Dahlia 'Café au Lait'
Dahlia 'Café au Lait' · Asteraceae
Enormous, loosely ruffled flowers, as wide as a dinner plate, in milky coffee, blush and peach, a little different on every stem.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late July to mid October
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around dahlia 'Café au Lait'
The planner designed this bed around dahlia 'Café au Lait' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 8, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 872 that suit those conditions, and says below why dahlia 'Café au Lait' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Yellow ice plant × 8, yellow
- 2 October daphne × 3, pink
- 3 Little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' × 4, tan
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 3, blue
- 5 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Purple coneflower × 3, purple
- 7 Dahlia 'Café au Lait' × 1, cream
- 8 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only cream. Cream sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Forward of its place. At 4 ft it belongs at the back of the bed: this far forward it stands in the way of what is behind it.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
Why now
- In flower for 13 weeks. From late July to mid October.
- Part of the bed's peak. With little bluestem 'Standing Ovation' and purple coneflower in early August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The front edge is finished with yellow ice plant and October daphne. There is more yellow ice plant than anything else, 8 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where dahlia 'Café au Lait' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The most sought-after dahlia for weddings. The huge heads need stout stakes. Cut them when three-quarters open and the plant keeps producing until frost.
- Cutting
- A soft-coloured focal point
- Late-summer borders
What to plant with dahlia 'Café au Lait'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Tall verbena: in flower together for 13 weeks, from late July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves.
- Sneezeweed: in flower together for eight weeks, from early August; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; happy in the same moist soil.
- Garden phlox: in flower together for seven weeks, from late July; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about dahlia 'Café au Lait'
Does dahlia 'Café au Lait' need sun or shade?
Dahlia 'Café au Lait' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does dahlia 'Café au Lait' grow in?
USDA zones 8 to 10. It is hardy to zone 8, which means it survives winter nights down to about 20 °F (−7 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does dahlia 'Café au Lait' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late July to mid October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 8 | Mid July to mid October |
|---|---|
| Zone 9 | Mid July to mid October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should dahlia 'Café au Lait' be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many dahlia 'Café au Lait' plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is dahlia 'Café au Lait' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Can cause mild stomach upset in pets if eaten. Handling the plant can irritate skin.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like dahlia 'Café au Lait'?
These come closest to doing what dahlia 'Café au Lait' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Garden phlox 'David': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid July to early September, white, not cream.
- Brown-eyed Susan: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; yellow, not cream, wants average soil.
- False sunflower 'Summer Nights': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to early September, yellow, not cream.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What can I plant to hide dahlia 'Café au Lait''s leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Blue false indigo: 4 ft tall and 4 ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
- Itoh peony 'Bartzella': 3 ft tall and 3½ ft wide, in flower late May to mid June.
- Armenian cranesbill: 3½ ft tall and 3½ ft wide, in flower mid June to late July.
What does dahlia 'Café au Lait' look like in winter?
Dahlia 'Café au Lait' is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Dahlia
- Dahlia Dahlia pinnata
- Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late July to mid October; daisies; cream, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Asteraceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.