Pooh & Plants Dahlia Tubers
Pooh is a fun Collarette dahlia, with bright, uncomplicated and heart lifting red and yellow colours. Like its namesake, this dahlia will cheer you up with its uncompromising performance, flowering prolifically from July right through to the first frosts in November.
Browse our other Decorative Dahlias or our full range of Dahlias here.
The blooms are about 10cm across, in a collarette shape, so there's a rich-golden central button, surrounded by small, bright, sunshine-yellow tubular petals, which hum boldly against a single circle of larger orange-red petals that are dipped in a honey colour at the edges. The overall effect is open, colourful and upbeat.
The foliage and stems are a rich green. It's a medium-sized beauty, growing to 75-90cm tall.
Features
- Colour: Red with yellow centres
- Flower size: 5-10cm
- Type: Collarette dahlia
- Cutting: Yes
- Height/spread: 90cm x 45cm
- Flowering: July to November
- Outdoor Planting Months: March to July
Growing Pooh Dahlias
All dahlias do best in deep rich soil with good drainage in a sunny spot. If it's windy they'll need staking. They're greedy, thirsty plants so will need watering in dry spells, and they'll always flower that little bit better if there is a bit of soluble food in the watering can once every couple of weeks.
It's generally more convenient to put support stakes in at planting time, rather than leaving it until there is foliage in the way.
Garden Design Ideas
Towards the middle or back of a border, he will provide a colourful foil to other late-summer perennials and or grasses. The upward-pointing faces of a yellow helenium look lovely together, as does a floaty haze of Foeniculum vulgare.
Try combining him with other dahlias in hot colours, such as the deep red pompom Nescio, or crimson varieties, planted in bold drifts.
In a pot, he is hard to beat when planted with soft grasses such as Pennisetum vilosum or Stipa tenuissima: the tactile flower heads make an ideal counterpoint to Pooh's charms.
History & Trivia
An American variety from 1998, by the prolific Gitts family who run Swan Island Dahlias. You may see it listed as Pooh Swan Island to distinguish it from another Pooh that dates back to 1951, which seems not to be available commercially, as far as we can see.
Pooh Bear's colour scheme also matches SuperTed's uniform, and Paddington Bear when he gets home and takes off his jacket, but still has his hat on.