system of the plant is root-tuberous, that is, it is formed by thickened roots.

The culture is undemanding to care for. It is important to choose a sunny area in the garden, nutritious soil, and timely moisten and feed it. 

Dahlias are used not only for decorative purposes. The substances that the composition of the plant is rich in help to cleanse the body of toxins. Decoctions from the buds are useful for diseases of the cardiovascular system, and tinctures of the leaves will help prevent diabetes mellitus.

Flowers are also used in the cosmetic field. The buds, ground to a powder state, are combined with a chicken egg, honey and applied to the hair. Thanks to these procedures, the hair becomes strong, healthy and shiny. Leaves of culture can be applied to problem areas on the face, as well as cuts.

There are frequent disputes about what kind of this culture, because the names of dahlia and dahlia are common. The question is still open, so both options are considered correct.

Video "Storage, planting and care of dahlias"

In this video, you will learn how to properly plant dahlias and care for plants.

Dahlia classification

Due to the fact that the genus is constantly replenished with new varieties bred in the course of selection, there is an urgent need to create a classification of the plant. It is important to consider the fact that the classifications use the average size of healthy crops. In practice, these numbers may differ.

By inflorescence size

By the diameter of the flowers, dahlias are divided into:

• giants - from 25 cm;
• large - 20-25 cm;
• medium - 15–20 cm;
• small - 10-15 cm;
• miniature - up to 10 cm.

Height

The length of the stem determines the belonging of the plant to the following categories:

• tall - more than 1.2 m;
• medium-sized - 90-120 cm;
• undersized - 60–90 cm;
• dwarf - up to 60 cm.

International classification of dahlias

Different countries have their own culture classification, but there is also an international one, which divides plants according to the shape of the inflorescence. It was adopted in 1962 and is considered universal. So, this classification includes the following groups:

• simple;
• collar;
• anemone;
• nymph;
• cactus;
• semi-cactus;
• spherical;
• pompom;
• decorative;
• transitional.

Varieties and varieties of dahlia

It is difficult to list all the varieties of dahlias. However, you can familiarize yourself with the most common and popular among domestic gardeners.

Simple

The simple shape of the inflorescences is characterized by the arrangement of the petals in one row. In length, such plants reach 60 cm, and the diameter of the flowers varies in the region of 5-12 cm.

Anna Karina

The dahlia is characterized by its snow-white flowers. The stem height reaches 50–70 cm.

Alpen Sarah

This is a short dahlia, whose flowers have an unusual color - white with cherry-colored stripes.

Wellow Hammer

The variety is medium-sized, the flowers ripen up to 10 cm in diameter. The color of the inflorescences is bright yellow.

Murillo

Dahlia is similar to the previous one, has an average stem height and small flowers. The inflorescence shades range from pink to deep purple.

Anemone

These crops grow from 60 to 90 cm in height. The inflorescences form several rows of petals, and their appearance resembles anemones.

Asahi Chohi

The height of the dahlia stem reaches 1–1.2 m. The heart of the inflorescences consists of tubular petals of a milky shade, the reed petals are white with a red border.

Blue Bayou

Ripe flowers reach a diameter of 10-17 cm. The inflorescence is formed from ligulate lilac petals and a bright purple core.

Brio

Dahlia belongs to the group of low-growing plants. The bright red flowers have a diameter of 12-15 cm.

Honey

Dahlia reaches half a meter in height and forms unusually beautiful inflorescences. They have a crimson hue, which smoothly flows to the core into pale yellow. In addition, the petals are characterized by a fringed structure, which gives the plant a special charm.

Collar

In height, these plants reach 130 cm. Flowers have a diameter of 8-10 cm. A characteristic feature of this group of dahlias is the structure of flowers: they consist of several rows of short twisted petals, forming a kind of "collar".

Alpen Mary Lloyd

The stem height, as a rule, does not exceed 1 m. The inflorescences are colored in several shades of pink.

Impression Fantastico

The shrub belongs to undersized varieties. The inflorescence consists of several layers: the outer one has a red tint, the middle one is pink and white, and the core is yellow.

Knight Butterfly

The height of the stem reaches 70 cm, the flowers are rich burgundy with a white collar.

