Dahlia ‘Katie’s Velvet’ is a gorgeous collarette Dahlia, with deep chocolate-red coloured petals and a lovely matching collar.  Plants produce these sumptuous and very glamorous looking flowers, which in the sunlight really do look like they’re constructed from a rich burgundy velvet.  This really is a special Dahlia!

I love Dahlia ‘Katie’s Velvet’ for its magnificent flowers, but I also greatly value this plant for producing pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and other insects.  Not all Dahlias have accessible flowers.  If you’re keen on growing plants for bees – look for open centred, simple, daisy like flowers.

In springtime, plant Dahlia ‘Katie’s Velvet’ in a bright and sunny spot.  This Dahlia will flourish on an open site, where the plants can bask in the warmth of the sunshine.  Plant Dahlia ‘Katie’s Velvet’ tubers in moist, but well drained soil.  If your soil tends to be heavy and claggy, or prone to water logging – plant your Dahlias on a slope or in a raised bed, as this will lift your plants up above the excess moisture.

It’s best to lift your Dahlias before the really cold winter weather arrives – if your soil tends to be wet or very heavy.  After the frost has blackened your Dahlia’s foliage, take a fork and carefully lift your Dahlias, taking care to keep your tubers attached to the plant’s main stem.  Cut back the foliage and place your tubers in a shallow tray.  Pop the tray of tubers inside a glasshouse or a shed, where your tubers can dry out.  Keep your tubers somewhere dry and frost free over the winter months.

Dahlia ‘Katie’s Velvet’ grows to around 1m (3.2ft) tall.