Hybridizing Dahlias

Bessie · 2023-09-14T03:43:02+00:00

Krista to discover if seeds are growing in the seed pod, after there are no remaining anthers on the pod, gently squeeze the pods between your thumb and fing...

calico20hill

Teddahlia Hmmmm, I wonder if HH Snowdrop is still standing in my garden...? I will have to see where Mr Dahlia Digger is working...It seemed like I had fewer seed pods this year. I've saved a lot of seeds but had fewer to save from. At least I DID get seeds to save unlike last year when we had early frost.

Teddahlia

We dug this seedling and it is one of my favorites from the 2024 seedlings. It probably will not win a lot in the shows as the florets do not go completely back to the stem but technically they do not have to as the rule is the depth in relation to the width and this one does very well. Over 4inches in diameter and 6 feet tall.

Juliarugula

bloomhjelm Congrats Mr. Kennedy on Hollyhill Sincerely. It's lovely.

Indeed. That photo took my breath away - can’t wait to see more! HH Minuet looks sweet too.

SteveM

bloomhjelm Congrats Mr. Kennedy on Hollyhill Sincerely. It's lovely.

Congratulations! Is that the highest score ever at the Canby Trial Garden?

Teddahlia

Is that the highest score ever at the Canby Trial Garden? Probably. Let's be honest and the score was too high. It is a very nice flower but not that good. When you have a good flower it is very photogenic.

Hollyhill Sincerely

blown_dry

Teddahlia Is this Serenity or Sincerely?

Teddahlia

Back to "hybridizing" that I prefer to call "breeding". We are 98% done collecting seeds this year. There are a handful of Margaret's hand crossed pods still out there and they have been inspected numerous times and are not rotting(yet?). When they are all harvested I will do a "count of all seeds" . I did a preliminary count of her hand crosses and without revealing actual numbers that Margaret will not share, she is doing about 19% better in seed production per pod for pods that have seeds. I will also have a count of crosses without seeds and see if the duds are about the same percentage as the last time she hand pollinated. There are duds and attributing a cause can be difficult. One perhaps less obvious one is she selected a flower that was below average in size and a small seed pod can mean no seeds. Nice healthy flowers make nice pods. Meanwhile, it is very rainy here.
Seed pod full of long seeds and thus the long pod that looks rather ominous. Seeds vary quite a bit in size, shape and color.

Ailhad

Teddahlia Hollyhill Snowdrop also grows very well in our hot and humid MA coastal weather. It's a favorite of mine. I showed it this year and it won best Pom. Now I wished I'd left more seedpods since I didn't find any seeds in the few I checked.

Teddahlia

I did not get any seeds from Snowdrop the first years. Then I discovered one reason was the seeds are very small and I was not feeling them well enough in the pods. Now I can detect one or two seeds in a pod due to my very sensitive, well trained fingers. I sand off my fingertips to enhance sensitivity and hold my breath while I check them. Some of the above is true. ☺

Teddahlia

blown_dry
Corrected the error.
The first version of the Trial Garden video had Serenity instead of Sincerely. Tell Margaret not to name any more dahlias that would start with "S" and end with "Y". Hollyhill Sloppy does not count.

Teddahlia

I think we will have enough stock to sell this 8 foot tall, yellow flower that has intense yellow flowers. We have been growing it for 4 years now and it has been the same little 8 foot tall plant with same bright yellow flowers that are about 4 inches in diameter. It only needs a name.

BackyardBouquets_17

Teddahlia

HH Golden Sunrise
HH Golden Elegance
HH Lemon Burst
HH Lemonade Dream
HH Golden Delight
HH Sunrise Serenade
HH Sunny Delight
HH Golden Sunburst

This is fun😀 I could keep going but everyone has there own style of what they like.

Justafewdahlias

Teddahlia I am a fan of the bold yellow flowers, they feel so happy! My favorite name ideas were the previously suggested school bus and smiley face. What came to mind for name ideas:

HH Cheer up buttercup

HH Caution

HH Yellow brick road

HH Hello yellow

HH Unmellow yellow

HH Buttered popcorn

HH Overjoyed

magucci

Teddahlia I'm probably a little too late to the naming game, but I like Hollyhill Optimist or Optimism. Enthusiasm is another good one. The yellow flowers are so much fun. 🙂

bloomhjelm

Here is what ChatGPT suggests. I'm sorry again. This is so fun for me.

"Here are a few name ideas for your vibrant yellow dahlia:
Hollyhill Butterbeam
Hollyhill Sunshine
Hollyhill Lemon Glow
Hollyhill Goldenray
Hollyhill Brightheart
Hollyhill Warmth
Hollyhill Harvest
Hollyhill Glowtime
Hollyhill Morning
Hollyhill Joybound
Hollyhill Spark"

I don't know about butterbeam. Sounds like a My Little Pony.

Juliarugula

bloomhjelm I don't know about butterbeam

I think it should be “Butterbean” instead, personally.

How about Hollyhill Schoolbus? Ooh! How about Hollyhill Smiley Face? (Gosh, I really really like Hollyhill Smiley Face…)

(I love this one Ted. I’m digging really bright yellows these days)

Teddahlia

I will run these names by the boss.

Justafewdahlias

Juliarugula I second school bus! 😂 there is a lame joke something to the effect of “what’s big and yellow and shows up every morning to brighten mom’s day?” Also the super tall height of this plant & sturdy stems is fitting since school buses are very large & durable vehicles.

MIDahlias

Juliarugula
School Bus is fun and unique.

Teddahlia

As a garden flower this one grows bit too tall but as a cut flower it has long stiff stems. If you grew dahlias in a flower bed and grew the short ones in front, then the medium ones, and then the tall ones and then the really tall ones , guess where this one would be.

Justafewdahlias

I can’t remember the exact issue but in an old dahlias of today magazine there was an article by Tony Evangelista and it mentioned you could keep the seed pod dry by putting a can over the top of it. It is super rainy lately here in the PNW. Many of my dahlias bloomed very late, so in order to try to scrounge up some seeds and not loose them all to rot I put out a few “seed pod umbrellas”. I rigged some plastic cups & empty tofu containers secured to the stakes so they are hovering over the seed pod like an umbrella. I don’t have a lot of plants or a lot of seed pods to collect unfortunately so I can waste time on this project! My area still hasn’t had frost yet, so trying to keep them on the plant as long as I can while protecting from the downpour.

Juliarugula

Justafewdahlias I like Buttered Popcorn! That’s cute!

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