Looks like a "bedding dahlia" ??????????????? see 15th pic http://www.jungleseeds.com/SeedShop/SemiHardy.htm Liz
So many Dahlias to chose from, post shows a single flowered one, with only 8 petals. So may possibly be D. coccinea. http://images.google.com/imgres?img...archBox&rlz=1I7SUNA_en-GB&sa=N&start=180&um=1 http://www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/2inicio/imagenes/dahlia-coccinea-cabezuela.jpg
This is the only shot I have that shows any leaves...but from this angle, I think Dahlia Coccinea is the best answer. Thanks one and all!
Second shot shows that purplish background is in fact the leaves of the same plant, making it likely to be an example of a type like this. http://images.google.com/images?cli...hlia&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
In Britain, certain Dahlias reach the smaller nurseries and growers, and become popular. A few years ago it was Dahlia Bishop of Llandaff, single flowers with rich red petals, deep purple coloured leaves. More recently it has been Dahlia Tally Ho, almost identical to D. Bishop of Llandaff, but the flowers leaning towards the orange rather than the red. Same deep coloured leaves.( Sorry about the quality of this pic, camera struggled with the colour) I expect the same thing is happening in America. http://images.google.com/images?q=d...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi http://www.jrg-dahlias.co.uk/Tally-Hoe.web.jpg
I assume the one strain is called 'Bishop's Children' in reference to it deriving from 'Bishop of Llandaff'. I think other purple-leaved, small-growing forms have also been on the local market in recent years.
Cardiff is the capital city for Wales. U.K. The cathedral there is at Llandaff. It is 10 miles away from me here. http://images.google.com/images?q=l...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi Yet I knew nothing about the name Dahlia Bishop of LLandaff. I assumed it was a recent introduction. Big error. It has been around since 1927. I found this link with info about it. I am sure you are right Ron in that the Bishop's Children all stem from this cultivar. http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2009/01/dahlia-bishop-of-llandaff.html
Another purple-leaved one is 'Japanese Bishop'. The flower shown in the above picture of 'Tally Ho' seems more like that cultivar in general appearance than 'Bishop of Llandaff'. I've seen 'Japanese Bishop' grown in my area for years, 'Bishop of Llandaff' I did not see until comparatively recently. I think there has also been some confusion between the two.