The Margaret Denby Dahlia

Last July I wrote with some excitement about a new type of Dahlia which we had bred in our potting shed and which seemed to be a cross between a tree Dahlia and a hybrid. By July it had grown to five feet tall and had one flower and 13 buds. It went on to reach a height of seven feet and produced flowers profusely throughout the summer. This year it has an astonishing 22 flowers and 35 buds. The flowers also have a distinct and rather beautiful scent.

I haven’t come across such a floriferous Dahlia before. Walking around the garden this evening there are dozens of Dahlias in flower, but the greatest number of flowers on any one plant (apart from the tiny patio varieties) is five. This spring we took several cuttings from the mother plant and it will be interesting to see how they turn out. I think we have a winner here and we have made the definite decision to name it Margaret Denby.