calico20hill ooh! I love that one!
Dahlia Seedling Pictures - 2023
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SteveM I haven't grown any of the Gallery dahlias either. I went to the PSU flower trial field day to see what container varieties were entering the market and how they looked. I also wanted to see what conditions the dahlias were being grown in and what criteria they were being judged against. I may set up a similar set up on my property to see how my "garden" seedlings do. All the dahlias in the trial are grown in pots. 3 to a pot. In full sun on black plastic. The dahlias on display were stunted and ridden with fungal disease. I doubt they were getting enough water and I'm not sure if they were getting any fungicide treatment.
I don't think my varieties will do well that crowded in the size pots used. I'll need to experiment on farm before I decide to enter any in the trials.
calico20hill love this one! Same name as my kiddo and orange is his favorite color
Ad Verwer is the Dutch breeder behind several series of bedding dahlias. He now has a contract with Syngenta for them to sell the patented varieties. Back when the internet was just starting up some dahlia people communicated and he participated at times. Dan Pearson of Dan's Dahlias used to grow his varieties for cut flowers but of course he cannot sell the patented tubers. I wish I could remember the name of the one he really liked.
Teddahlia I wish I could remember the name of the one he really liked.
Likely one of the "Karma" series, maybe Karma Chocolate or Karma Prospero. Karma Prospero was a very nice pink WL with dark stems but shattered badly when sleeved. There are better cut dahlias in every form and color than the Karma series provides but there are also a lot of expensive dahlias that are not as good of cut dahlias as those in the Karma series. Most of the commercial cut flower growers here grow the Karma dahlias. Many of the newer growers are now growing some of the recent popular non-Karma varieties.
SteveM Karma Chocolate's patent expires in 2026. Not that far away now. I've always wondered what criteria the breeders used to determine what a good cut was. The only one that seemed to do well from divided tuber to cut/bunched/sold/vase was Karma Chocolate. But I guess they were banking on reselling cuttings each season and treating them like annuals.
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Cosey (I guess the name is Karma Choc, I just always assumed it was an abbreviation for the real name). When the Karma series came on the scene cut dahlias were just starting to gain popularity. The Karmas came with instructions for commercial growers who had never grown dahlias for cut. The whole package was well done. A grower could buy rooted cuttings (plugs) for $.85/ea, top them at 8-10 up, cut them once at ground level, and make a good profit. The first large-scale growers here didn't dig/divide/store tubers, they would just buy new cuttings every year. Dahlias were raised similar to how tulips are raised commercially. With the huge increase in popularity recently it has been difficult to find plugs of dahlias so some of the growers have started saving tubers.
I took this pic to show the progression of these flowers throug a day in the vase. On the left, Salish Breaking Dawn has tucked its sun faded petals out of sight and getton quite fluffy and with luchous coral/raspberry tones. I think th e "round ones" are all seedlings and I like them all...looking very nice. Turning the vase a bit shows Bloomquist Alan who has done a lot of color chaning. The colors ae srft of blending together now and I like them with the lavender gladioli. It has been keeping me entertained while I ice and rest my knee. I love the coppery tones of the ninebark I used with this.
calico20hill gorgeous!
calico20hill beautiful! BQ Alan has been really nice for me this year too. What are the purple conical flowers? They’re really cute!
calico20hill Beautiful, Noni! I love the pinky bloom in the upper right - how nice to have such a gorgeous bouquet while you rest up.
Juliarugula Those are Agastache . One of the plants that keep popping up as seedlings long after you have eliminated them from your cutting patch!
Krista That "pinky bloom" is Bloomquist Alan. First bloom of it for me. It goes through some interesting color changes as it opens and has so many petals! It still has center on it that is not open . This is its first bloom for me.
calico20hill Oh no kidding - I didn’t recognize it with the color shift! Thank you, I had no idea it changed so much.
Variegated BB IC, I need to check to se what is the seed parent. Second bloom and Margaret likes this one too.
Here is my nice surprise from one of the seedling patchs.... It is a seedling from Wyn's NEW Pastel. Looks like it will be a B sized bloom and I hope it holds its center . I had a lot of seedlings from Wyn's NEW Pastel so this is just the first of them to bloom.
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calico20hill Ohhh beautiful, the coloring is so lovely - I can’t wait to see more of her sisters!
calico20hill Beautiful. Love the color and form.
I am cruising the seedlings today and I stop in my tracks as I see a perfectly formed miniature formal decorative flower in coral pink. Divine form and I take several pictures. Then I crawl on the ground to determine what is the parent of this magnificent seedling. The tag has my typical almost illegible scribble in sharpie ink: it says 22-06 or Dikara Superb. Obviously, it is Dikara Superb. Nice healthy stock. I will not be entering it into the trial gardens.