Dahlia ‘Bishop of Oxford’

Dahlia ‘Bishop of Oxford’ is a beautiful addition in the garden thanks to the stunning contrast of its brilliant, coppery orange flowers atop its eggplant-colored foliage. The single flowers, up to 4 in. wide (10 cm) blend in nicely with other plants and add welcomed color and form to the late summer and fall borders. They are not top-heavy because they contain little water. They stand up nice and straight even when it rains.

• Blooming massively from July until Frost, this dahlia grows up to 36 inches (90 cm) and is an excellent choice to create a lovely garden display or for showing.
• A great pick for borders or as cut flowers thanks to its superb vase life. Did you know that the more you cut Dahlia flowers, the more flowers you get? This makes Dahlias twice as nice: pretty in a vase, pretty in the garden. A great big flower in a vase or floating in a shallow bowl makes the perfect eye-catcher.
• Best flowering occurs in full sun, but light shade will be welcomed in hot summer areas.
• Provide consistent moisture during the growing season and do not allow soils dry out. Plant in a sheltered location to protect your dahlias from strong winds.
• Best in groups of 5 for best visual effect. Deadhead spent flowers to promote growth of additional flower buds.
• Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses.
• If you live in a cool area (hardiness zones 3-7) and you want to save your dahlia bulbs, or more precisely, your dahlia tubers for next spring, you may dig them up before the first frost and store them over winter before replanting them next spring. Store them in boxes, covered with moistened sand in a cool, dark, frost-free place where temperature remains between 45-50 °F (7-10°C).
• This Dahlia is a member of the Peony-Flowered Dahlias which feature open centered flowers with two or more rows of petals surrounding a disc. For many years the most popular Peony-flowered Dahlia was the cultivar Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, an heirloom variety that dates back to 1927. It has given rise to several equally gorgeous varieties like ‘‘Bishop of Oxford’ (light orange), ‘Bishop of Canterbury’ (purple), ‘Bishop of Auckland‘ (deep red) or ‘Bishop of York’ (yellow). These dark-leaved Dahlias make real eye-catchers!

Dahlias come originally from Central and South America, particularly Mexico where they are the national flower. In their homeland, their natural habitats are cool moist mountain slopes. Their flowers were prized for their beauty early on, and the Aztecs used the tubers as a food crop as well as for medicinal purposes. Botanists who boarded the ships of the Spanish conquistadores discovered the imposing flower in the 17th century. Europeans first tested them as a food crop but soon admired them for their beautiful flowers. The plant was named in honor of A. Dahl, a Swedish botanist. This scientific name became so established that a common name for dahlias never took hold.
During the nineteenth century, the dahlia began stealing the hearts of people all over the world; today there are 20,000 different varieties. And every one is a descendent of one of the original species such as Dahlia rosea.