Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'

The cultivar Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' is a branching, tuberous tender perennial with dark purple, almost black, foliage. This produces a stunning contrast with its scarlet flowers. The plant was first bred by Fred Treseder, a Cardiff nurseryman. It was selected by and named to honour Joshua Pritchard Hughes, Bishop of Llandaff, in 1924 and won the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1928. The plant is about 1m tall at maturity and flowers from January until March. As with all dahlias, frost blackens its foliage, and in areas prone to frost its tubers need to be overwintered in a dry, frost-free place. The variety became very popular in the 1990s.

Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' is a cross between D. coccinea × D. pinnata.