Dahlia Seedling Pictures - 2023

Bessie · 2023-05-25T15:02:05+00:00

First blooming plant from January 18, 2023 seed sowing. Alloway Candy is seed parent, unknown pollen parent.

calico20hill

So if a seedling does pop its center is there any way to "rebreed" to keep the good qualities but improve the center?
I have this one seedling that would be terrific if it kept its center. It may be a seedling of HH Black Beauty crossed with S Twilight Girl, (not sure)
The plant is everything I like...tall, strong, fern-leafed foliage. THe color is a fabulous black. There are lots of petals but the center has not been closed from the beginning/

SteveM

calico20hill nice color! I would try crossing it back to HH Black Beauty.

Cosey

You know when seeds germinate and you find all the albino ones that quickly wither and die. Then you have a few that plug along to meet their demise in the field when exposed to full sun? Well, I typically let nature take it's course but I had one seedling that seemed to continue to grow even through the hardening off process. 6 weeks later this light green seedling is still growing in the field! I wonder what the bloom will be!

Teddahlia

Pessimist in me says not enough chlorophyll means a plant that is not vigorous.

MissyWeitzel

Maybe it will be like that Oregon Sunset dahlia from Swan Islamd that has foliage that starts out yellow then later changes to green!

Cosey

Every time I walk by the light green plant I'm expecting it to be dead. But it hasn't given up the ghost yet. Longest living weirdo to date.

SteveM

Cosey With a purple bloom it would make an impressive garden dahlia. I have grown about 5 varieties of OP tomatoes with chartreuse leaves and they have been just as vigorous as the varieties with regular. green leaves. One variety sunburned but did well in the shade. I keep thinking I need to fertilize them.

Cosey

SteveM I will update if it does anything. Like Ted said, they usually die well before week 8 in the field.

Cosey

Seedling from the Beeline II seed sourced from Dr Keith Hammett. They will all be singles but so many of them have beautiful foliage and near perfect petals. We just finished construction on a front porch to our house. Next year I can have an entire collection of active pollinator, semi dwarf dahlias in front of my house. 😀 Not having to worry about staking is a huge plus.

SteveM

Cosey Not having to worry about staking is a huge plus.

Breeding for compact garden dahlias that don't require staking is a niche that doesn't seem to be filled yet. There is a lot of commercial r/d money being spent on dwarf dahlias but very little on taller, self-supporting varieties.

Teddahlia

Dr. Hammett is very generous with the genes that make for dark foliage. It took him many years to concentrate the genes and I remember a comment made by him that dark foliage is dependent on several genes and not just one or two. When you have the right combination of genes you get the dark foliage.

Bessie

SteveM , great information regarding company growing dahlias that don't need staking. Thanks!

Cosey

SteveM What if there could be a commercially propagated and distributed dahlia that didn't require a growth hormone regulator? I mean, it would actually look like a dahlia instead of a stunted hobbit shrub with ratty deformed blooms. Such a novel idea. 💡

Teddahlia

6 feet tall and Barbie pink. This is a miniature flower at just under 4 inches. 2023 seedling. Perhaps 6 feet is too tall for Ken. Margaret likes this one too. It gets the coveted T & M like award.

KitCMC

Teddahlia it’s a beauty!

Cosey

Teddahlia Excellent job with Gen Z, on trend marketing. 🩷

calico20hill

I like Barbie Pink. I could use some more of that color in my garden.

I am liking Salish August a lot. I have it in a bouquet by my table as I write and it has been picked now for 3 days. The temperature in this room has been up to 95 degrees during the afternoon...and yet Salish August is still looking fresh, with many petals yet to open.. Petals are a good yellow gold with a reddish orange rim that makes for red shading toward the center. Another Salish with long strong stems.

SteveM

calico20hill Noni, Salish August is a great Fall color. I love that form, it looks like one of the parents could be Valley Porcupine.

KitCMC

calico20hill love this one! Same name as my kiddo and orange is his favorite color 🧡

calico20hill

This one I am enjoyinfgvery much also. It is smaller , maybe 3.5" but with the same nice long stems. It started out all rose and gold shades but it is turning to yellow and salmon as it opens. The backs of the still losed center petals are lavender.

calico20hill

calico20hill Salish August looks amazingly well for having been in my house for 3 days with temps around 90 degrees. Petals on the back are a little crispy but the center still holds and the color is still nice.

calico20hill

calico20hill Salish Rose Gold is another one that is holding up well to being put in a bouquet in our" not air conditioned "house with daytime temps around 90 degrees. After 3 days the center is still holding and the back petals are a bit limp but overall it is amazingly nice. The colors are a bit more toward the gold.

Teddahlia

Spot of gold on the tips. Is that a clue?

calico20hill

Teddahlia
I have had niether Valley Porcupine or Skipley Spot of Gold in my garden for years. But maybe it is in the ancestry of some of the ones I do have. I Have had several seedlings with the gold tips and I love them!

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