Bishop's Children Dahlia Seeds

One of the most stunning dahlias you will ever see—let alone grow—Bishop's Children Dahlia is a warm-toned mix of solid and bicolor blooms in shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple. The single and semidouble, peony-formed flowers include plenty of bicolors and two-toned blends, some gaily striped, others shading from one hue to the next like a tropical sunset, and still others a rich, deep solid color. But what makes this dahlia really extraordinary is its black foliage.

An informal, bushy plant, Bishop's Children Dahlia reaches 2½ to 3 feet tall and about a foot wide, with leaves so dark they appear black. The 3- to 4-inch blooms are held above the foliage, forming a colorful canopy atop the neat plant. Stunning in the garden and long-lasting in the vase, Bishop's Children Dahlia may become your favorite cut flower as well as a showstopper in the border and bed.

As its name suggests, Bishop's Children Dahlia is a descendant of that most famous of all dahlia, Bishop of Llandaff. Grown extensively in England (where it's one of the most popular plants of all time), Bishop of Llandaff is certainly magnificent, but we think that its "children" are even more impressive for modern gardens.

Easy to grow from seed, Bishop's Children Dahlia may be started indoors 4 to 6 weeks before last anticipated frost or sown directly into the garden where it will do best in a location with full sun and moist, fertile, well-drained soil. Although Bishop's Children Dahlia is a perennial, the tubers will need to be lifted in autumn, kept frost free in winter, and replanted in spring.