Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants

BeddingHerbaceous Perennial

Dahlia 'Weston Buccaneer' (C)

dahlia 'Weston Buccaneer'

Grows to around 1.2m tall and has green foliage. Flowers to 10cm across are dark red to purple and borne from summer into autumn

Save to My plants

Ultimate height

1–1.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

1–2 years

Ultimate spread

0.5–1 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Asteraceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright
Genus: Dahlia are tuberous rooted perennials with pinnately divided leaves and showy flowerheads, double in many cultivars, in summer and autumn
Name status: Accepted
Horticultural Group: Cactus dahlias have fully double blooms, the florets are usually pointed, narrow and revolute for 65% or more of their length and either straight or incurving

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 and stake (see staking perennials). 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 basal softwood cuttings taken in spring from shoots from stored tubers, or divide the tubers, ensuring that each division has a viable bud

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Patio and container plants
Flower borders and beds
Cut flowers

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, slugs, glasshouse red spider mite, and onion thrips

Diseases

May be affected by a virus, tubers may rot in store

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.