Plant Care Library

Description:

This elegant variety produces large blooms in a shade not often seen; creamy blooms with peachy-mocha overtones; wonderful along borders or in containers; not frost hardy

Ornamental Features

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia features showy peach pincushion flowers with creamy white overtones at the ends of the stems from mid summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia is an herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Cafe Au Lait Dahlia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.