Flamenco

The undersized culture has small inflorescences, painted in red, yellow and white.

Nymphae

A characteristic feature of these dahlias are double flowers that ripen up to 15 cm in diameter.

The height of such plants, as a rule, does not exceed 1.3 m.

Angela

This variety is actively used in floristry. The tall stems have large milky-pink inflorescences.

Bahama Red

Shrubs grow up to 1.2 m, have small cherry-colored inflorescences.

Sedakshen

A tall culture characterized by an extraordinary color of flowers. The petals are painted lilac with a lilac border.

Sugar Kane

The baskets of this variety of dahlia are large. The outer row of petals has a slightly raised edge. Inflorescences are milky with pinkish tips.

Decorative

The height of such flowers reaches 1.5 m. The inflorescences are large - up to 27 cm in diameter.

A. Humpley

The stem reaches 1.3 m in height, topped with large baskets of inflorescences. The color is usually purple or pink.

Lucky Nambre

The culture is great for making bouquets. The inflorescences are large, painted in pale pink shades.

Prince Carnival

The variety is characterized by large flowers, painted white with bright red blotches.

Tartan

The variety is characterized by wavy petals and a very large inflorescence. Flowers are painted in cherry and purple shades. The core is white.

Spherical

This type of dahlia is characterized by large flowers with rounded petals.

Annushka

The variety was bred by Russian breeders. It has large purple flowers.

Aykun

The height of the stems usually does not exceed 1 m. The flowers are rather large, colored yellow with red tips.

Rocco

The baskets are large, have burgundy and dark cherry shades.

Silvia

The inflorescences are extraordinarily beautiful. They are colored pale orange and have rounded petals.

Pompom

This variety is characterized by spherical flowers with a rounded top. The height of such crops ranges from 70-130 cm.

Acrobat

The petals of this variety are rolled up and have a pink color.

Albino

The petals are symmetrically folded, painted in white and milky tones. The stem height does not exceed 1 m.

Anke

The flowers are spherical, deep red.

Buntling

The baskets are densely formed, the petals are tubular, painted in a coral color. Buntling reaches a height of 0.8–0.9 m.

Cactus

The height of such dahlias reaches 1.5 m. The flowers are large, the petals are wrapped inward. Because of this, the marginal flowers are needle-shaped.

One of the most popular varieties is Anna Maria, characterized by large purple-white flowers.

Black Bird

The diameter of the flowers, as a rule, is about 13-16 cm. The color is scarlet with a burgundy core.

Windhaven Highlight

Inflorescences are large, needle-like, yellow in color.

Jessica

The culture is tall. Baskets are rather large, with yellow petals and a red border.

White Star

The petals have a curved shape and delicate cream shades. Diameter is about 23 cm.

Semi-cactus

This species reaches a height of one and a half meters, has large inflorescences. The petals are curled outward and have pointed tips.

Ice Princess

The diameter of the inflorescence is about 15-18 cm. The color is snow-white.

Adlerstein

Tall variety. Flowers are orange, large.

Aitara Success

The culture does not exceed 1 m in height. The shade of the inflorescences varies from pale pink to yellowish.

Andrew Mitchell

The shrub is tall, the inflorescence ripens up to 20 cm in diameter. The shade of the flowers is bright red.

Mixed

This category includes those varieties whose characteristics do not correspond to the above species. Mixed dahlias have a wide variety of shapes and colors of inflorescences.

Bishop of Llanduff

The plant has small red flowers with a slight purple tint.

Pink giraffe

A very original plant, the flowers of which will decorate any bouquet. The shrub is medium-sized, with large inflorescences. The variety is characterized by curved petals and pink color with white stripes.

Lilliputians

Lilliputians are not noted in the international classification, since this group of plants appeared relatively recently.

White midget

A dwarf variety characterized by small white flowers with a bright yellow heart.

Funny boys

This variety includes dahlias of different colors, which is the reason for the name of the variety.The shrub grows up to 35 cm in height. Inflorescences can be either simple or double.

Ease of care, unpretentiousness and bright appearance of dahlias attract those summer residents who want to have a garden of original and unusual flowers on their site.