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

Stems slightly dark in picture. Note it has too many florets to be good show waterlily and she calls it a BB ID.. Color is more coral pink then this picture.

calico20hill

Juliarugula I am very glad I don't have to spell out "Incandescent" on a tuber....lets keep it that way! Otherwise I would go with "HH Inc"

blown_dry

Bessie If you've kept it this long, despite no special attention, it deserves to be loved by others.

Good tuber maker, gorgeous color, popular form. I'd say it's a keeper.

BackyardBouquets_17

If a person were to start hybridizing with the goal of tuber storage in mind I have some recommendations for them. I had Cornel Bronze , Chimacum Katie, and Gonzo Grape tubers leftover after I planted last yr and they were just sitting in my basement in a brown baggie with a bit of vermiculite. Not even totally covered. I found that bag in cleaning out my grow room this week and tho a tiny bit shriveled ( some of em look just like the day I didvided them yet) there are some sprouts with perfectly viable plantable tubers yet.

Teddahlia

Lack of tubers is a "'self-limiting" trait as it very difficult to increase stock so a variety can be distributed. That does not mean all poor tubers makers/keepers do not find their way into the marketplace. When something is a really good flower, growers and buyers will tolerate that fact and grow the variety but the lack of tubers catches up and the variety generally disappears from the marketplace, after just few years. A good tuber maker with a good flower can be popular for decades. Can a really good flower from a poor tuber parent be crossed with a good tuber maker and retain the good flower and get good tubers? I believe that can be done but since it may take more than a one year of breeding and keeping the poor tuber maker for several years of breeding it is hard to do. Is that a better strategy than just using good tuber makers for breeding? I lean that way if the good flower has extremely good flowers that no tuber maker can match. The goal here is a plant that makes some tubers as that is enough for most people and I bet that can happen in one generation of breeding.

bloomhjelm

I attended Canadian Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society virtual meeting tonight. It was a great time with a presentation from Murray Thompson.

He shared a lot of examples of his seedlings (with seed parent info, ooh lah lah) and I asked him: "do you especially pick seed parents with tubers that store well?" I asked because I saw he had a couple seedlings from Skipley Bonanza.

His answer: "When you're picking seed parents you have to check a lot of boxes. Firstly whether it makes seeds and do those seeds germinate." He then went on to describe some of his considerations besides tuber storage.

Here are some screenshots of the presentation.

KitCMC

bloomhjelm this is really fun to see, thanks for sharing! I am a fan of 25-006 & 25-031.

Teddahlia

Interesting pictures and I picked one that I really like(I will not reveal what one) His novelty lavender seedling is nice too. I will comment that HH Black Beauty when bred seems to have seedlings that look more like the pollen parent and it is that way here. Walt Jacenco got Bulls Blood from it .

KitCMC

Teddahlia Stellar Decorative? Informal Stellar? They make me so happy, I do hope they get their own class.

Bessie

@bloomhjelm thank you for those screenshots. It's fascinating to see seed parent/seedling pairs. So I can't help myself... what was Ted's favorite? I thought of all Ted's comments over the few years in this forum.... I think 25-018 M-SC-LB would be his pick.

Krista

These photos are fun. I like the HH Black Beauty seedling with the vertical, candy-pink variegation best!

Teddahlia

At the last Dahlia Talk most of the people were old timers and we had an interesting conversation on seedlings that look like 25-006. One would think that the old timers would like them. I personally think Bloomquist Jean and 25-006 are nice flowers but the old timers do not like this type. It goes back to when Alloway Candy was used to be the ideal stellar example. They say the the new "stellar" varieties are not stellars. Clearview Del Sol is a top winning stellar and it was said by it's breeder Dick Parshall, that he does not consider it to be a good stellar. That is why "Stellar Wars" have broken out with people taking sides on what is a proper stellar. I believe there is an ADS committee working on the problem. Camano Pet is one that is controversial here, FD, ID or stellar? And it spills over to the Bloomquist Jean types too that I personally believe should have their own class. I like the outline of Bloomquist Jean types that from a distance look like huge ball dahlias. Meanwhile, some Bloomquist Jean pollen obviously fertilized some Hollyhill flowers and we have saved about three of the seedlings. I will not try to classify them except to say they look much like Bloomquist Jean.

bloomhjelm

A Truffala Tree category would be stunning. I would put it next to the Anemones with Collars or conversely the Anemonic Collarettes.

I took some screenshots of Monti Cangiamilla's undisseminated stellar seedlings for my hybridizer "vision board." Such good colors.

Teddahlia

Stellar was selected because it implies something looks like a star. If you google star shaped things, you get lots of five rayed stars or starfish. I would dump the word stellar.
The word "decorative " apparently implies a fully double flower and the new class may need that word. Fully decorative or Fancy Decorative come to mind. I like "Fancy" as it implies no particular shape.
So Ted has declared the new class is "Fancy Decorative" and it will include all the current stellars and all the Bloomquist Jean types too. Just like we have semi cactus and cactus, we could have both of the types of Fancy Decoratives in the same class, Full Fancy Decorative and semi full Fancy decoratives.

SteveM

Teddahlia While we are reorganizing the ADS classification system I would like to rename the "Orchid" type to be the new "Stellar" type since an orchid dahlia looks nothing like an orchid bloom. Well, maybe a Darwin's Orchid.

calico20hill

Teddahlia I think of stellars as looking like they are traveling through space at a high speed that blows their petals back...

MissyWeitzel

It drives me nuts that the ADS decided to keep the name mignon singles when micro singles would make more sense and the abbreviation MS would remain the same.

Teddahlia

Mignon is French? Small steak is Filet Mignon. Perhaps they will make "dinnerplate" an official name?

Teddahlia

Mignon, Doll Plate, Appetizer Plate, Salad Plate, Dinnerplate, Charger Plate

calico20hill

Teddahlia

Aha! Doll plate dahlias for miniature gardens!

Teddahlia

calico20hill
I love to make fun of "so called "stellar dahlias that do not meet the stellar standard. The stellar definition clearly says: "...they exhibit space between the ray florets in each of the rows....". It seems to me the less space they have, the more ribbons they get. They are working on the definition(again as it has been revised several times.

« Previous Page Next Page »