Dark Spirit
Dark Spirit
Dark Spirit is one of the darkest dahlias in the garden palette, with compact, rounded blooms in an extraordinarily saturated black-red to deep burgundy. In lower light the flowers can appear almost black, while closer inspection reveals rich crimson and wine tones tucked into the tightly arranged petals. Against lighter flowers, she has the effect of a shadow dropped directly into the border.
Her history is unusually well documented. H.G. Bal raised the original seedling in the Netherlands in 1999, and Lindhout Ornata named, introduced, and registered Dark Spirit in 2002. The international register specifically describes her as black-violet and a profuse-flowering cut flower.
🌱 2027 Grow-Out
Dark Spirit will arrive at Hedge & Alchemy in Spring 2027 and will be grown here for the first time that season. She will not be offered in our 2027 tuber sale.
📋 Cultivar Notes
- Hybridizer: H.G. Bal
- Introducer / Registrant: Lindhout Ornata
- Year of Introduction: 2002
- Origin: Netherlands
- Form: Ball (BA)
- ADS Classification Number: 6007 (Ball / Dark Red)
- Bloom Size: Approximately 3 to 4 inches
- Color: Extremely deep dark red, burgundy, and black-red
- Cut Flower Status: Excellent. Dark Spirit was registered as a prolific cut-flower variety, and her compact blooms bring dramatic contrast without overwhelming an arrangement.
- Show & Exhibition Flower Status: Yes. Dark Spirit continues to be exhibited in ADS competition as 6007.
🌱 Growing Notes
- Bloom: Compact, rounded flowers made from tightly layered, incurved petals in exceptionally dark burgundy-red. The color can appear almost black in certain light.
- Plant Height & Habit: Generally around 3 to 4 feet tall, with dark stems and a vigorous, floriferous habit. The RHS records a mature height around 90 cm.
- Growing Notes: Known for abundant flowering from midsummer until frost. Her relatively compact blooms should make her especially useful as a dark accent among blush, cream, copper, peach, and smoky mauve varieties.
- Tuber Yield: To be tracked during our 2027 grow-out.
This one feels particularly at home in the Dark & Moody collection. She’s not simply “a red dahlia.” She’s red with the lights turned almost completely off. 🖤🌹