Dahlia 'David Howard' Tubers

• Variety: David Howard
• Type: Decorative (miniature/small)
• Colour: Burnt orange fading to plum at the centre
• Foliage: Dark chocolate-bronze, as ornamental as the flowers
• Flower size: Up to 10cm (4in) across
• Height: 90cm
• Spread: 45 to 50cm
• Flowering: July to first frosts
• Cutting: Yes. Long wiry stems, excellent vase life
• RHS AGM: Yes
• Origin: Chance seedling from Bishop of Llandaff, raised by David Howard in Norfolk, c.1960
• Sold as: Single tubers, hand-graded, Dutch first-class quality
• Plant outdoors: March to July, when soil reaches 15°C (typically May in most of the UK)
• Delivered: From March. Collection from Castle Cary also available

David Howard: Sixty Years Old and Still One of the Best Dahlias

David Howard is the dahlia that gardeners reach for when they need something that works with everything. The flowers are a warm burnt orange with plum-flushed centres, but it's the foliage that sets this variety apart: deeply divided leaves in dark chocolate-bronze that would earn their place in a border even without a single bloom.

It's one of the few dahlias you see at local Horticultural Society Shows competing for best bloom, best dahlia, best foliage and best egg-cup arrangement. That's a versatile plant. It's also our favourite dahlia in the range, if we're allowed to say that.

Taking flowers and foliage together, the effect is both rich and restrained. Bright enough to catch the eye, dark enough to anchor a scheme. The flowers are small by dahlia standards, around 10cm across, fully double with neatly rounded petals. What you lose in scale you gain in sheer quantity: David Howard produces more blooms over a longer season than most decorative dahlias, and the compact habit means it rarely needs the heavy staking that dinnerplate varieties demand.

A single bamboo cane or light support ring is usually enough. It has won the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and rightly. This is one of those plants that simply performs year after year without fuss.

Where David Howard Came From

A chance seedling from Bishop of Llandaff was spotted by a teenager called, yes, David Howard in Norfolk in the late 1950s. A local nurseryman liked it enough to name it after him. Maybe inspired by his discovery, Howard went on to found Howard Nurseries, now one of the largest wholesale perennial growers in England, producing over two million plants a year. Meanwhile, the dahlia he raised as a schoolboy has outlasted thousands of newer introductions.

David Howard in the Border

The dark foliage and warm flowers make David Howard a natural partner for the Cafe au Lait dahlias. Plant it in front of Cafe au Lait Royal or the original Cafe au Lait for a scheme running from burnt orange through coffee and blush. The blood-red pompon Nescio (Latin for "I don't know," which is a name worth having on a plant label) gives dark contrast in a smaller, tighter form. Anemanthele lessoniana picks up the bronze tones perfectly. For a hot scheme, try it with the deep red spikes of Rip City behind.

Why buy from Ashridge?

Our dahlia tubers are Dutch first-class quality and imported and hand-graded by us. We discard undersized tubers so you get a clump with plenty of viable eyes (growth buds), ready to show you what they can do. Delivered by next-day courier from March, with our one-year plant guarantee and human support from the team in Somerset. Browse our full decorative dahlia range or the complete dahlia collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is David Howard a good dahlia for beginners?

One of the best. It's vigorous, reliable, produces masses of flowers with little fuss, and its compact size means staking is minimal. The dark foliage looks good even before the first bud opens, so the plant earns its border space from the moment it leafs out. The RHS Award of Garden Merit confirms it performs well across a wide range of UK conditions.

How does David Howard compare to Bishop of Llandaff?

David Howard is a seedling from Bishop of Llandaff and shares the dark foliage, but the flowers are completely different. The Bishop has single, open scarlet flowers with a visible central disc, better for pollinators, more informal. David Howard has fully double, rounded orange flowers, more structured, better for cutting. Both hold the RHS AGM. We knew a gardener who wore Bishop of Llandaff as a buttonhole all summer long. You couldn't do that with David Howard. Different flowers, different pleasures.

Will David Howard work in a pot?

Better than most dahlias. At 90cm with small 10cm flowers, it doesn't become top-heavy the way dinnerplate varieties do. Use a pot at least 30cm across and deep with rich compost, and feed fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser from June. Our dahlias in pots guide has the full detail.

I forgot to deadhead for a couple of weeks. Have I ruined the display?

Not at all. David Howard is forgiving. Cut all the spent heads back hard, give the plant a good water and a liquid feed, and it'll produce a new flush of buds within a fortnight. The flowering season runs from July to November, so even a mid-August lapse leaves months of recovery time.

How do I make David Howard cut flowers last longer?

Pick only fully open blooms. This matters more with dahlias than with most flowers because the buds stop developing once cut. Strip the lower leaves, stand stems in hot water for an hour, then arrange in a clean vase. Refresh the water every couple of days and keep the blooms away from direct sunlight. The small, dense flowers last well: expect five to seven days. The dark foliage makes an attractive filler if you include a few leafy stems in the arrangement. Planting, feeding and seasonal care are covered in our dahlia growing guide.