Description

Dahlia Moms Special is bought for its one off, painterly look. The blooms are typically creamy white as a base, then heavily splashed, flecked or streaked with lilac through to purple tones. Patterning varies bloom to bloom, so customers get a changing display rather than a uniform block, which makes it a strong talking point variety for Irish garden centres and for gardeners who like something a bit different. Irish horticulturists would use Moms Special as a feature plant in a mixed border or a display bed where the unusual patterning can be appreciated, rather than burying it in busy planting. It is excellent in a large patio container near an entrance or seating area, because the colour detail is best viewed close up and containers allow steadier watering and feeding. For cutting gardens it is a standout, giving large statement stems that lift bouquets, and regular cutting or deadheading encourages repeat flowering into autumn. To keep the look clean and premium, pair it with simpler companions such as ornamental grasses, silver foliage, white cosmos, pale salvias or pink or purple perennials, letting the patterned blooms carry the scheme. Plant the tuber after frost risk has passed, in full sun and fertile, free draining soil improved with compost. Keep moisture steady through summer, stake if exposed as large blooms are heavy, feed from bud stage onwards and deadhead regularly to maintain continuous flowering. Lift and store tubers frost free after the first frosts for reliable replanting in Ireland.