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...

Teddahlia

Berries and Cream is a very pretty flower.

Krista

SteveM Very pretty, I love that pin-striping trait on petals! Lovely colors too.

Teddahlia

I used the tractor (48 year old tractor bought in 1976) to get 100 feet of row ready to plant. Then I did my normal task of pulling last years seedling tubers out of storage and proceeded to make tags for the tubers. Usually this takes a couple of hours. 4 hours later I was 85% done. Margaret had lots of hand crossed waterlilies and I selected nearly as many other types and we have kept too many seedlings. One really nice one had 11 tubers, a new record. If was not marked best I may have only planted 5 or so. I thought they would be planted today but tomorrow is another day.
This one made some tubers.

Bessie

Teddahlia I really like your updates. It gives me a reality check on how hard and how much work hybridizing is.

Teddahlia

Trial garden at Swan Island Dahlias planted today. We have some entries there. I "helped" but saved energy for planting in our garden. Alfalfa meal at the rate of 1/2 cup was placed in every hole. Garden has had a full dose of dolomite lime to correct acidity and to increase magnesium and other organic fertilizer added too(forgot to ask what).

Teddahlia

Trial garden: A few people who entered had problems with a tuber(they enter three) . The club grow's the tubers for a month in a gallon(almost a gallon) pot. Most entries had all three grow well. One had four growing well and the breeder had sent an extra tuber.

Teddahlia

Planted rooted cuttings of the 2023 waterlilies. 2.5 hours of pulling plants from the greenhouse and sorting them. Then about 1.5 hours of planting. Next are the "not waterlilies" and I bet Margaret will not help as much.

Teddahlia

I "found" another 70 or so cuttings of second year seedling waterlilies that were not yet taken out to the greenhouse. I will find room for them later. I need to plant the second year "not waterlily" cuttings first. And I found four pot roots(sink pots as this is what K. Albrecht calls them) ) of waterlily seedlings that were not selected to take cuttings and one says "bicolor" . That may have been a mistake and I will plant them very soon. Too many plants and not enough time.

Krista

Teddahlia Wow, what an incredible bloom; it’s rainbow colored!

blown_dry

Teddahlia It would be so amazing to have one with some jumping genes that caused it to sport like this all the time. So cool!

Teddahlia

I took this picture many years ago. Flowers often sport to different colors but this one did it really well. One of a kind.

Teddahlia

I suppose that is why "jokers wild" types are popular. HH Calico is a unicorn now and I barely still have it and only one or two cuttings. Court Jester is Margaret's favorite joker.

Teddahlia

I planted more of Margaret's waterlily second year seedlings and tried to not put the same colors together. When they bloom, I know I will be admonished for putting incompatible colors next to each other. I bet she counts the red variegated as being red or some such thing.

DarcyD

Teddahlia I forgot about this one!

I have a brand new waterlily bed as of today. Far far away from any others. It has many HH in there. I’m excited to see what seedlings will come out of it.

Teddahlia

Margaret is going to grow 4 twenty gallon pots (those are big pots) with waterlily dahlias in them. I believe all will be second or third year seedlings. One is purple.

bloomhjelm

Teddahlia The closeups are my favorite. I think the world needs more dark waterlilies. I am growing After Dusk this year.

Teddahlia

The pictured one grows 8 feet and sometimes taller.

calico20hill

That will be so pretty and so much fun to observe!

Teddahlia

When a friend said, here is one I know you like and handed me a Taratahi Lilac tuber, I was surprised but thankful. I put it into a pot and took cuttings(it was was very enthusiastic) and I believe I have 6 cuttings to plant. I thought I would find one of my old pictures of it and "bingo" in 2007 at Roseburg, it won a
big prize(Christy Parks?). I think it deserves to be used for seed or pollen. This picture was taken by my old Fuji camera and has not been altered in any way. It recorded color very enthusiastically .

Bessie

Teddahlia mention seed or pollen and you have my attention! I'm wondering if it would it hold up to cut flower handling and have a decent vase life.

blown_dry

Teddahlia Ooooh!!

bloomhjelm

Teddahlia I was able to get Taratahi Ruby and Taratahi Glo this year but have not seen Lilac, Sprite, or Sunrise grown or available anywhere. In my limited experience. It will be a real treat to see any photos you get of Lilac as it grows. Ruby is fascinating to me because it seems to be so popular for breeding.

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