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  • Dahlia Seedling Pictures - 2023

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.

When we started breeding in the early 1990s, Chilson's Pride was the most planted dahlia of all. We liked the colors but it could fade and the tips of the peals would get notches in hot weather. It always made lots of easy keeping tubers. We saved seeds from it and anything that sort of looked like it and none of the seedlings were even halfway good. We gave up on that goal.
Now it is 2023 and we may have a really nice seedling that looks like Chilson's Pride. It is totally unrelated to C. Pride and is actually a result of several years of our breeding.
The real thing from Lobaugh's Dahlias

    I have to say, I like your flower much better. I got so tired of dealing with all the blooms Chilson's Pride put out and none of my customers wanted it because they were too used to it. Now nearly 20 years later maybe there will be a new appetite for it. It looks like yours has the same split tips when it is warm out...

    Correction...doesn't have the split tips! I was looking at the Lobaughts flower on the screen here, Yoursi is quite an improvement.

    However, ours does not have the incredible back story of Nick Gitts SR giving it to Carl Chilson.

    I like both , but your seeding I like the ends of the petals more? I have always felt Chilson's Pride and the split tip look is like "we can be better"

    Black!

    THis morning my seedling surprise is a black pom! Can you beleive this?! IT is black as black can be and with long strong stems. I think it is part of the patch of HH BLack Beauty seedlings, and it has the beautiful ferny leafed foliage. Makes MY day!

      What a perfect little pair of babes we have here!

      Noni that is awesome!!!! I hope it stays true next year as well!

      Ted I like that white MB as well! Excellent I love the purple blush in the center too


      Second or third year seedling and I took this picture a week ago and my card reader would not work to download it.
      For a larger picture go to Flickr and be sure to click on the flower to enlarge it. Picture is very clear. I used my camera instead of my cell phone. Sometimes the pictures are better.
      https://www.flickr.com/photos/hollyhilldahlias/53111671299/in/dateposted-public/

      Someone posted a picture of Firepot on Facebook. Rather than post this picture of our second year seedling on Facebook and then have the whole world asking the name and whether they can buy it, I am posting the picture here on Growing Dahlias , formerly Cubits. Margaret
      really likes this one.
      Flickr picture that is larger. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hollyhilldahlias/53114152096/in/dateposted-public/

        I really like that. How big is the flower? A bouquet with that would llight up a room.