A unique hybrid, bred by Christophe Kneblewski, a gardener for the City of Paris, the ‘Parc Floral de Paris’ dahlia was born. A cross between Antibes dahlia and the Gabriel Nigond dahlia, the double-headed, vermillion dahlia was selected by the city as the official Olympic bloom. A reported 50,000 of them have been planted throughout the city’s green spaces.
Born in the Parc Floral, the botanic gardens in the Bois de Vincennes, Kneblewski and horticultural team propagated the young dahlia’s in vitro culture (to avoid disease), after which they were raised in the greenhouses and nurseries of the City of Paris’ horticultural production centre, located in Rungis.
Planting started in April, by the city’s gardening teams and the dahlia adorns more than 150 green spaces across Paris, such as in the Champs-Élysées gardens (8th), Trocadéro (16th) and most of the Olympic venues. The dahlia season has yet to take off, but this particular variety was specially developed for early flowering in time for the Paris 2024 games.
Gardener and author, Sarah Raven said: “I am thrilled that dahlias, one of my all time favourite plants, are having a well-deserved moment in the limelight in Paris. Dahlia ‘Parc Floral de Paris’ has been specifically bred to be early flowering and the city’s parks and gardens are looking more glamourous than ever.”
The Parc Floral de Paris will be propagated and planted every year as a legacy to the Paris 2024 games.
Dahlia ‘Parc Floral de Paris’ has been created to be a one-of-a-kind variety, exclusive and unique to the city for this year’s Olympics. For businesses and/or gardeners keen to bring that Parisian look to the UK for the summer, Raven recommends four lookalike varieties;
- Dahlia ‘Copper Boy’, a neat, beautiful, rich and saturated dahlia that emulates the Paris look brilliantly thanks to its ebony stems and dark leaves.
- Dahlia ‘Soulman’, a crimson-black with an extra ruffle of petals at its heart. Reflecting the hardiness of the Paris dahlias, Soulman will look good even into December
- Dahlia ‘After Dusk’, a waterlily variety in the richest crimson, one of Raven’s most treasured dark dahlias.
- Dahlia ‘Wittemans Superba’, a truly red dahlia that radiates colour