Ankara

Ankara looks like somebody took peach sherbet, blush silk, and a little bit of sunshine and decided they all needed to become a dahlia.

Bred by Ernest Turc in France, Ankara is a beautiful waterlily dahlia with soft blush-pink and peachy-salmon petals surrounding a warm yellow glow at the center. The color can shift quite a bit depending on the bloom and the light—from almost creamy blush to warmer peach and salmon tones—and our own flowers showed exactly why this variety is so difficult to pin down to a single color.

The blooms are generally around 3–4 inches across, with broad, gently cupped petals arranged in that wonderfully open waterlily form. Plants typically reach around 4 feet tall and produce an abundance of blooms on useful stems. Ernest Turc describes it as producing numerous salmon-pink flowers with yellow centers, while multiple growers specifically list it as a good cut flower.

Ankara was introduced in 2009 and has developed a pretty serious following among cut-flower growers. Rather Rooted calls it both a Farm Favorite and a Florist Favorite, noting that they loved the multi-bloom stems enough that they chose not to disbud them—and compared the effect to cherry blossoms. Honestly, once you've seen a plant loaded with these soft pastel blooms, that comparison makes a lot of sense.

And that's probably what makes Ankara so useful. It isn't one of those dahlias that demands to be the loudest flower in the bouquet. It slips beautifully into creams, peaches, blushes, pinks, and deeper berry tones and somehow makes everything around it look better. Basically, Ankara is the dahlia equivalent of showing up well dressed without announcing that you showed up well dressed.

Moose's Take: Ankara is dangerously sophisticated. It looks calm, tasteful, and perfectly well behaved—which is exactly how a dahlia convinces you that buying another variety is a responsible adult decision. Don't fall for it. Or do. I'm not your financial advisor.

At a Glance
Form: Waterlily
Bloom Size: Approximately 3–4 inches
Color: Blush pink, peach and salmon with a warm yellow center
Plant Height: Approximately 4 feet
Breeder: Ernest Turc
Origin: France
Introduced: 2009
Best For: Cutting gardens, bouquets, pastel arrangements, florists, and anyone who thinks soft colors can still make a serious impression