Forget Poinsettias, it's Dahlias in December!

Exotic dahlias are blooming days before Christmas on Britain's Jurassic Coast due to the unseasonably mild weather.

The absence of a significant frost so far this winter has allowed the central American plant to flourish at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in Dorset.

Tree Dahlia (imperialis), which can grow up to 8ft tall with tuberous roots and pink cup-shaped flowers, thrives on bright, light sun and heat.

The plant can bloom from late October but, in this country at least, blooms often come too late to beat the frosts, so it is considered more of a foliage plant.

Nurseries recommend growing it in a greenhouse to increase the chances of the plant flowering as it needs to be raised in a frost-free situation.

But temperatures reached a balmy 59F (15C) in the first two weeks of December, creating the ideal conditions for dahlia to prosper.

Yesterday the Met Office announced that 2025 will likely be the hottest year since records began as climate change continues to drive temperatures to new heights.

Dave Pearce, curator at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, said: 'Tree dahlia can grow 8ft tall and usually flowers in December.

'This means that the flowers get frosted, and rarely flower in the UK.

'Ours are flowering due to the mild winter and should be flowering on Christmas Day.'

The plant's long, thick, bamboo-like stems are clothed in large, elder-like, fresh green leaves.

Tree Dhalias can easily reach up to 12ft (almost 4m) in height over the course of a summer so are ideal for filling in spaces at the back of a border, or to disguise garden compost areas or ramshackle fences.

When they come, the single blooms are of a gorgeous soft pink-purple, with orange centres.

The Dahlia imperialis is native to Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Coasta Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador.

It is typically found in the foothills of subtropical mountains at about 5,000ft above sea level.

In July, the tropical Puya Alpestris, which is native to the Chilean Andes, flowered for the first time in five years at the gardens in Dorset, which are home to over 6,000 species from across the world.