Franz Kafka Dahlia Tubers

Franz Kafka: Pom Pom Dahlia Tubers

Franz Kafka Dahlias are just the thing for those who find multicoloured dahlias a bit gaudy. Franz looks like perfect little lollipops with pretty, miniature bright violet/pink pompom flowers, lasting right through until the first frosts. The flowers are small for a dahlia, so these 5cm spheres are produced in profusion, and it's a really graceful plant in the border. Browse our other Pom Pom Dahlias or our full range of Dahlias here.

We would plant him somewhere you can admire the perfect symmetry of the flowers with their tightly cupped petals and intense colour - this is the perfect dahlia for a container, by a path or at the front of your border.

These small, vivid flowers look great in a vase, best in contemporary settings, arranged minimally: a stem or three in a slim crystal vase is all it takes.

Features

• Colour: Bright lilac-pink flowers
• Foliage: Mid-green leaves
• Flower Size: 5cm
• Type: Pompom Dahlia
• Cutting: Yes
• Height/Spread: 90cm x 40cm
• Flowering: July to November
• Outdoor Planting Months: March to July

Growing Franz Kafka Dahlias

All dahlias do best in deep rich soil with good drainage in a sunny spot. If it is windy they will need staking. They are greedy, thirsty plants so will need watering in dry spells, and they will always flower that little bit better if there is a bit of soluble food in the watering can once every couple of weeks.

It is generally more convenient to put support stakes in at planting time, rather than leaving it until there is foliage in the way.

Planting Companions for Franz Kafka

The spherical flower heads complement larger dahlias in a mixed bed or in pots, and they also go wonderfully well with other architectural late-summer border plants such as gladioli and phlox.

Did You Know?

The dahlia is named after the Prague-born, German-speaking author Franz Kafka (1883-1924), whose nightmarish books were promoted by the literature industry in the second half of the twentieth century, giving us the term Kafkaesque. And now, when people ask you what your favourite dahlias are, you can tell them that you like really Kafkaesque ones.

Pompom dahlias are one of the most popular exhibition classes, as the perfect shape of the flowers lends itself to competition, usually showing as a single flower, or groups of three or five. Why not reserve a spot at your local show and see if you can win a rosette with this fellow?

If you ignore seed, Dahlias can be planted at three stages: as tubers, rooted cuttings and pot-grown plants.

Tubers can be planted at any time from March onwards. The hole should be at least double the diameter of the tuber laid out on the ground. Incorporate about 25% well rotted compost and if drainage is in any way doubtful then add plenty of horticultural grit as well. Plant one tuber per hole, leaving 60-80 cms between plants (depending on final size) and make sure the tuber is covered with 10-12 cms (4-5") of soil. This is important as it will insulate the tuber against frosts in March-May as they will take a couple of months to show.

Rooted cuttings, which are available from early April onwards, will need to be potted up and kept in a sunny and frost free place until they are ready to be planted out in mid May. Their treatment then is the same as for tubers except they are planted level with rather than 10 cms below the surrounding soil level.

Pot grown plants are not delivered until June, and are then planted out immediately in the same way as an established rooted cutting.

The more you deadhead, the more flowers you'll get.