Dahlia Franz Kafka

Dahlia Franz Kafka is a pompon dahlia and one of the most reliable and characterful varieties you can grow from a tuber. The flowers are the main event. Almost perfectly spherical, densely packed with tightly cupped petals arranged in a neat honeycomb pattern, each bloom measures five to seven centimetres across. The colour is a warm, deep pink with a soft lilac undertone that shifts subtly depending on the light. Against the dark green foliage the effect is quietly striking. Not loud. Just very, very good.

There is a small botanical detail worth knowing about Franz Kafka. Strictly speaking the flowers sit at the boundary between a classic pompon dahlia and a miniature ball dahlia. Pompon flowers are typically no larger than five centimetres, and Franz Kafka occasionally exceeds that. In practice this works in its favour. The blooms have more presence and weight than a standard pompon while keeping all the neat roundness that makes this flower type so appealing. It is one of those varieties that looks as good in a vase as it does in the garden.

The variety was introduced in Holland in 1974 and has been a trusted favourite ever since. More than fifty years on the market and still consistently in demand says a great deal. Plants grow to around 80 to 90 centimetres, upright and well-branched, and begin flowering in early summer, continuing right through to the first frosts of autumn. The flowering season is genuinely long and the plant produces blooms in generous numbers. Cut regularly and it will keep going without pause.

As a cut flower Franz Kafka is outstanding. The small round heads last well in water, hold their shape and sit beautifully alongside larger dahlia varieties, garden roses or late summer perennials. A single stem already looks finished. A handful of stems together is effortlessly elegant. For anyone who cuts flowers for the house this is one of the most useful dahlias you can grow.

In the border Franz Kafka works best planted in groups of three or more. Individually the compact blooms can get a little lost among larger neighbours. In a group the effect is completely different, a dense cluster of perfectly round pink spheres that draws the eye without overwhelming the planting. It combines naturally with salvias, verbenas, ornamental grasses and other dahlias in complementary tones.

Tubers ship from mid-March, right in time for spring planting. We ship our dahlia tubers everywhere in Europe!